A cycle to work scheme is a great tax efficient way to buy a bike and is a win-win for both the Employer and the Employee.
Here at Cycle World we deal with all the major Cycle to Work scheme providers and even run our own.
If you run your own business and would like to take advantage of the great tax savings to be made then please contact us and we will be happy to talk to you about your requirements. We provide you with a simple, no nonsense scheme that is easy to administer and will prove to be a real benefit for both you and your employees. No matter what your business size – from 1 employee to thousands of employees, we can take care of all the paperwork so you can take care of your business.
For more details please send us an email to workcycle@cycleworld.co.uk or give us a call on 023 92 666500 and we would be happy to discuss further.
For those Employers who are already signed up with a provider, Cycle World would be delighted to assist you in choosing the right bike for you.
If you have a Cyclescheme certificate already you can redeem it online with us.
Just select Pay with Cyclescheme in your basket and proceed through checkout where you will be prompted to enter the certificate number and redemption code.
Your certificate value must be enough to cover the cost of goods and delivery charge if applicable. If it does not you should be able to adjust your certificate in your ‘My schemes’ area on the Cyclescheme employees website.
If you experience any difficulty redeeming a certificate please<contact us>.
For more details, view our<Cyclescheme FAQ page>
Please note that we can only accept Cyclescheme certificates online – for all other scheme providers, please contact us using the form below.
What is Cycle to Work?
Cycle to Work is a government supported scheme which enables you to lease a bike and equipment from your employer to enable you to cycle to work. Your employer will then deduct the costs from your gross salary.
Because the deductions are from your gross salary, this means that you will pay less tax and National Insurance. The amount you save will depend upon your salary; savings can be up to 42% for higher rate taxpayers.
What is salary sacrifice?
Effectively you will be sacrificing part of your annual salary in exchange for a benefit. The benefit is being able to hire from your employer a bicycle and the related safety equipment and accessories that you will need to cycle to work.
Example: If you request a certificate for £1,000, your employer will deduct this cost over 12 months and each month £83.33 (£1000/12) will be deducted from your gross salary, i.e. you will not be paying tax and NI each month on this £83.33. The exact amount you save will depend upon salary and personal circumstances.
What is the usual process?
- Find out from your employer which scheme they participate in
- Choose your bike and any additional accessories
- Reserve your bike at Cycle World with a £25 fully refundable deposit
- Apply for your voucher (if you haven’t already)
- Send your voucher toorders@cycleworld.co.uk
- We will then build and prepare your bike & accessories
- When everything is ready we will either call you to collect or ship your items with our courier
- We refund your deposit (if applicable)
- Enjoy your shiny new bike
What bike & equipment can I get?
- You can use your certificate for any adult bike including electric bikes.
- You can also use your certificate for most clothing, accessories & tools to make your journey safer or more secure. These include rider essentials such as commuter clothing, shoes & helmets as well as vital accessories for your bike including mudguards, lights, reflectors, panniers etc. There are also important additions for bike longevity including tools & pumps, locks for security and commuting backpacks to make the journey more efficient.
What if I already have a bike?
You can use your certificate for any of the equipment that you may need to either build or upgrade your existing bike, e.g. groupsets, wheels, componentry and any of the associated accessories or clothing within the above which will make your journey more safe or secure.
How much can I spend?
This will depend on any limits which your company may have in place. Up until recently there was a HMRC imposed limit of £1,000 but this has now been removed and there are no limits imposed by HMRC, if your company still impose the £1,000 limit you may wish to lobby them so you can obtain your dream bike!
Now you can use the CycleScheme Calculator to get an estimate to how much you can save:
Do I have to use it solely to cycle to work?
The government guidelines stipulate that you must use it at least 50% of the time to cycle to work, that still leaves plenty of time for you to enjoy riding for pleasure!
Do I own the bike?
The bike and equipment are technically owned by your employer during the hire period.
What happens at the end of the hire period?
To ensure that the scheme retains its tax-free status there can be no guarantees that your employer will sell or transfer ownership of the bike to you. HMRC have set guidelines to give bikes a “fair market value” to ascertain how much the bike is worth at at the end of the hire period. For bikes under £500 this is 18% of the original price and for bikes over £500, 25% of the original price
At the end of the hire period you have 3 options: -
- Return the Bike & Equipment to your employer.
- Continue to hire the bike from your company for a further period of up to 36 months. In most instances your employer will not charge for this.
- Buy the Bike from your employer at the “fair market value”
You should ask your employer whether they have any policies in place relating to what happens at the end of the hire period. Most employers adopt 2. And at the end of the extended hire period the bike is deemed to have no value and the ownership is transferred to you.
Can I use my certificate to buy a sale bike?
Unfortunately we are unable to offer bikes & accessories on sale when purchased via a cycle scheme, with the execption to WorkCycle cycle scheme.
Which Cycle to Work schemes does Cycle World support?