SE63660 – Tax treatment of fire officers: chargeable benefit: provided vehicles:– emergency vehicles and ordinary cars
The Fire Service may provide a vehicle to a fire officer for use
in travel between home and fire station and to attend incidents.
If the vehicle is fitted with a fixed flashing light it is
classed as an emergency vehicle and is considered to be unsuitable
for use as a private vehicle (
SE23043). The car benefit charge in
Section 157 ICTA 1988 does not apply to such vehicles. If the
vehicle is also used for private purposes there is a residual
liability to charge under Section 154 ICTA 1988 (
SE21608 onwards).
On the other hand, if a fire officer is provided with an
ordinary saloon car, to which the driver may attach a de-mountable
flashing light, the car is no different from any other except when
attending an emergency. Consequently a car benefit charge applies (
SE23001).
Boyd and Kerr v Brown (SpC333)
Two fire officers in Northern Ireland were provided with
ordinary saloon cars by the Northern Ireland Fire Service. The cars
were used primarily to transport the officers from their
home/rented accommodation to the fire stations at which they were
based and for travel within their duty areas, but they were also
available for the officers to travel directly from home/rented
accommodation to an incident, if they were called out whilst on
standby duty. The Northern Ireland Fire Service met all the running
cost of the vehicles. The officers were not permitted to use the
vehicles when off duty.
Due to the security situation in Northern Ireland the cars
provided to the two officers had de- mountable blue flashing lights
so that they could not be identified as emergency vehicles. When
attending an incident the flashing light would be placed on the
roof. Although they were not recognisable as emergency vehicles, in
the particular circumstances and location of this case, it was
agreed that the Inland Revenue would not argue for a car benefit
charge but only for a residual benefit charge under Section
154.
The Special Commissioners found that:
- the fire station at which each officer was based was his permanent workplace,
- consequently travel from home/rented accommodation to the fire station was classed as ordinary commuting (see SE32055) and provision of a vehicle for this purpose constituted a taxable benefit,
- the vehicles were provided primarily for Northern Ireland Fire Service purposes and any benefit to the officers was incidental to that,
- the officers did not use the vehicles on days when they were off-duty, so the benefit charge should be apportioned on the basis of whole days, to exclude off duty days,
- there should be a deduction under Section 156(8) ICTA 1988 from the apportioned benefit charge, to reflect the proportion of business mileage relative to the private mileage on journeys between the officers’ home/rented accommodation and the fire station.
Summary
The decision in Boyd and Kerr reflected the unusual circumstances of the case. In particular:
- where a fire officer is provided with an ordinary saloon car, rather than an emergency vehicle, a car benefit charge applies normally. In Boyd and Kerr it was agreed that, instead of a car benefit charge, there was a charge under the general rules for residual benefits,
- the Northern Ireland Fire Service rules did not permit the officers to use the vehicles on off-duty days and it was found as fact by the Commissioners that they did not do so. As a result the Commissioners decided to apportion the benefit. If it had been found that the cars were available for the officers to use on off-duty days, whether or not they were actually used, there would have been be no basis for an apportionment of the benefit.
The decision in Boyd and Kerr has no effect on other cases where a Fire Service employer provides a car to a fire officer, unless the same circumstances apply. We think that is unlikely.
