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Updated mileage expense rates from August 2023

Diocesan Office —

Anglican Financial Care has recently reviewed mileage rates for 2023.

Rates Update August 2023 to July 2024

Please destroy any previous versions of forms you have kept, and use the new versions below. 

Background

Motor vehicle costs have increased by around 11%. The major components of this were higher insurance premiums, higher interest rates, higher car prices, higher tyre prices and higher petrol prices. The petrol price allowed for the recent removal of the 25 cents discount on the Fuel Excise Duty.

Many of the above increases can also be traced back to the Covid 19 pandemic, from labour shortages, supply chain issues and still adjusting to bottlenecks and shutdowns worldwide.

The suggested (maximum) reimbursement rates are as follows (previous year’s rates in brackets):

  • Up to 14,000 km annual running for all purposes - reimburse work running at 88 cents (82 cents).
  • Up to 20,000 km annual running for all purposes - reimburse at 72 cents (68 cents).
  • Up to 26,000 km annual running for all purposes - reimburse at 63 cents (60 cents).
  • For mileage beyond chosen band range - reimburse at 34 cents (34 cents).

Alternatively, the flat rate of 49 cents (47 cents in 2022) per km can be paid for unlimited running (i.e., without the need to record annual mileage and be concerned about exceeding a chosen band). This is based on the above rates and annual mileage of 75,000kms to cover all eventualities.

Please see the end of this article for more information about using travel bands. 

Forms to Use

Here is a link to a suggested form which can be used to record mileage for the Casual running rate. If you are currently using your own form to record mileage, you are welcome to continue using that. However, if you are on a Travel Band, your form must have all the information collected as set out in the Diocesan form.

All the forms (including mileage record forms for other bands if you don't have your own log book) are  available on our website at this link:  https://www.calledsouth.org.nz/diocesan-forms/ and look for the appropriate folder, or by following the links below: 

Diocesan Mileage and Expense Claim Forms (if you are submitting a claim form to Peter Mann House office for reimbursement)

All Mileage Record Forms (link to main folder)

Visiting Minister Forms (pdf and Word) have also been updated, the new form covers August to December 2023. 

A note about using Travel Bands

We recommend that the use of any bands below are captured in your covenant.

The figures for the banded travel rates are MAXIMUM figures. The actual amounts to be paid are negotiated with the parish and included in the Covenant. Most Covenants use the casual rate rather than the banded rates as using the banded rates creates more administration as a log book has to be kept up to date and regularly reviewed to make sure that the Clergy person is still fitting in the appropriate band. It may be that a parish would like to review the allowance that their Clergy is currently being paid but there is certainly no expectation that the maximum allowance should necessarily be the actual allowance.

If the casual rate is not chosen, the following rules apply:

  • The employee must provide a reasonable estimate for their annual running kms (personal, family and work related) for the year.
  • The odometer reading at the beginning of the tax year must be recorded.
  • The estimate determines the chosen band range.
  • If the ACTUAL kms for the year exceed the chosen band range, then the kms above the chosen band range will be reimbursed at 34 cents per km.

These rates and rules have been tailored to the circumstances of the church.

If it is decided that a band rate be chosen, there are some things to consider:

  • Will the maximum band for ALL travel be exceeded? i.e even if an employee wasn’t to work an entire year, the maximum band still applies for that tax year so for example, if IRD chose to look at that person's income and allowances, they will have to be within the maximum travel band for that tax year, regardless if they have left our employment or not.
  • The kms claimed and odometer reading will have to be closely monitored.
  • The reimbursement rate can change each year, depending on the outcome of the review.
  • If the person leaves our employment, it is up to them to record their odometer reading at the end of the tax year, and make sure the kilometers traveled haven’t exceeded the chosen band maximum.

Please note, all of the above only applies to the vehicle which mileage is being claimed on.


Please contact Dominique (by email) at the Diocesan office if you have any queries.