Is an electric car right for you and your business?

Posted on 28th May 2020 by Streets What's trending?


Image to represent Is an electric car right for you and your business?

With the current publicity that environmentally friendly policies are receiving, we are seeing more and more clients consider moving from diesel to electric cars in their businesses.


It is worth bearing in mind that there can be considerable differences in the tax treatment of electric cars, usually beneficially.

The business perspective

The tax relief available on the purchase of a car by a business entitled to claim capital allowances can be significantly affected by the carbon dioxide emissions of the car being purchased. A fully electric car will have an emissions rate of zero grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre (often shown as g/km).

For cars with an emissions rate of 50g/km or less, a 100% first year capital allowance is available. Some hybrid cars will also fall into this category.

Contrast this with cars that fall into the emissions bracket over 50g/km and not exceeding 110g/km, where an 18% annual “writing down allowance” is available. After four years of ownership, just under 55% of the cost will have received tax relief.

Even slower tax relief is obtained where the emissions rate exceeds 110g/km. The annual writing down allowance for these cars is reduced to just 6% per annum. In this case, only 22% of the cost will have received tax relief after four years.

For example a company purchasing a qualifying car for £40,000 would receive the following tax reliefs over the first four years of ownership (assuming a 19% corporation tax rate):

Rate of emissions

Tax relief obtained after 4 years

0 - 50g/km

£7,600

Over 50g/km - 110g/km

£4,164

Over 110g/km

£1,666

The personal perspective

Car emission rates can also have a significant effect on the “benefit in kind” charges that apply when employees and directors are provided with a company car for private use.

Significant changes were made from 6 April 2020 with the effect being that purely electric cars will give rise to a much lower benefit in kind charge.

The new charges are based upon a combination of emissions rate, and the mileage that an electric / hybrid can achieve without emitting any carbon dioxide.

A purely electric car, emitting no carbon dioxide at all, will be subject to a 0% benefit in kind rate using the new rates. The percentage charge is applied to the list price of the car to arrive at the taxable benefit in kind.

So regardless of cost, an electric car will give rise to no benefit in kind during 2020/21. The percentage rates are due to increase to 1% in 2021/22 and 2% in 2022/23. So in 2022/23 a car with a list price of £40,000 would give rise to a benefit in kind of £800 per year. For a 40% taxpayer, the annual tax payable would be £320.

Contrast that with a car that emits 51g/km. The benefit in kind rate applying to that, still relatively clean car, will be 15%, giving rise to an equivalent benefit in kind of £6,000 and an annual tax bill for a 40% taxpayer of £2,400.

The taxation of private fuel is also significantly different for a pure electric car. For a car that uses petrol or diesel (including hybrid cars) a “fuel benefit charge multiplier” applies (£24,500 for the 2019/20 tax year). The same benefit percentage that is charged to arrive at the car benefit is then applied to that multiplier.

However for a purely electric car, there is no benefit in kind charge for the provision of free charging at the workplace.

If you would like to discuss the specific tax effect of purchasing an electric car for you or your business, please get in touch with your usual Streets contact.


No Advice

The content produced and presented by Streets is for general guidance and informational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice. Furthermore, it should not be considered a recommendation or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities or other form of financial asset. The information provided by Streets is of a general nature and is not specific for any individual or entity. Appropriate and tailored advice or independent research should be obtained before making any such decisions. Streets does not accept any liability for any loss or damage which is incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of obtaining Streets' visual or audible content.

Information

The content used by Streets has been obtained from or is based on sources that we believe to be accurate and reliable. Although reasonable care has been taken in gathering the necessary information, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information we publish and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions in material. You should always seek specific advice prior to making any investment, legal or tax decisions.


Expert insight and news straight
to your inbox

Related Articles


We are excited to introduce our new Virtual Finance Office service - ViFi

At ViFi, we specialise in providing virtual finance solutions that transform the way businesses manage their finances.ViFi is your virtual finance department, offering comprehensive remote financial services. From day-to-day bookkeeping to proactive financial planning, our team in the UK ensures that you have everything a traditional accountant offers, ...


You might think that your payroll is high now, but it is going to get even higher next April

The first Labour Budget in 14 years was supposedly billed as being one to drive growth, though it is hard to see how this will come about as from next April, businesses face increased costs of employing people with the rise in the national minimum wage to £12.21 ...


The latest in a string of mergers sees us firmly establish a presence in the South West

The announcement follows the merger of the well-established and widely respected Exeter chartered accountancy firm of Bush & Co with ourselves. This latest merger, along with that of the Bristol practice of Streets Steele following a merger only 12 months ago, now sees us firmly establish a presence ...

You might also be interested in...