Electric car through Ltd?

[SuperLooper]

Won't your accountant provide you with one?

I'm sure he would if pushed, but when I first enquired, I was gently told that company cars were generally a bad idea. And so I just left it.

[northernladuk]

I'm sure he would if pushed, but when I first enquired, I was gently told that company cars were generally a bad idea. And so I just left it.

Gently tell him you pay for his services and times have changed so you'd like them to re-evaluate their advice.

[Maslins]

Gently tell him you pay for his services and times have changed so you'd like them to re-evaluate their advice.

It's extremely hard to actually compare like with like, company car vs personally owned. Multiple different things get impacted. I imagine if you did convince a few accountants to do the same calculation, you'd get a few different answers.

It's not that rare a client asks us about company cars, we virtually always recommend against them. Occasionally the client goes against our advice, and normally regrets it within a couple of years. It comes up on here fairly frequently, "I want to close my company, but I took out a 3 year lease on a company car 6 months ago". Don't be swayed by the car showroom salesperson, they're far more biased towards you getting a company car than your accountant is against it.

This may change if BiK rates for electric cars plummet as proposed, but it does seem odd that a rate which has been consistently creeping up would suddenly drop off a cliff. I'm half anticipating Hammond to use Brexit as a reason to change tack on this.

[northernladuk]

It's extremely hard to actually compare like with like, company car vs personally owned. Multiple different things get impacted. I imagine if you did convince a few accountants to do the same calculation, you'd get a few different answers.

It's not that rare a client asks us about company cars, we virtually always recommend against them. Occasionally the client goes against our advice, and normally regrets it within a couple of years. It comes up on here fairly frequently, "I want to close my company, but I took out a 3 year lease on a company car 6 months ago". Don't be swayed by the car showroom salesperson, they're far more biased towards you getting a company car than your accountant is against it.

This may change if BiK rates for electric cars plummet as proposed, but it does seem odd that a rate which has been consistently creeping up would suddenly drop off a cliff. I'm half anticipating Hammond to use Brexit as a reason to change tack on this.

And that's the type of response I'd be very happy with if I'd asked. I was just concerned from what the poster said about 'gently' he was being palmed off with the accountant actually evaluating the situation.

I don't know anything about the changes but would you not be running the numbers yourself to be prepared? Has a drop been proposed but no actual figures or something?

[Maslins]

And that's the type of response I'd be very happy with if I'd asked. I was just concerned from what the poster said about 'gently' he was being palmed off with the accountant actually evaluating the situation.

I don't know anything about the changes but would you not be running the numbers yourself to be prepared? Has a drop been proposed but no actual figures or something?

I imagine most clients who ask us about electric cars feel they're gently told they're a bad idea...possibly the poster is a Maslins client, I don't know.

For all electric cars, BiK rates in recent years and proposed for the near future are:
2016-17 - 7%
2017-18 - 9%
2018-19 - 13%
2019-20 - 16%
2020-21 - 2%
Yup, that's not a typo, the final % is 2% not 20%. Over the last few years, it pains us as car salespeople will highlight the benefit of having a brand new car and the BiK% being perhaps 7%. They "forget" to mention that in 2-3 years time you'd have a 2-3 year old car yet be paying BiK% still on the brand new list price, and now at 13-16%.

If the 2% does go ahead as planned, stays for a while, and there's no other sneaky sting in the tail, then all electric company cars may suddenly become a viable proposition for many contractors/small biz owners.

[northernladuk]

I imagine most clients who ask us about electric cars feel they're gently told they're a bad idea...possibly the poster is a Maslins client, I don't know.

For all electric cars, BiK rates in recent years and proposed for the near future are:
2016-17 - 7%
2017-18 - 9%
2018-19 - 13%
2019-20 - 16%
2020-21 - 2%
Yup, that's not a typo, the final % is 2% not 20%. Over the last few years, it pains us as car salespeople will highlight the benefit of having a brand new car and the BiK% being perhaps 7%. They "forget" to mention that in 2-3 years time you'd have a 2-3 year old car yet be paying BiK% still on the brand new list price, and now at 13-16%.

If the 2% does go ahead as planned, stays for a while, and there's no other sneaky sting in the tail, then all electric company cars may suddenly become a viable proposition for many contractors/small biz owners.

Just a casual look at those numbers makes me think a massive incentive to get as many people in electric cars as possible and then a nice soft target for clawing money back of the following years.

[saptastic]

I imagine most clients who ask us about electric cars feel they're gently told they're a bad idea...possibly the poster is a Maslins client, I don't know.

For all electric cars, BiK rates in recent years and proposed for the near future are:
2016-17 - 7%
2017-18 - 9%
2018-19 - 13%
2019-20 - 16%
2020-21 - 2%
Yup, that's not a typo, the final % is 2% not 20%. Over the last few years, it pains us as car salespeople will highlight the benefit of having a brand new car and the BiK% being perhaps 7%. They "forget" to mention that in 2-3 years time you'd have a 2-3 year old car yet be paying BiK% still on the brand new list price, and now at 13-16%.

If the 2% does go ahead as planned, stays for a while, and there's no other sneaky sting in the tail, then all electric company cars may suddenly become a viable proposition for many contractors/small biz owners.

Thanks
Is that Hybrid and Electric do you know or just 100% electric ? As I might get a hybrid.
That seems a massive drop. Why double it over four years and then slash it. Would have been better to keep at 7.

[northernladuk]

Thanks
Is that Hybrid and Electric do you know or just 100% electric ? As I might get a hybrid.
That seems a massive drop. Why double it over four years and then slash it. Would have been better to keep at 7.

Electric only. Hybrids are going to get a nerf according to this article.

Holding back BIK reductions until 2020 dubbed ‘just ludicrous’ | Fleet Industry News

[94bb]

BIK rates

Has anyone tackled the question how you give evidence that an electric car has been used solely for business purposes only, and thus can claim back the VAT paid for the vehicle?

[meridian]

Has anyone tackled the question how you give evidence that an electric car has been used solely for business purposes only, and thus can claim back the VAT paid for the vehicle?

How does any business keep evidence that a car is used 100% for business purposes?

Usually, keep a log book detailing every journey.