TODAY’S BLOG
COMPANY CAR? GEAR UP FOR CHANGE..
Do you drive a company car? do you know your NDEC from your WLTP? You now need to.
Emissions, emissions…
For many years, company car tax scales have been based on CO2 emission levels, with a supplement (currently 4%) for most diesels (although a handful of new diesels now escape this surcharge). The emissions were measured under the New European Driving Cycle (NDEC) test, which produced results increasingly at variance with the real world.
In response, a new testing regime has been developed, the World harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). Unsurprisingly, this test reveals much higher emission levels than the NDEC – about 15%-20% more, with the greatest increase for cars with the smallest engines.
Company car changes
For company cars registered from 6 April 2020, the WLTP CO2 emission figure will be used in determining company car tax rates. However, for cars registered before that date, the old NDEC measure will continue to apply. As a result, from 2020/21 onwards there will be two sets of company car scales, one WLTP scale for cars registered on or after 6 April 2020 and the other NDEC-based scale for older cars. For any given level of emissions, in 2020/21 the WLTP percentage charge is 2% lower than the NDEC charge, although this difference will be phased out over the following two tax years.
Electric and Hybrid Cars
6 April 2020 will also see a change to the tax treatment of electric and hybrid cars. The charge for all pure electric cars will drop to zero – good news for Tesla – while for hybrid cars with CO2 emissions of 1-50g/km, the scale charge will be based on the vehicle’s electric-only range. For hybrids there will be separate NDEC and WLTP scales, with both offering no discount if the hybrid cannot run at least 30 miles on battery power alone.
Action
The company car tax regime has become much stricter over the years and there is some evidence that more employees are choosing cash rather than car where they have the option. You may want to join them.
If you are due to change your company car soon, make sure you understand the tax consequences of any choice you make. If you are thinking about an electric car and the required charging points at your home or office, the Pod Point website is worth having a look at. They also have a guide that gets fairly regularly updated on different types of electric cars. I haven’t used Pod Point and am not endorsing them (or paid by them) but you may find their information helpful.
Dominic Thomas
Solomons IFA
You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk
GET IN TOUCH
Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT
Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk
Call – 020 8542 8084
GET IN TOUCH
Solomon’s Independent Financial Advisers
The Old Bakery, 2D Edna Road, Raynes Park, London, SW20 8BT
Email – info@solomonsifa.co.uk Call – 020 8542 8084