Reviewed by Mustafa Bilgic
Founder, WebCalculator
Van figures and rules from GOV.UK and HMRC's Employment Income Manual (EIM22700 onwards), checked on 25 September 2026. Estimates only, not tax advice.
If you can use a company van for private trips, HMRC adds a flat £4,170 to your taxable pay for 2026/27, plus £798 if your employer pays for private fuel. Tell us how you use the van to see the taxable benefit, the Income Tax it costs you and the National Insurance your employer pays.
Benefit in kind for 2026/27
A company van is taxed as a benefit in kind when you can use it for private journeys. With a company car, the taxable value depends on things like how much the car would cost to buy and its CO2 emissions. A van has a flat figure instead, the van benefit charge, which is £4,170 for 2026/27 (£4,020 for 2025/26). If your employer also pays for fuel for private trips, a van fuel benefit charge of £798 is added (£769 for 2025/26).
You pay Income Tax on the benefit, which your employer normally collects through PAYE. You do not usually pay National Insurance on a benefit: your employer reports the van on form P11D and pays Class 1A National Insurance on its value, at 15% for 2026/27.
| 2026/27 | Taxable value | Tax at 20% | Tax at 40% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van benefit | £4,170 | £834 | £1,668 |
| Van fuel benefit | £798 | £159.60 | £319.20 |
| Van and fuel | £4,968 | £993.60 | £1,987.20 |
| Zero emission van | £0 | £0 | £0 |
No benefit arises if the van is only used for business journeys. It is also nil when the only private use is ordinary commuting plus insignificant other private use, such as a slight detour to pick up a newspaper on the way to work. HMRC calls this the restricted private use condition. Pool vans are exempt too, but only if they meet all of HMRC's conditions, which include being used by more than one employee and not normally being kept at or near anyone's home.
A zero emission van, one that cannot emit any CO2 when driven, has a nil van benefit charge from 2021/22 onwards and no van fuel charge. A fully electric company van can therefore be used privately with no van benefit charge.
The £4,170 can be reduced in three ways, applied in this order:
The fuel charge follows its own rules. It is reduced for unavailable days, for days after free private fuel is withdrawn for good, and for sharing, but not by payments for private use of the van. It only drops to nil if you pay back the whole cost of all private fuel, commuting included, or if fuel is provided only for business travel.
For a company car, see the P11D company car calculator. For other perks, the benefit in kind calculator turns any taxable value into tax. If you use your own vehicle for work, the mileage allowance calculator shows what you can be paid tax-free, and the Income Tax calculator shows your overall bill.
The van benefit charge is £4,170 for 2026/27, up from £4,020 in 2025/26. If your employer pays for private fuel, the van fuel benefit charge of £798 is added, making £4,968 in total.
The taxable value times your Income Tax rate. On the full £4,170 that is £834 a year for a basic rate taxpayer and £1,668 for a higher rate taxpayer. With private fuel as well, it is £993.60 and £1,987.20.
No. A zero emission van has a nil van benefit charge from 2021/22 onwards, and there is no van fuel benefit charge for it, so the benefit in kind is £0.
Not if your only private use is ordinary commuting plus insignificant other private use, such as a small detour on the way to work. This is the restricted private use condition, and the charge is nil when it is met.
Yes: for days the van was unavailable (before you had it, after it went, or breaks of 30 days or more in a row), for sharing with other employees, and by any amount you are required to pay for private use. Payments cannot take the charge below £0.
Your employer pays Class 1A National Insurance on the value of the benefit, at 15% for 2026/27, and reports the van on form P11D. You do not usually pay National Insurance on benefits, only Income Tax.