2nd Car -Company or Private

Richie22

Hi All

I have a private 7 seater MPV (with 3 child seats), and a company van (business only). We are approaching the stage where we may need a second car for family logistics. I do have an option to get a company car but no choice on what it is with only a bottom end Insignia or Astra available.

My question is do we get a cheap run about and keep the van or is it worth paying the the tax etc for a company car?

Very difficult to find information on the net regarding this situation, others must have faced it.

Rich

bob_a_builder

To understand just how much tax etc will be paid, this site will give you the figures based on the exact car model

http://comcar.co.uk/dir1in.cfm

force_ten

it really depends what your work needs are, if you need a van to do your job then keep the van and buy a second car

if you can work efficiently out of an estate car and it fits your work needs then look at a company car i would expect a new entry level insignia to be a perfectly capable car with a reasonable level of spec as it is a fierce sector of the market and some manufacturers add little extras to swing buyers to their marque

I would have thought the tax liability on the company car would be cheaper than the purchase price and running cost of a second privately owned car

Richie22

I took the option for the Corsavan because at the time I didn't want to pay tax on a car I wouldn't use privately and my own car is far more comfortable and automatic. But as the kids grow and need to go here and there, the need for another car increases. Most of the other guys in the same job role in the firm have cars, except one who is in the same position as I am kids wise and has a van.

I'll have to crunch the numbers.

Rich

loskie

IIRC(admittedly 4 yrs ago) all vans are at the same rate of tax so for a base astra or insignia car you may end up paying less

force_ten

loskie wrote: »

IIRC(admittedly 4 yrs ago) all vans are at the same rate of tax so for a base astra or insignia car you may end up paying less

you don't pay company car tax on a van that is for business use only with occasional personal use

bigadaj

force_ten wrote: »

you don't pay company car tax on a van that is for business use only with occasional personal use

Yes you do, the term they use is incidental but that simply means driving home if you are away the following day or stopping on your way into work.

force_ten

bigadaj wrote: »

Yes you do, the term they use is incidental but that simply means driving home if you are away the following day or stopping on your way into work.

if the van is solely for business use with no significant private use then you are not liable to pay tax

company car/van tax is a tax on the benefit of personal use/fuel and it is not payable on a van that is business use only, even if you are a home parker and bring the van home every night

how is a van you are not allowed to use a taxable perk?

loskie

facts here:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-and-benefits-company-vans/work-out-the-value



https://www.gov.uk/tax-company-benefits/tax-on-company-cars

look below cost of base Insignia is around 2/3 of van with private use to basic rate tax payer.
https://www.vauxhallfleet.co.uk/wlcc/#/bik/step2/id/86153
Although there is a cost to the employee it is pretty cheap.