Reader TTS

EXPERTS ARE URGING DRIVERS TO MAKE USE OF LOW-TAX LOOPHOLES OVER THE COMING YEARS AFTER LABOUR PARTY GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED IT WOULD BE CHANGING THE TERMS OF THE ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE (ZEV)

MANDATE. 08:40, 29 May 2025 Drivers have been handed a three-year deadline for car tax advantages before facing a 100 per cent cost hike. Experts are urging drivers to make use of low-tax

loopholes over the coming years after Labour Party government announced it would be changing the terms of the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Drivers will be able to benefit from

"favourable" Benefit-in-Kind tax charges - but road experts say the BiK rate for some plug-in hybrid models could more than double from the start of 2028/29. At present, the BMW

330e plug-in hybrid attracts a BiK tax of nine per cent, meaning a 40 per cent taxpayer will be charged £1,734 per year. In the coming years, the BMW 330e will rise by one per cent each year

to 11 per cent, costing someone £2,120. READ MORE FOREIGN OFFICE ISSUES 'IMPORTANT' WARNING FOR UK TOURISTS 'WHO HAVE HEALTH CONDITION' Lee Brown, managing director of

Grosvenor, warned that company car drivers should not be "lulled into a false sense of security" with plug-in hybrids as they could be stung with expensive costs in just three

years. Article continues below He added: "There may be drivers who are still not ready for a fully electric car in three years' time and for these drivers, despite the escalation

in rates, a plug-in hybrid will continue to attract lower BIK tax than many have been accustomed to paying over the years for petrol and diesel models. "Also, the choice of fully petrol

or diesel models will have declined so significantly due to the ZEV mandate that PHEVs will be the primary alternative to a BEV until they are removed from sale." Mr Brown concluded,

saying: "However, we would advise fleet managers to begin reducing the choice of plug-in hybrids on their car policies before the start of the 2028/29 tax year in anticipation of these

changes, and start moving towards a fully electric choice list, wherever possible. Article continues below "This is because, while plug-in hybrids play a useful role in helping fleets

to decarbonise, and currently provide a better Benefit-in-Kind tax than traditional petrol and diesel cars, they really have a limited window before fleets should move fully to electric

cars. "Of course, they will continue to be on sale until 2035 and will provide a better Benefit-in-Kind choice than a conventional petrol or diesel car, but the real tax advantages are

time-limited."