New HMRC VAT road fuel scale charges for 2012/13

Story: Ralph | Posted 5 May 2012 | In Budget 2012, Business Car Management, Business Mileage, Fuel, Tax, Tax Allowances

Tagged with: company cars, company pays for private fuel, HMRC, HMRC fuel scale charges, private fuel

Business woman working out fuel scale charge

Use the new fuel scale charges to work out the VAT owed on supplying free fuel to company car drivers

Author: Ralph Morton

HMRC has just announced the new fuel scale charge for 2012/13 – it’s vital if your business supplies free fuel to your company car drivers.

Now, of course, your employee who benefits from the company car and the free fuel provided will have to pay the benefit in kind tax on that.

But there’s a little more taxation to go. You can claim for all the VAT on the fuel provided – without the need to laboriously work out what was for business and private usage.

However, the VAT-man gets the private element back by applying the HMRC’s VAT fuel scale charges.

The new VAT fuel scale charges for 2012/13 apply to all accounting periods beginning on 01 May 2012 or from that point onwards.

Like company car tax, the fuel scale charges are based on CO2 emissions and rise in steps of 5% from 120g/km or less to 225g/km and over. If the company car in question has CO2 emissions between bands, just round down.

The VAT can be accounted for either monthly, quarterly or yearly – all three scale charges are shown below.