A growing number of UK motorists are getting behind the wheel of an electric vehicle in order to avoid a significant tax hike coming in April.
Whilst drivers across the country are preparing for increases in road tax that will make buying a new model and taxing many pre-existing ones more expensive many companies are now concerned over National Insurance tax rising.
As a result, a number of companies are interested in setting up company car benefits, with Thom Groot, CEO of The Electric Car Scheme, highlighting a particular demand for EVs.
He explained: “Pretty much overnight after the Budget, we saw a big uptick in interest. Previously there were a lot of businesses who were looking at it and telling us, ‘This is interesting, but I’m really busy.’
“But now the increase in employee National Insurance contributions has sparked a lot of those businesses into action because they’re being challenged on costs and asking, ‘How can we drive savings?’”
From April 2025, the National Insurance rate will increase from 13.8 percent to 15 percent, with the threshold on employee earnings plummeting from £9,100 to £5,000.
To prevent employees from being underpaid, more businesses are interested in salary sacrifice schemes, in which drivers pay monthly for a car directly from their wages.
According to The Electric Car Scheme, the typical contribution for an EV is around £600 per month, helping to cut around £90 from their NIC.
Thom also suggested that companies can start a salary sacrifice scheme using a pre-owned electric vehicle, with many of the most popular models available at surprisingly low prices.
He added: “Obviously, the price is still relatively expensive, but not everyone goes for a new car.
“What we’ve seen over the last year is the second-hand car market in EVs has become much more active, and we’re seeing a lot of take-up of second-hand EVs through salary sacrifice.”
Whilst more companies are interested in starting salary sacrifice schemes to combat the National Insurance hike, EV owners will face another tax rise in April 2025.
For nearly 15 years, electric models have been tax-exempt to encourage more drivers to ditch their petrol or diesel car for a cleaner alternative. However, with more than a million EVs on the UK roads, the exemption will end at the start of the new financial year.
As a result, new car buyers choosing an electric vehicle will initially pay £10 in tax and the standard flat rate of £195 for the following years.
