Perceptions change and recently I discovered I am not overweight but a body image activist, so it is with electric cars and vans which were seen as a bit niche, limited in range and too expensive. But now we are all considering the environment, prices are coming down, the charging network is growing and there are some very good tax incentives, so I have committed myself and bought an electric car.
The main considerations when buying an electric car is the range, price of the car and the tax impact.
As my version is close to 200 miles in town which is reasonable, I’m hoping I will only have to charge it once a week for my commuting needs. The other key point to consider is do you have a driveway or somewhere where you can charge it from, and a note of caution here my charger was discovered to have some faults and also my home electric connection to the network will need to be updated causing the road to be dug up.
Plus, do not forget to use overnight electric rates as they are usually one third the price of daytime rates meaning a full charge will cost me around £5.
So, let’s look at the tax savings and grants;
The total car cost close to £30,000 I received a £3,000 grant from the government for buying electric and the current concession is that I can offset the cost against my company profits so that is a saving of around £5,000. That’s brings the cost of the vehicle down to around £22,000.
Be warned there is currently no benefit in kind charge but this will start in 2021 at 1% and 2022 at 2% but that is only £300 added to my salary in 2021 and £600 in 2022 and I can also get all maintenance and insurance costs through the company saving me more tax.
In addition, there is also no road tax to pay or London Congestion Charge, but this will change as they become more popular.
Finally, the charge point is subsidised by the government and I got a £600 home unit for £300 installed despite teething issues.
So in summary it’s a judgement call that I have made and I have committed to a car that will last me around 5 years, save on fuel costs and reduce my impact on the environment. Win win!
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