Private use of employer provided vans

Overview

If you supply your employee with an employer provided van for private use, this is a Benefit in Kind (BIK). You must deduct Income Tax, Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and Universal Social Charge (USC) for this through payroll.

This is calculated by using the cash equivalent of the employer provided van.

Note

For the purposes of this section of the website, an ‘employer provided van’ refers to all vans provided to employees from their employer.

A van is a vehicle which:

• is made solely or mainly for the transport of goods
• has a roofed area behind the driver’s seat
• has no side windows or seating fitted in the roofed area.
• and
• has a gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3,500 kilograms.

If a vehicle does not meet all the criteria above, the vehicle may be a car for tax purposes. Please see Private use of employer provided vehicles for further information.

This section is only applicable where ownership of the van does not transfer to the employee. If you transfer the van to your employee, general BIK rules shall apply. For further information, please see the Valuation of benefits section.

If you pay an allowance to an employee to allow them to purchase a van, this will be taxable salary and this section shall not apply.

For further details of allowances, please see Round sum allowances.

No tax is due if you refund your employee expenses for the running of their own van. The expenses must have been incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of their employment.

Next: Calculating the cash equivalent of employer provided vans