EIM23220 - Car benefit: repayment of capital contribution: example

These examples illustrates the guidance at EIM23193.

Example 1

The employer purchases a car for £20,000 to which the employee contributes £4,000. The car is sold after two years for £12,000. Under the terms of the agreement the employee is entitled to a repayment of that proportion of his or her original contribution that the sale proceeds bear to the original cost of the car. The repayment of £2,400 (£4,000 x 12/20) is not chargeable to tax as employment income.

The amount carried forward for car benefit purposes during the two years after the deduction for capital contributions at Step 3 is £16,000.

Note that it makes no difference whether or not the employee acquires part ownership. The treatment is the same in both cases because part ownership is not mentioned in the legislation. The right to a repayment comes from the contract and is not affected by any part ownership the employee may have acquired.

Example 2

In the situation above, the employer agrees to reply £3,000 to the employee when the car is resold. The employee’s contribution is £4,000 less the £3,000 they are guaranteed to recover when the car is sold, i.e. £1,000.

The £3,000 is merely a loan, not a capital contribution.

The amount carried forward from Step 3 for car benefit purposes during the two years is £19,000.