Q&A: company credit cards and EV charging

What is the correct treatment where an employer provides an employee with a company credit card, and it is used to pay for roadside charging of an electric company car?

There will be no taxable benefit on the employee and no National Insurance contribution (NIC) charge. A credit card is not a specific means or facility for providing electricity but rather a credit token.

Remember that electricity is not a fuel for fuel benefit purposes under the law.

This exemption prevents there being a benefit under ITEPA 2003, which applies to payments under credit cards or other credit tokens.

This is not to be confused with the provision of electricity by an employer via a workplace charging point.

This is exempt under ITEPA 2003 as a specific facility or means of providing electricity to a company car. The specific facility or means of providing electricity is not considered a fuel benefit under ITEPA 2003 and is treated as an exemption as a liability in connection with a taxable car.

The liability for class 1 NIC exists where the credit card is paying liabilities for the benefit of the earner.

No Class 1 NIC arises on business expenses (exempted under Schedule 3, Social Security (Contributions) Regulations 2001/1004) or where a strange pre-purchase performance is given by the employee whereby the employee informs the seller that they are purchasing the goods or services on behalf of their employer.

This principle was established in the Overdrive case which held that the effect of telling the seller that the fuel is being purchased on behalf of the employer means that, rather than purchasing the fuel personally, the employee is now effectively acting as an agent for the employer.

By purchasing the electricity on behalf of the company, they are no longer using the company credit card to pay for a personal liability but rather are being provided with fuel by their employer.

Overdrive was a 1991 case regarding the purchase of petrol and so pre-dates the now more common usage of electricity for cars. As with the income tax rules, electricity is not a fuel for NIC purposes so this pre-purchase performance does not need to be undertaken.

If you have questions on building your ESG or CSR stance, visit BrAInbox today where you can find answers to questions like How is ESG different from corporate social responsibility?

Read more from the latest BrAInbox Business News update:

Rolled up holiday pay set to return: what exactly is it?

UK gender pay gap falls at fastest pace since 2017

Asbestos conman ordered to pay back £82,100

HMRC advisory fuel rates for company car users from 1 June 2023