What is the Cycle To Work Scheme ?

bilabonic

Hi

I have googled and seen the goverment involvment but still confused......lol

If i was to purchase a Boardman from Halfrauds how would it work ?

Also could i still use British Cycling discount ?

Cheers

rhext

It's a means of getting tax relief on purchasing a new bike plus gear.

You join the scheme and get a voucher up to the value of £1,000, which you can redeem for a new bike, plus clothes, helmet etc. There are rules governing what you can and can't buy in addition to the bike, but you must buy at least one complete bike.

You don't own the bike, however: instead you rent it from your employer, usually at a rate which allows your employer to recover the full cost of the bike over 12 to 18 months. But the rent is taken from your salary before tax, so on most schemes you are buying a bike free of income tax. What you actually save depends on the details of the scheme and your tax rate. If you're on higher rate tax then you can save almost 50% of the cost of the bike.

You have to read the small print of the scheme. Your employer is not allowed to simply give you the bike at end of the agreement: they're supposed to sell it to you for a fair market price, or you become liable for tax. The government have started enforcing this rule - which means users of some schemes got hit with a fairly sizeable bill at the end of the term. Most schemes get round this now by renting you the bike for a further extended period (usually a couple of years) for a single small one-off fee (say about £20). After the extended period the bike is judged as zero value and can be given to you. You just need to read the details carefully to make sure it works for you.

rhext

Oh, your specific questions. You'd need to check that your scheme allows you to purchase from Halfords (most if not all do). The bike needs to be less than the maximum value allowed by the scheme (most schemes are £1,000). If you join the scheme they'll send you detailed instructions about what to do to claim.

You're unlikely to get a further discount. The retailers have to pay a fairly hefty admin charge to the scheme administrators, and they know you're already getting a valuable discount....which tends to make them reluctant to negotiate further price reductions. Doesn't hurt to ask, but don't be surprised if they say no.

choldy

its a really good way of hiding £1k cycling expenditure from the other half

djm501

presumably you also then have to hide the bike? ;-)

If it's a good scheme, get in quick. I did this recently and managed to get in on an end of line 2012 roadbike. So already discounted from £1299 to £999 and then further due do to the tax free nature of the Scheme. Well chuffed with that. That was with Evans though - not sure a smaller bike shop will still offer the discount from what I've read here.

okeydokey79

our company uses the halfords cycle to work scheme, yes you can still use your british cycling discount also use quidco and get a % back using the reserve and collect, each company runs different c2w schemes so payments may vary slightly,if your company is using the halfords c2w scheme you are not tied to halfords they will source most other bikes but at cost price, they use among others leisurelake bikes, but you can use your discount unless it is a halfords bike.

MrSweary

I used it to get my current bike. It should be noted that Halfrauds C2W they will assign the letter of collection to any bike shop that is on their list of partners if you phone up and ask - I think about 600 shops in the UK. I ended up getting mine from Pearson.

lotus49

As has been pointed out, it can mean a half price bike up to £1000. This limit is not dependent on the scheme, it's set by HMRC.

There are a few unenforceable restrictions like using it almost exclusively for commuting but I cannot see that causing any problems for anyone. All in all, it''s a good deal if you want a new bike for less than £1000.

Halfords do the admin for employers for free so many choose their Cycle2Work scheme. It means you are limited to buying a bike from Halfords but you aren't limited to bikes they normally stock, they can order most bikes through their Special Order Team.

Gizmodo

lotus49 wrote:

There are a few unenforceable restrictions like using it almost exclusively for commuting but I cannot see that causing any problems for anyone.

I work from home so my commute is from my bedroom to my lounge, do you think that would count?

Edit: I'd need a full sus MTB to negotiate the stairs. Do you think I could create a Strava segment? :shock:

Critch

After 12 months payments our bikes are given a fair market value. In reality its low, say £75 - £150 depending on bike cost. Condition doesn't even figure into it as the bikes are never checked. The buyer just pays the tax on that market value in a one-off payment and the bike is theirs to keep. Simplez.

Some of the guys are getting £1k bikes for ~£600.

pdw

As has been pointed out, it can mean a half price bike up to £1000. This limit is not dependent on the scheme, it's set by HMRC.

Not quite true. It's set by the OFT, and it's the limit of the group credit licence for C2W. If your company happens to have its own credit licence, the £1k limit doesn't apply.

Roadrookie

Hope you get more luck with your employer than I did. They told me to jog on (not metaphorically) as they had concerns about liability for injury and being left with bikes if staff leave.

djm501

If I leave for any reason I must pay the remaining balance for the bike (not tax free) out of my final paycheck. That is the deal. Can't see why your employers would put in a similar clause. Simples really.

owenjones

I recently used Halfords cycle to work scheme to get hold of a £1800 boardman pro carbon.

Bike was reduced to £1600 by halfords...then used British cycling discount to bring it down to £1440, handed over the £1000 letter of collection, so paid £440 cash.
Letter of collection also entitled me to £100 of free accessories...however Halfords had 3for2 on cycling accessories so I got £150 free stuff..helmet, pedals and computer.

This is absolutely ridiculous value.

By the time I have paid off the letter of collection I will have paid around £900 for a £1800 bike and £150 accessories..saving me well over a grand. This is just silly.
Especially when you think that the spec on the Boardman Pro Carbon is equivalent to a 3 grand 'big brand' bike.

DO IT!

Roadrookie

I guess my employer just couldnt be arsed at the end of the day so just made up excuses. Hopefully this is unusual and most people are able to take advantage of what seems a very good scheme.

MrSweary

lotus49 wrote:

Halfords do the admin for employers for free so many choose their Cycle2Work scheme. It means you are limited to buying a bike from Halfords but you aren't limited to bikes they normally stock, they can order most bikes through their Special Order Team.

Errrr not quite true. If you phone up the team they can assign your letter of collection to an affiliated independent store of which there are over 600 in the UK (on their list). You can then take your LOC to that store and deal with them exclusively. I did this recently on Halfords C2W and bought from the Pearson store in Sheen. Dealt entirely with them and never set foot inside Halfords. The phone call took all of two minutes.

mhj999

Roadrookie wrote:

Hope you get more luck with your employer than I did. They told me to jog on (not metaphorically) as they had concerns about liability for injury and being left with bikes if staff leave.

Bullsh1t.