Q. Private school fees are so expensive, can I get my company to pay the fees directly and save myself a bit of tax?

A. If the company pays a bill, such as the school fees, which you are personally liable to pay, the payment is treated for national insurance (NI) purposes, as if the company had paid it to you so the company must pay employers NI on top of the amount of the fee. However, it is a benefit in kind so it must be reported on the form P11D and the income tax you are due to pay will be included in your PAYE code for the next year. In the long run you don't save any tax or NI.

If your company contracts directly with the school to be the person responsible for paying the school fees, the tax position is slightly different. The payment must be treated as a benefit in kind and reported on your form P11D, and the company must pay class 1A NICs on the amount paid. You pay tax on the payment to the school, but not NICs.

Q. I'm self-employed. How do I work out what to claim for motoring expenses in my accounts?

A. You can calculate your business-related motoring costs by either:

a) Take the proportion of business miles to total mileage driven in your vehicle in the year and apply that proportion to your total motoring costs for the year; or
b) Use the fixed expense of 45p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles driven in the year and 25p per mile for additional business miles in the year.

If you use method a) you can also claim capital allowances on the cost of your vehicle, restricted for the private use of that vehicle. If you use method b) you can't claim capital allowances for your vehicle but you can claim the interest amount of any finance lease used to purchase the vehicle. We can explain exactly what you can and cannot claim in your accounts for tax purposes.

Q. I've just won a sports car! The snag is the prize is only available from the company's headquarters in Seattle, USA, although there is a cash alternative. Are there any tax implications of accepting the prize in the form of the car or as cash?

A. Most states in the USA impose a tax on competition prizes, but the awarding company may allow for that. There is no similar tax in the UK. If you take the car and ship it back to the UK there will be import duties and VAT to pay, so the cash alternative may be more tax efficient.

Q. My daughter is now studying at University, but she worked full-time after leaving school in June and had tax deducted from all of her wages. Can she claim that tax back now, or does she have to wait until the end of the tax year?

A. She can claim the tax back now, and doesn't have to wait until the end of the tax year on 5 April 2014 to receive her tax refund. She needs to complete form P50 and send to HMRC.

However, if she expects to work again in the Christmas holidays, she may want to wait until she has completed that stint of work to reclaim all of the tax deducted in one go.

Q. Is it true that my company can purchase a top-end touring bike plus safety gear, for me to use without any restrictions?

A. There are restrictions. For you to receive tax and NI free use of the bike your company must offer the use of bikes to all its employees, but the same quality of bike does not have to be offered to every employee. The bikes should be used mainly for work related journeys, such as getting to work, or travelling between different work sites, but personal use is not prohibited. Safety equipment can be provided by the company with the bikes. However, remember the bikes must remain the property of the company, or be leased directly by the company. There are tax implications if the company gives you the bike outright.