Employers across the UK are considering their fleet and company car policies with the increasing demand and government recommendations towards electric vehicles. With electric vehicles becoming more common, we are commonly receiving questions regarding how electric vehicles will be charged. There are notable tax benefits associated with electric vehicles such as low benefit in kinds that are encouraging employers to make the change.
Whilst there are notable tax benefits to discuss, firstly, you must consider whether electric vehicles can meet all your practical requirements and understand any hidden costs. For example, would you need to install an electric charge point at your employees homes so that they have a full charge for the following working day and/or your business premises too?
ARE ELECTRIC CHARGE POINTS EXPENSIVE TO INSTALL?
There is currently a generous fleet and employee electric vehicle charge point installation grant available. For employers with less than 250 employees, £4,250 is provided in grants to install five charge points, with a further £850 available for each additional charge point, up to a total of £15,000. Multi-site companies can also claim grants of up to £15,000 for each site, across a maximum of 5 sites. This could mean the total grant available could be £75,000. If you would like to know more about how this grant may apply to you directly, please get in touch.
HOW THE GRANT WORKS
To claim the grant, you will need to partner with an Office for Zero Emission (OZEV) approved installation company who will claim the grant on your behalf:
- You must register with DVLA using the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets registration form
- You agree work to be undertaken at a specific site with an OZEV approved installer
- Once work is complete, your approved installer will apply for the grant on your behalf
- Your installer will invoice you with a final invoice showing the total cost of installation (including any VAT charged)
- DVLA will process the application and inform your installer of the result
- If the grant is awarded, your installer will be paid the grant (which they will have already discounted from your bill)
In our experience, any generous grants provided by the government are available only until their political agenda is satisfied or there is enough natural demand to remove the grant. Therefore, there is no time like the present to take advantage of such a grant if you believe electric vehicles to be the long term direction your business will be moving towards.
Currently, the OZEV have extended the grant to March 2026.
If you would like to know how the electric vehicles charge point installation grant may benefit your business, please get in touch with us on 0161 549 5354 or hello@everydayaccountants.co.uk
We note that the article does not constitute personalised advice and that advice should be sought before taking any action.