Great Western Coffee Shop

As from 5th April, certain public transport fares will be deductable against income tax at the standard rate for British taxpayers.   If you're a taxpayer, you'll be required to keep a log of eligible journeys in chronological order on form 68/72/84, then add up the fares at the end of the year and fill them into a box on your tax return.  After the initial year, when the tax situation will be reconciled with your return, you'll be able to claim an Advanced Rebate Saving Element on you code for following years, based on a presumption that your expenditure on fares will remain static for subsequent years.
 
This allowance is part of the Connectional Rail Alternative Package which is designed to encourage travellers with journeys that are multimodal to switch from their private vehicles to public transport.   The following tickets are eligible ...

* For use on the National Rail Network (but excluding tickets to and from stations not managed by a franchised train operating company):
Standard class Anytime, OffPeak and Super Offpeak Single and period return rail tickets purchased on the day of travel (including underground)
Standard and First class Day return rail tickets purchased at any time.
Standard class advanced purchase tickets priced at over 10 pounds (rising to 15 pounds in the second year)

* For use on buses as follows:
Single and return bus tickets of all types on bus services which receive a central or local government subsidy.
Return bus tickets for journeys over 1 mile but less than 6 miles on bus services which operate commercially.

* For use on the following ferry services, single or return foot passenger tickets:
Ullapool to Stornoway (and vice versa)
Mallaig small islands services to Canna, Eigg, Muck and Rhum (and vv, but not between the islands)
Oban to Tobermory, Coll, Barra, Tiree and Colonsay (but not on Wednesday Colonsay services) (and vv)
Ardrossan to Brodick (and vv)
Gourock to Dunoon (and vv, but not journeys on PS Waverley)
Largs to Millport (and vv)
Wemyss Bay to Rothesay (and vv)
Stranraer to Belfast (and vv)
Birkenhead to Belfast (and vv)
Holyhead to Dublin and to Dun Laoghaire (single tickets only. NOT in the opposite direction)
Devonport to Torpoint (and vv)
Lymingtom to Yarmouth (and vv)
Southampton to Hythe (and vv)
Southampton to Cowes (and vv)
Portsmouth Harbour to Ryde Pierhead (and vv)
Harwich International to Hoek van Holland and to Esbjerg (single tickets only. NOT in the opposite direction)
River bus services in London but not river tours

As this is a connectional package to encourage multimodal travel, only journeys made on several adjoining tickets will be valid for deduction against income tax. This is designed to encourage travellers to take the bus to the station or to use the train to reach the ferry.  You may not claim a tax deduction for the Woolwich Free Ferry, but you may count a journey on this service as an adjoining journey. The deductions may only be made by the taxholder in person, and are not valid for family and friends, and cannot be claimed on tickets which are already discounted by the use of a railcard, or bulk journey purchases via carnet or season ticket.  If you wish to claim this allowance, you should retain your tickets and also further evidence of your journey in person.  For this purpose, we suggest you ask a fellow traveller to photograph you using a camera with GPS and a date and time stamper. Alternatively, you can stand in from of a station name sign holding up a current copy of a recognised daily newspaper such as the Daily Sport. You should seek permission from the Duty Manager before taking photographs at junction stations on electric lines (such as Brockenhurst), and you should not use flash.

It is anticipated that some taxpayers may take some time to learn the details of this scheme, and should you wish to log and check the eligibility of your evidence and tickets, you may submit data starting today (1st April 2011) on the Connectional Rail Alternative Package site (http://www.consultations.org.uk/). Once operational, a single error will be treated as a mistake, but further incorrect claims made under will be treated as intents to defraud and tax codes will be reduced by twice the amount falsely claimed as a fine.
 
We hope you like our easy new scheme to help you save money by using public transport. Ask for a leaflet at your station this morning. - The Connectional Rail Alternative Package team

For various dull and unexciting reasons I've had cause to go delving through the US tax code in the last few months - got my issues sorted out now but that passage above is closer to the truth than you may realize!!

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I had great fun putting in acronymns, obscure rules and 'inside' jokes - I can just imagine lots of people seeking out the duty manager at Brockenhurst and asking him to photograph them with the station sign and a copy of the "Sport".

Railway passengers in this country have been penalised for far too long.

They have been imposed upon with inflation-busting increases in commuter costs.

These record increases in commuting costs have destabilised the economy because it subtracts disposable income from Family Budgets.

The railway commuter is a voter too, David Cameron, and they have not been listened to, in my view.

I believe if government cannot be bothered to control the costs imposed upon railway commuters and railway passengers in general then they the government should implement this radical idea that has much public support ^ railway fares should be made tax deductible.