Eamon Ryan
Question:173. Deputy Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if the budget €50,000 limit on benefit-in-kind exemption for electric vehicles will apply retrospectively to vehicles purchased prior to budget day. [42369/18]
View answerTuesday, 16 October 2018
Questions (173)
Written answers
Benefit in kind is chargeable where, by reason of employment, a car or van is made available (without a transfer of ownership) to an employee and the car or van is, during the tax year, available either for that individual’s private use or to his or her family or household.
In Finance Act 2017, I provided an exemption from benefit in kind in relation to electric cars and vans provided to an employee in the tax year 2018. In Budget 2019, I announced that the exemption from benefit in kind would be extended until 31 December 2021, and that a cap of €50,000 on the value of an electric car or van that can be fully relieved from benefit in kind will be imposed. Therefore, where the original market value of the electric car or van exceeds €50,000, the benefit in kind charge will be calculated in the usual manner but by reference to the amount in excess of €50,000.
As benefit in kind is calculated for each tax year during which the vehicle is made available, this cap will apply to all electric cars and vans made available to employees in the tax years 2019 to 2021, where the original market value of the vehicle exceeded €50,000.