Mark McLaughlin points out that determining whether a company car is unavailable for private use is perhaps not as straightforward as it should be.
The income tax charge for an employee on the benefit-in-kind of a car provided by the employer (referred to here as a ‘company’ car for convenience) can be potentially expensive. The benefit-in-kind calculation is beyond the scope of this article but is broadly based on the car’s list price and carbon dioxide emissions.
What does ‘available’ mean?
The car benefit legislation applies if the car is made available to an employee (or member of the employee’s family or household), is made available by reason of the employment, and is available for the employee’s (or member’s) private use (ITEPA 2003, s 114(1)).
Note that a key condition for a company car benefit-in-kind charge
