Company van

[profot]

Dear All, Hope this is the right place as its my first post here.

I need to buy a small van as an after sales support vehicle for servicing our products around the country.

I have a new business which has only 2 employees including myself and is a Ltd company

Please can you advise me the best way to purchase/lease/hire this vehicle for tax efficiency?

Can it be registered as a pool vehicle? If so can I go home with it if I am on call for customer service?

Thanks

[Indizine]

Moved to the accounting forum

[Nicola J]

I need to buy a small van as an after sales support vehicle for servicing our products around the country.

I have a new business which has only 2 employees including myself and is a Ltd company

Please can you advise me the best way to purchase/lease/hire this vehicle for tax efficiency?

Can it be registered as a pool vehicle? If so can I go home with it if I am on call for customer service?

Thanks

The answer to your question will very much depend on what van you are looking at, and the costs of buying v leasing/hiring and how you will finance the purchase.

In general if the company buys a van it will be able to set the total cost of the van against profits by claiming the Annual Investment Allowance (assuming you havent used up the £50k limit on other equipment), and set the interest on any finance against profits. Whilst if it leases or hires a van the monthly payments will be set against profits.

You also need to consider the VAT recoverable if your company is VAT registered.

If the van is availiable for private use by yourself or staff they will be taxed on a benefit in kind of £3,000 and a further £500 if fuel is provided. Although HM Revenue & Customs do ignore commuting and insignificant private use such the odd trip to the tip.

[broombroom]

1. the car must be used by two or more employees, by reason of their employment

2. the car must not be ordinarily used by one of those employees to the "exclusion of the others"

3. any private use of the car made by each of the employees is "merely incidental" to each employee's other use of the car in that year

4. the car must "not normally kept overnight" at or near any of the employees' homes (other than at the employer's premises).

Hope that helps.

[Nicola J]

1. the car must be used by two or more employees, by reason of their employment

2. the car must not be ordinarily used by one of those employees to the "exclusion of the others"

3. any private use of the car made by each of the employees is "merely incidental" to each employee's other use of the car in that year

4. the car must "not normally kept overnight" at or near any of the employees' homes (other than at the employer's premises).

Hope that helps.

Your quoting rules for company cars - a van isnt the same.

If you want to read up on vans and benefits have a look on HMRC's website and search vans. I cant post a link yet as a new user on the Forum.