I have reached my 10000 business miles limit for this tax year and with 6 weeks still to go, will have to settle to claim 25pence per mile, instead of 40 pence , which hurts financially. Apart from the option of taking a train, is there any way out ?No smart asses please - Reply back if you have anything useful to say. Thanks in Advance

No.

Use a hire car instead? Or buy a £200 1 litre ford fiesta and use that for business travel?

I don't know the UK tax law... but I would suggest going on a holiday for the next 6 weeks :)But seriously, you didnt see this coming months ago ?Cheers,http://dutchconsultant.baywords.com

Why is there such a low limit? Is this set by Gordon Brown or by your company?

It must have been the evil bankers that came up with this rule. After all, everything is their fault. It is the obscene bonus culture that has led us here!

TMTThis is a good question. I have no magic bullet but:1. Hire car is a good idea if your expenses policy allows it. In my experience this is a fuzzy area but you may get away with it. Problem is you may not lose money but you won't make any either2. Use the train + taxis for the next 6 weeks and/or or stay overnight more. Many companies are trying to reduce spending but won't look into people spending more nights away on business3. Not sure on the rules on this but could you use a different car? If so, could swap with your partner etc4. Get a colleague to drive from now on5. Arrange all your meetings to be near where you start your journeys from or near mainline railway stationsGood luck

Cycle (4p per mile I think) or get a motorbike (25p per mile I think). However motorbikes often cost more than that to run.

Thanks everyone for replying, specially Deacs - Much appreciated. I would have loved if "3. Not sure on the rules on this but could you use a different car" worked, as I changed my car mid-year. But unfortunately the 10000 miles limit is per person, not per car - So unfortunately will just have to grin and bear it for another 6 weeks.

I think part of the idea about using a different car was to use one with lower running costs, e.g. your wife's old banger, so as to avoid expensive maintenance charges (e.g. wearing down the tyres and brakes on a Mark I Mondeo as opposed to your company Audi R8) and adding costly additional mileage to your own?

Assuming you are driving the same number of miles each week as you have been for the first 46 weeks of the year, you are talking about a difference of £196. Hardly enough to lose sleep over.Hire car, as others have pointed out, is one possibility -- but ask yourself: is the hassle of arranging a hire car, justifying the additional expense, collecting and returning the hire car each week, etc really worth £196?