Commercial vehicle windows & tax

[dilby]

Hi everyone - my accountant is currently away for a little over 2 weeks and am in a hurry to source a new van which I’m finding confusing and was hoping some kind folks could help.

I am a videographer who travels around filming for clients, and need a van to fit my gear. However I regularly travel with a crew and need two rows of seats. There are several of these locally I’ve found that fit the bill but they all have windows next to the second row of seats, and from what I can read that means I can’t claim it as a business vehicle. Of course to me this seems odd, as having a growing business with bigger jobs is the very reason I need more seats, and I don’t really like the idea of putting people in the back without windows, makes me feel like a people smuggler or drug runner and I’m surpised it’s encouraged!

To confuse me more, it seems all my competitors have vans with windows in the back and they are clearly signwritten for the business; so is the assumption that they aren’t claiming for these or that it’s one of those grey area laws that there is more ifs and buts for me to consider? Or is it simply as black and white as I’ve stated?

And then to make matters even murkier, I’ve read that a double cab pickup truck is fine if it has windows in the back (not sure why a different shape changes everything) but is it correct that that’s my only way to have people in the back who can see outside? (Outside of having an electric vehicle, which from what i can understand isn’t very practical for larger loads at the moment.)

(I have a VAT registered limited company)

Thanks!

[piecost76]

I think you are confusing Van BIK with VAT.

A crew cab van is now classed as a car for BIK purposes, regardless of its commercial vehicle N1 category which enables you to run it as a business vehicle.

https://www.donaldreid.co.uk/latest/blog/van-or-ca...

If BIK doesn't apply to you then you can use a windowed van through your business.

[stinkyspanner]

piecost76 said:

I think you are confusing Van BIK with VAT.

A crew cab van is now classed as a car for BIK purposes, regardless of its commercial vehicle N1 category which enables you to run it as a business vehicle.

https://www.donaldreid.co.uk/latest/blog/van-or-ca...

If BIK doesn't apply to you then you can use a windowed van through your business.

I thought that idea got scrapped as quickly as it appeared

[Inverness]

stinkyspanner said:

piecost76 said:

I think you are confusing Van BIK with VAT.

A crew cab van is now classed as a car for BIK purposes, regardless of its commercial vehicle N1 category which enables you to run it as a business vehicle.

https://www.donaldreid.co.uk/latest/blog/van-or-ca...

If BIK doesn't apply to you then you can use a windowed van through your business.

I thought that idea got scrapped as quickly as it appeared

I did as well.

When it comes to commercial vehicles it is mine field for both VAT and BIK. If you want a Kombi van (what ford call vans with a second row of seats) you do have to be careful, as it's also about how big the area for carrying your commercial stuff is.

One of the things that annoyed the TAX man was seeing these vehicles in the local retail park car parks with child seats in the back, and blatantly being used as the family car.

Some years back I had an imported F150 pickup with only 2 doors and one front row of seats, this meet all the criteria for a commercial vehicle so I could claim all VAT and pay no BIK, my accountant told me to pay the BIK as it was not worth having an argument with HMRC and as they put it, annoying the hornets nest! So you might not even get a straight answer from your accoutant.

[piecost76]

stinkyspanner said:

piecost76 said:

I think you are confusing Van BIK with VAT.

A crew cab van is now classed as a car for BIK purposes, regardless of its commercial vehicle N1 category which enables you to run it as a business vehicle.

https://www.donaldreid.co.uk/latest/blog/van-or-ca...

If BIK doesn't apply to you then you can use a windowed van through your business.

I thought that idea got scrapped as quickly as it appeared

The policy reversal was for the double cab pickups, not Combi/Crew Vans. The Coca Cola case involved a VW Transporter T32 SWB Combi Vans and now HMRC has declared that a Combi/Crew van is dual purpose so therefore cannot be classed as a Van for BIK. A "Van" has to be designed primarily for the carriage of goods or burden which a Combi is not if it's main purpose (goods and/or passengers) is ambiguous.

Confused?

Remember, these rules are just for BIK tax, not you running the van through your business so as long as you don't use the van for personal journeys then you're fine!