Green Cars Save tax & save the planet!

Green Cars – Lets face it, we all want to pay less tax, and I believe most of us would like to save the planet too – if we knew how!

Well guess what – you can do both! There are several tax advantages to going green and being more environmentally friendly. We’ll be talking about different ways in future blog articles, so make sure you come back regularly (or better still sign up).

For now we’re going to talk about a real life example of how a small business has saved tax and done a little bit for saving the planet too.  And the good thing about it is that this is something that many businesses can do.

Simply put this business bought a low emission car (a cute mini, in fact). As the CO2 emissions were low enough, the business was able to claim for the full cost of buying the car against its taxable profit.  Due to improved fuel efficiency – the owner reduced their fuel bills (saving even more money) and by driving a more environmentally friendly car they also did their bit towards saving the planet – wins all round!

There is a tax charge for having the use of a Company Car; but because the CO2 emissions are low, this is kept as low as possible.

And if like us you like to know about the numbers, the total net tax saved – £3,964  – a handy sum to have in your own pocket rather than the taxman’s.

If you’re interested in doing something similar have a look here at what cars might be an option, and give us a call to work out all the details for you. Be careful though, as the requirements are changing, and the limits and allowances are set to change for new tax years (after April 2013).

By Tracey Kelk