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Car insurance guide - is 'free' fuel worth it?
If you have a company car scheme to get your head round, use the Whatcar? guide to company cars to help make sense of it all.
We want to help you wherever we can so get a quote and see if we can save you money.
Is 'free' fuel worth it?
The offer of free fuel for your company car seems too good for many drivers to resist. However, nothing comes for free and it’s also classed as a taxable benefit. So how can you work out if it’s worth filling the tank yourself instead?
- Work out your car’s tax liability as you would for company car tax purposes. We’ll take a figure of 18% as an example.
- Take this percentage and multiply it by £14,400, a notional figure set by the taxman: £14,400 x 18% = £2592.
- Multiply this by your rate of income tax (22% or 40%) to calculate your annual tax bill for ‘free’ fuel: £2592 x 22% = £570.
- Compare this figure with how much it would cost you to fuel your own car for your expected annual mileage. If personal fuel works out more expensive than the tax, ask whether your employer will make an additional salary contribution to compensate for you opting out of the fuel scheme.
Churchill Motor Insurance cover is underwritten by Churchill Insurance Company Limited. Churchill Insurance Company Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.