Electric Cars are cool!!
Or so the Government would like us to believe. From 6 April 2010 if you provide your employee with an electric car or van for their own use, it will be a tax free benefit. What’s more when your company buys a new electric van from 1 April 2010 it will be able to write-off the full cost for tax purposes in the year of acquisition. This tax treatment already applies to all new low emission and electric cars. These new tax incentives only apply to fully electric vehicles, hybrids don’t count.
The taxable benefit charged for the use of ordinary company cars and vans, and fuel for those vehicles, is set to increase from 6 April 2010. For example the driver of a car with CO2 emissions of 160g/km is currently taxed at 20% of the vehicle’s list price. From 6 April 2010 the driver of the same car will be taxed at 21% of its list price. Currently the fuel benefit for that vehicle is based on a fixed value of £16,900, From 6 April 2010 this value will increase to £18,000. Hence the taxable benefit of having free fuel for the car will increase from £3,380 to £3,780.The taxable benefit charged when fuel is provided for private use in a company van will increase from 6 April 2010 from £500 per year to £550 per year.
