We may have reached the point where the tax treatment for this type of vehicle is going to be settled and agreed. At least for a short time. Possibly.
Some readers may remember, under the Conservative government, that HMRC issued tax guidance in February 2024 announcing that double cabs with a payload of one tonne or more would be treated as cars rather than goods vehicles for both capital allowances and Benefit-in-Kind purposes with effect from 1 July 2024.
The move was meant to address a supposed loophole whereby some double-cab pickup vehicles were treated as vans and consequently were subject to less tax than on traditional company cars. That announcement was scrapped around a week later when members of the farming and motoring sectors raised their concerns.
In the Budget papers released on Wednesday, it was confirmed that these vehicles will be treated as cars starting on 1 April 2025 for corporation tax and on 6 April 2025 for income tax. During that small period between 1 April 2025 and 6 April 2025, the vehicle will, technically, be a car and a van – which perhaps it always was.
