Electric company car - can company pay for home charger install?

[PerfectStorm]

One of those "yes you can claim, and yes the company can pay - but could you defend it?" type questions.

[Paralytic]

I did start thinking about that and then decided to stop before I followed Alice down a rabbit hole.

I also started thinking - what if you decide to buy a personal electric car and use the Acme Corp supplied charger?

Definitely a rabbit hole.

With these things, i think people instinctively know if the spirit of the legislation allows them to expense items such as this, and their appetite to risk is the thing that should determine if they want to move ahead.

And, they know if they ask their accountant, they will typically be told no, as the accountant doesn't want some claim ending back at their down a few years down the line.

[ladymuck]

Let's take option 2 one step further. Does Acme Corp still "own" the charging point, although it is installed in an employee's residence? I'd say yes, otherwise it would be regarded a BIK to the employee. If the employee then sells their house, can Acme Corp remove the charging point and re-install it somewhere else since it does not belong to the house owner?

I did start thinking about that and then decided to stop before I followed Alice down a rabbit hole.

I also started thinking - what if you decide to buy a personal electric car and use the Acme Corp supplied charger?

[Paralytic]

Thought experiment:

You have a job working for Acme Corp and they have decided that all company cars must be electric. Therefore, in order for you to get to your clients, you need to be able to charge said company car.

There's two options:

1. You use a public charging point and expense the cost to Acme Corp (or put it on a company card that they directly pay)
2. Acme Corp pays for installation of a charging point in your home because there are no public charging points close enough to where you live. Should Acme Corp also pay for a proportion of your electicity bill for charging their car at your home?

This is assuming that you don't use the company car for personal use and you don't subsequently decide to buy an electric car personally to make full use of the shiny new charging point.

Let's take option 2 one step further. Does Acme Corp still "own" the charging point, although it is installed in an employee's residence? I'd say yes, otherwise it would be regarded a BIK to the employee. If the employee then sells their house, can Acme Corp remove the charging point and re-install it somewhere else since it does not belong to the house owner?

[northernladuk]

Sorry that I wasn't clear. It is a company car and it is also used for personal use (relevant BIK is paid etc)

I would imagine it's part of the car package and as essential to it running as the tyres, battery and everything that is also provided. If you have a company motorbike you can claim all the protective gear which is part of ownership.

So thinking about it it does appear that a proper charging station is part of the car solution so company can buy. BiK? dunno.

[cannon999]

Sorry that I wasn't clear. It is a company car and it is also used for personal use (relevant BIK is paid etc)

[ladymuck]

Thought experiment:

You have a job working for Acme Corp and they have decided that all company cars must be electric. Therefore, in order for you to get to your clients, you need to be able to charge said company car.

There's two options:

1. You use a public charging point and expense the cost to Acme Corp (or put it on a company card that they directly pay)
2. Acme Corp pays for installation of a charging point in your home because there are no public charging points close enough to where you live. Should Acme Corp also pay for a proportion of your electicity bill for charging their car at your home?

This is assuming that you don't use the company car for personal use and you don't subsequently decide to buy an electric car personally to make full use of the shiny new charging point.

[saptastic]

I put one in - about £700 - but must admit I didn't think about claiming. Hopefully someone can clarify. Its not specified here
https://www.contractoruk.com/limited...d_company.html
I cant seen to find any other reference. I thought it would be classed as personal.

[northernladuk]

Wouldn't it be useful to tell us if the car is a company one or a personal one?

Interesting read but doesn't really cover it here.

https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/fle...ursement-rules

IMO and it's a complete guess. The x pence per mile we claim covers all the stuff to do with the car like insurance, repairs, tyres etc so would say that includes the charging station so no it cannot go through the company.

What you don't tell us though is if the vehicle is a company one or a personal one.

[cannon999]

I got some quotes and it is looking to be around £1k to get the charger installed at home. Can the company pay for this?