[IL Cattivo]

Interested in finding out just how many of this forums members (Most us being Energy raping AV freaks) actually put something back into the environment by means of reducing your carbon footprint in other ways...?

For example I have chosen to play my part by utilising the UK Government's Cycle To Work initiative...

Tax free bikes for work through the Government's Green Transport Initiative - Cyclescheme, provider of Cycle to Work schemes for UK employers

So how many of us work 10 or less miles away from their place of employment but are still using their gas guzzling cars to get there 5 days a week?

..Has the company you work for signed up to this scheme so you can take advantage of it's perks and have you found out why not if they haven't?

Lets be hearing from you...?

[bu5ter]

im also part of the scheme but i must admit i kind of used it to buy myself a nice new bike! I walk to walk every day so do my bit that way!

[MikeTV]

My previous company had the scheme, and I know a few people who have used it, with the main attraction being the ability to buy a really good bike at a heavily discounted price. Most people then want to use their new bikes, and so do actually end up cycling to work some of the time.

[IL Cattivo]

Originally Posted by bu5ter

im also part of the scheme but i must admit i kind of used it to buy myself a nice new bike! I walk to walk every day so do my bit that way!

Ha ha.. We had a guy at our place who did exactly the same... Bought a full suspension heavy mountain bike using the scheme knowing full well that the type of bike purchased was next to useless for road use and never rode it to work once.. !!

Who's gonna check up though..??

It's definately a scheme that can be taken advantage of for sure....

[ajb2603]

I took advantage of this scheme last year and bought a Trek Soho 4.0 featuring the awesome Shimano Alfine 8 hub gear which maintains the bike's clean lines and is a dream to use when riding around town, I also added a Brooks Swift saddle with Titanium rails, and got the lot all at pretty much half price! I used it pretty much every day for a 7-mile ride in to work.

Trek Soho 4.0: Trek side on on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Shimano Alfine hub gear: Trek Soho 4.0 Sneak Peek! on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Brooks Swift TE: Swift on Trek on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Have sinced changed job - and my route from Oxford to office in Llanelli, South Wales is now some 168 miles. Haven't gotten round to cycling this yet! Thank heavens I'm mainly home based.

[nheather]

Would love to cycle to work but 35 miles each way for me and that is just too far.

My company does operate the scheme - it's on at the moment - but strangely it only runs for two month each year.

The other downside is that my company's scheme is tied in with Halfords.

Firstly, their bikes are more expensive than you can get elsewhere.

They then add 12 months of interest (at quite a high rate).

Then you get tax relief by doing a salary sacrifice.

If like me, you are on 40% tax then the deal still works out pretty good, but if you are on 20% it's not much better than buying the bike personally from a cheaper (and better) dealer.

The other problem I have with Halfords is that their range of bikes is very limited. They have loads of own brands but if you want something decent there are some GTs and a very few Konas to choose from and that's it.

Having said that I would still use the scheme but I already have a decent bike.

Cheers,

Nigel

[IanW1977]

I lease a bike via Cyclescheme currently
Have done 650 miles this year or just under half of my total commute by bike.

Amazing just how many people at work have too in the past year yet you never see any of these shiny new bikes at work.

[marshall_nathan]

I use the scheme last year and ,like many other,i m very happy with it,the only things is who i don t receive any discount throught tax saving or its me missing something?

[nheather]

How the scheme works, is through salary sacrifice.

That is, your salary is temporarily reduced by the amount of the bike purchase. You don't pay tax or national insurance on the amount reduced so you are in effect saving that tax and ni payment.

An example.

Say you pay 20% income tax and 11% national insurance.

Say the bike if £400.

If you were to buy the bike out of the scheme you would need to earn the following

£400 Bike
£116 Tax
£64 National Insurance
£580 Gross Pay

What the scheme does is to reduce you salary by £400 and give you the bike. If you had bought outside the scheme you would have needed £580 of salary. So you have saved £180 in taxes that you would have paid.

Cheers,

Nigel

[gavan]

What sort of fair market value payment are the various schemes working to?

We have been told that HMRC will want a final payment of 20%+VAT to avoid taxing us on the bike as a Benefit-In-Kind.

All of the info I have been able to find shows that the FMV payment should be only 5%+VAT.

[bealer]

I did the scheme last year. It's brilliant.

I've nearly ended my payments, and I think I'm eligable, a year on, to another £1,000. In which case I'm planning to sell my current bike, and just get another.

Means I constantly have a new-ish bike. At current I've done around 8,000km with my current bike (bit of a bike freak), so it's getting to the stage when bits need replacing or are making annoying noises. It's just easier to get a new one.

I always take the full £1,000 too. Good chance to get gloves, event jacket, armadillo tyres etc... Means someone picks up my current bike pretty cheap too. I just sell it as quickly as possible, at a cheaper price than I normally would.

[MikeTV]

Part of me hates that idea - the wastage and emissions involved in new bike manufacture so that you can have a new one each year, and the other part of me thinks, Genius!

[IanW1977]

Savings work out at around 25% if like us your company can't reclaim VAT.

This includes a nominal 5% + VAT fee at the end where you either pay this and keep the bike or pay this and scrap the bike !

[gavan]

5%+VAT is the government guideline - my employer's cycle scheme wrote to HMRC and was quoted 20%+VAT.

That wipes out the effect of lower-rate tax savings. Given that our scheme is linked to Halfords I can't see that it'll be worth my time unfortunately, unless Halfords magically happen to have the bike I want.

[IanW1977]

Originally Posted by gavan

5%+VAT is the government guideline - my employer's cycle scheme wrote to HMRC and was quoted 20%+VAT.

That wipes out the effect of lower-rate tax savings. Given that our scheme is linked to Halfords I can't see that it'll be worth my time unfortunately, unless Halfords magically happen to have the bike I want.

Better option to get one on Intrest free over 36 months if thats the case.

[gavan]

Originally Posted by IanW1977

Better option to get one on Intrest free over 36 months if thats the case.

I would have been better to buy one myself last year, from a supplier of my choice, when I first thought to get one instead of waiting from my employer to get a scheme going.


Prices were around 15% lower at that time anyway. At the moment they are scary.

[dan1979]

I read up on my work's and was most disappointed that it seemed to only be Halfords, absolutely everything referred to halfords but I've learned people have taken the LOC's and used them elsewhere in independent shops.

[simc1978]

My company does the scheme I think i've saved £3-400 on a £1000 bike, including a 5% final payment. I've used the bike mostly for commuting to work, 5000 miles so far but get the impression that most people don't really change their commuting habits under this scheme, those that were going to cycle anyway get a cheaper bike those that drove still drive but have a new MTB for the weekends.

[IanW1977]

Just finished the scheme and gone out and bought another bike under scheme.

Commuting by bike is just so much more enjoyable and you know bang on how long it'll take traffic or not.