Understanding The Results
This page compares company car capital allowances for current UK cars together with Benefit-in-Kind (BIK), employer National Insurance and related business tax information using the DriveSmart company car database.
P11D Value
The P11D value is the taxable value of the company car used to calculate the Benefit-in-Kind (BIK).
BIK Percentage
The BIK percentage is applied to the P11D value to calculate the annual taxable company car benefit.
Annual And Monthly Benefit
The annual benefit is the taxable company car benefit for the tax year. The monthly benefit is shown to help users compare the taxable value on a monthly basis.
Employer National Insurance
Employers normally pay Class 1A National Insurance on taxable company car benefits. The Employer NIC column shows the employer National Insurance cost based on the annual company car benefit.
Capital Allowance
The Capital Allowance column shows the capital allowance treatment that generally applies to the vehicle based on the published HMRC rules.
- 100% First Year Allowance – qualifying new zero-emission cars may receive immediate tax relief for the qualifying cost.
- Main Pool – lower-emission cars that do not qualify for 100% First Year Allowances may receive Writing Down Allowances through the Main Pool.
- Special Rate Pool – higher-emission cars may receive Writing Down Allowances through the Special Rate Pool.
Allowance Rate
The Allowance Rate shows the percentage normally used to calculate capital allowances during the first year for each category of vehicle.
- 100% for qualifying 100% First Year Allowance cars.
- 14% for Main Pool Writing Down Allowances.
- 6% for Special Rate Pool Writing Down Allowances.
100% FYA
Qualifying new zero-emission company cars are shown as eligible for 100% First Year Allowances.
Year 1 Allowance
This column estimates the first year's capital allowance using the published HMRC allowance rates. It provides a consistent comparison between vehicles but does not replace professional tax advice.
Remaining Pool
For vehicles qualifying for Writing Down Allowances, this column shows the estimated balance remaining after the first year's allowance has been deducted. Electric company cars qualifying for 100% First Year Allowances normally have no remaining pool balance.
Year 1 Corporation Tax (CT) Relief
This column provides an indicative estimate of the corporation tax relief generated by the first year's capital allowance. Actual tax relief will depend on the corporation tax rate applicable to the business.
Business Tax Relief
The Business Tax Relief column gives a plain-English indication of whether tax relief is likely to be immediate or spread over time.
This is a simplified guide intended to help compare vehicles. The actual timing of tax relief will depend on the business's accounting period and tax position.
Annual Investment Allowance
Annual Investment Allowance is generally more relevant to vans and plant and machinery than to company cars. This page focuses on company car capital allowance treatment.
Fuel Types
The Fuel column uses manufacturer and CAP-HPI vehicle data to identify the vehicle propulsion system.
- Petrol – conventional petrol-powered vehicles.
- Diesel – conventional diesel-powered vehicles.
- Electric – battery electric vehicles (BEV).
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell – vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel-cell technology.
- Hybrid – vehicles using both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
- Mild Hybrid (MHEV) – hybrid vehicles where the electric system assists the engine but cannot normally power the vehicle independently for extended distances.
- Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) – vehicles that can be charged externally and driven for part of a journey using electric power.
- Series PHEV – plug-in hybrids where the engine primarily acts as a generator to produce electricity.
- Parallel PHEV – plug-in hybrids where the engine and electric motor can both contribute directly to driving the wheels.
You can search for fuel types using terms such as Electric, Hybrid, Mild Hybrid, MHEV, Plug-in Hybrid, PHEV and Range Extender. Searches are not case-sensitive, so lower-case versions such as electric, phev or range extender will also work.
Capital Allowance Search Terms
You can search for capital allowance terms such as FYA, First Year Allowance, Main Pool, Special Rate Pool, 100%, 14% and 6%.
- FYA
- First Year Allowance
- Main Pool
- Special Rate Pool
- 100%
- 14%
- 6%
- Corporation Tax Relief
- Year 1 Allowance
Display
Click on the 'Results Display' to search for cars displaying '20 Results', '50 Results', '100 Results' or 'All Results'.
Click on the column headings to sort the results by that column. For example, click on 'P11D Value' to sort by P11D value, or 'Capital Allowance' to sort by capital allowance type.
Search Bar
You can also use the search bar to find specific manufacturers, models, derivatives, fuel types or capital allowance categories.
Important Notes
Calculations are based on standard vehicle data. Factory options, accessories, private use contributions and capital contributions may affect the final taxable position.
Capital allowance treatment may depend on the date of purchase, whether the vehicle is new or used, accounting periods, transitional rules and the business tax position.
DriveSmart provides factual comparison data and does not recommend cars or rank cars as best or worst.
DriveSmart reviews this page whenever HMRC or OZEV announce significant changes to the legislation or grant schemes affecting this topic.
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