Readers’ forum: Reimbursing employees for petrol used for business trips

With petrol prices at record highs HMRC’s published advisory fuel rates (AFR) are proving insufficient to cover fuel costs incurred by employees being reimbursed for company car business travel.

HMRC guidance notes that ‘if the cost of business travel is higher than the guideline rates you can use your own rates to reflect your situation’. It follows that if the business can evidence a higher actual cost of company car business travel it can reimburse actual costs to an employee without employers’ tax/NIC consequences.

Short of an employee filling up their petrol tank at the start and end of any business journey to calculate actual cost are there any less onerous methods of reimbursing employees?

Do Taxation readers have any thoughts on whether using the methodology in HMRC’s published rates but applying actual petrol pump costs with a receipt as evidence and calculating a new rate...