Halfords Cycle2work
ElliesDad
Posts: 245
There seems to be a few people asking about the C2W scheme run by Halfords so I thought I would share my experience having just got a Boardman FS Team on the scheme.
You can choose a bike up to £1000 in value, unless your employer holds a consumer credit license in which case a higher value can be chosen, the majority of employers have a limit of £1000 though. The process I followed is as follows:
1. Visited Halfords on the Saturday to try the bike for size, it wasnt in stock in the store so they ordered one in under no obligation to buy.
2. I applied to the scheme on the Monday morning, a painless process where you fill in your details (http://www.cycle2work.info) and choose the Loc (letter of collection value). This is important because you are bound by the value you choose so it is a good idea to get a quote from Halfords in advance. As part of the process you will digitally sign on line the Hire agreement.
3. The hire agreement is then sent to your employer for them to sign, theoretically you could get your letter of collection the same day if your employer signs it the same day. In my case HR took until the Friday to confirm that I was eligible and I got my Loc on Friday afternoon.
4. I went into Halfords after work on the Friday, handed over the Loc and took the bike away the same day. The Loc also specified that I was entitled to £125 worth of free accessories so that was a nice bonus.
5. Payments of £83.33 will be deducted from my salary over the next 12 months to "hire" the bike, because this is salary sacrifice I wont pay tax or NI on this amount so the actual monthly payment will be about £56. At the end of the 12 months if I want to keep the bike I will pay tax on the benfit in kind based on the list price of the bike at the rate of 25% for bikes over £500 and 18% for bikes under £500. So in my case case this will be £50 spread over 12 months.
Therefore I am getting a bike with a list price of £1000 for about £720 so a 28% saving after the benefit in kind is taken into account. The other way to look at it is you are getting a 12 month interest free loan and paying back less than you borrow!
You can choose a bike up to £1000 in value, unless your employer holds a consumer credit license in which case a higher value can be chosen, the majority of employers have a limit of £1000 though. The process I followed is as follows:
1. Visited Halfords on the Saturday to try the bike for size, it wasnt in stock in the store so they ordered one in under no obligation to buy.
2. I applied to the scheme on the Monday morning, a painless process where you fill in your details (http://www.cycle2work.info) and choose the Loc (letter of collection value). This is important because you are bound by the value you choose so it is a good idea to get a quote from Halfords in advance. As part of the process you will digitally sign on line the Hire agreement.
3. The hire agreement is then sent to your employer for them to sign, theoretically you could get your letter of collection the same day if your employer signs it the same day. In my case HR took until the Friday to confirm that I was eligible and I got my Loc on Friday afternoon.
4. I went into Halfords after work on the Friday, handed over the Loc and took the bike away the same day. The Loc also specified that I was entitled to £125 worth of free accessories so that was a nice bonus.
5. Payments of £83.33 will be deducted from my salary over the next 12 months to "hire" the bike, because this is salary sacrifice I wont pay tax or NI on this amount so the actual monthly payment will be about £56. At the end of the 12 months if I want to keep the bike I will pay tax on the benfit in kind based on the list price of the bike at the rate of 25% for bikes over £500 and 18% for bikes under £500. So in my case case this will be £50 spread over 12 months.
Therefore I am getting a bike with a list price of £1000 for about £720 so a 28% saving after the benefit in kind is taken into account. The other way to look at it is you are getting a 12 month interest free loan and paying back less than you borrow!
2012 Boardman FS Team
2014 Giant Defy 2
2014 Giant Defy 2
0
Comments
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I believe my employer uses the Halfords scheme - a requirement is to use the bike to cycle part or all of your commute 50% of the time. Does this apply to your scheme also?2011 Carrera Fury
Earn cashback at CRC, Wiggle, Evans, Rutland, Hargroves, Halfords, and more at Quidco0 -
waby1234 wrote:I believe my employer uses the Halfords scheme - a requirement is to use the bike to cycle part or all of your commute 50% of the time. Does this apply to your scheme also?
Yes it does apply and will do for all C2W schemes regardless of who runs them. This is a requirement from the tax man in order to claim the tax relief!
In reality it is quite often abused though. The guy who runs our scheme did say to me that nobody ever checks if the bike is used for work. I suppose if someone dobbed you in you could loose you tax relief!2012 Boardman FS Team
2014 Giant Defy 20 -
Yeah I guess so. I'd just heard one or two rumours of some spot checks being made, but they may just be rumours!2011 Carrera Fury
Earn cashback at CRC, Wiggle, Evans, Rutland, Hargroves, Halfords, and more at Quidco0 -
Unless their rules have recently changed Halfords will not allow bikes of a higher price than £1000 full stop. They try to claim that it's illegal even though Evans and Cyclescheme (and probably others) allow participants to contribute more.
Also, the rules in our scheme dictate that technically the bike must be used for 50% of it's mileage for commuting. So even if you only rode the bike for 10 miles a year it would be fine as you were doing 5 or more of those miles on a commute. Im pretty sure there will be no spot checking either as it would be impossible to prove any of the above.
Much of the benefit has been eroded away in the last few years but probably just about still worth it and for a higher rate tax payer the benefit is greater as well.
Vaaru Titanium Sram Red eTap
Moda Chord with drop bars and Rival shifters - winter/do it all bike
Orbea Rise0 -
handful wrote:Unless their rules have recently changed Halfords will not allow bikes of a higher price than £1000 full stop. They try to claim that it's illegal even though Evans and Cyclescheme (and probably others) allow participants to contribute more.
It's not 'illegal' as in it's not a crime. However I guess it just depends on the Ts&Cs of the scheme in question.2011 Carrera Fury
Earn cashback at CRC, Wiggle, Evans, Rutland, Hargroves, Halfords, and more at Quidco0 -
I thought the bike had to be used for 50% of your work related journeys. At least that's how I read it. I'm currently on my 4th b2w bike and my milage has never been questioned.handful wrote:Also, the rules in our scheme dictate that technically the bike must be used for 50% of it's mileage for commuting.0 -
oodboo wrote:
I thought the bike had to be used for 50% of your work related journeys. At least that's how I read it. I'm currently on my 4th b2w bike and my milage has never been questioned.handful wrote:Also, the rules in our scheme dictate that technically the bike must be used for 50% of it's mileage for commuting.
On the Q&A sheet we were given it states (copied and pasted word for word)
"2. Does this mean I have to cycle to work all the time?
No. The test is based on 50% of the bike’s overall
usage (i.e even if you cannot use the bike routinely)."
When I questioned this the administrator's interpretation was as I stated earlier, as long as 50% of the bikes mileage is for commuting then no laws will have been bent!
I agree though that the mileage is never going to be questioned, I'm on my 3rd now, two with Halfords and currently Cyclescheme and no hint of any questions whatsoever, which is just as well with my full sus!!Vaaru Titanium Sram Red eTap
Moda Chord with drop bars and Rival shifters - winter/do it all bike
Orbea Rise0
