FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This depends on the age of your car. Since March 2001, this information is printed on the vehicle registration certificate. For cars registered between 1 January 1998 and 28 February 2001, information about CO2 emissions can be found online from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders at www.smmt.co.uk.

Cars registered before 1 January 1998 are taxed according to engine size rather than emission levels.

A car's list price (also referred to as the P11D price) is the price published in the UK by the manufacturer on the day before it was first registered. For tax purposes, the list price is capped at £80,000.

Yes. The government will allow you to contribute some of your own money towards the cost of a company car, subject to a maximum contribution of £5000. If you make a capital contribution, this will reduce the price of the car for tax purposes.

If a company car is unavailable to you for 30 consecutive days or more, then the tax is reduced by the percentage of the year it is unavailable. This only applies if the car is not available to be driven, and not if you are physically unable to drive.

If you do not have any private use of your company car, then you will not have to pay tax. However, you will need to provide evidence that you are not making private use of the vehicle.

If your employer pays for the private fuel on your company car, you will have to pay a separate tax on this benefit. It is calculated according to the car’s CO2 emissions.

Yes, company cars powered by alternative fuels, such as hybrid electric or LPG, are subject to lower levels of tax.

Undoubtedly yes. HM Revenue & Customs has announced benefit-in-kind tax levels up to the end of the 2010/11 financial year when they will increase from their current levels. Given the focus on reducing pollution levels the lower the CO2 emissions of your car the less you will pay.

Not anymore. Diesel cars registered before January 1, 2006 that met Euro4 emission standards did qualify for a 3% reduction in benefit-in-kind tax, but that has now been scrapped. However, diesel cars do have lower CO2 emissions than equivalent petrol-engined models so benefiot-in-kind tax bills will be lower.

If you have private use of a company car, and this includes commuting to and from work, then you must pay tax on the benefit.

The amount of tax you pay for your company car will depend on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) it emits, measured in g/ km. Currently the tax starts at 15% of the list price for cars emitting CO2 at or below a specific level. This rises in 1% increments for every 5 g/ km over this level of emissions, up to a maximum of 35%.