IF you’re looking for innovative ways to save company car tax, then consider this: a MINI Clubvan.
A van you say? Yes, but not just any van.
You get a Clubvan for virtually no company car tax – because vans have a flat rate applied to them
A MINI van. Like the sixties Austin Mini Van but thoroughly updated and as hip as the Mini was in the sixties.
The MINI Clubvan is now on sale. It’s basically the MINI Clubman but with the rear windows blanked with polycarbonate reinforcement, a load bay and a bulkhead.
That apart, it’s pure MINI.
So perfect for those who need transport during the week, but want to pursue outdoor sports at the weekend (triathletes, and so on): you stick the bike securely in the back and off you go.
But the real beauty is that you get a MINI for virtually no company car tax. Because it’s classed as a van. And vans have a flat rate of company car tax applied to them. Interested?
That means the MINI Clubvan has a benefit in kind of £3000. So for a 20% tax payer, that’s £600 a year; for a 40% tax payer it’s £1200.
So even if you specified the MINI Clubvan Cooper D model, added a Pepper Pack (£975) and Media Pack (£1340) plus some rather fancy Leather Punch interior trim (£920) and maxed out the alloys to 17 inches (£1130) bringing the price up to around the £22,000 mark, you’d still pay company car tax on a benefit in kind of £3000.
Compare that to a MINI Clubman Cooper D Bond Street with a standard high spec and similar price and the benefit in kind value for company car tax purposes rises to £4,758.
- For a 20% tax payer the company car tax would be £952
- For a 40% tax payer the company car tax would be £1,903
I asked Adam Harley, who is head of MINI Business Partnership sales, for his view on whether the MINI Clubvan might make a suitable company car.
“I think for small businesses you could find drivers asking for the Clubvan as their company car, partly due to lifestyle preference and partly because of the company car tax savings,” Adam told me.
“But then small businesses have the flexibility to do that because everything is done on direct negotiation. For the larger corporate fleets I don’t really see it being an option because the Clubvan won’t be on the company car choice list.”
If you want a MINI Clubvan to save on company car tax, though, you’ll have to be quick. Only 600 are slated for sale in 2013 and Adam says 200 have already been sold.
No wonder. It looks good. Whether you’re a company car user or need it as a van for business.
