Van tax clarity concern after double cab pick-up change

Fleets are being urged to consider HMRC guidance around the use of crew panel vans after the tax status of double cab pick-ups was changed in the Budget.

Double cab pick-up trucks will be treated as company cars for tax purposes, dramatically increasing benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax paid by drivers and the costs incurred by employers, from next year. 

The change has sparked concern amongst some fleet decision-makers, asking what this may mean for double crew panel vans used by thousands of businesses in the UK.

David Quartermain, partner at Innovation Professional Services, explained that the changes announced in the Budget were specific to double cab pick-ups.

HMRC guidance defines the vehicle as having a front passenger cab that contains a second row of seats and is capable of seating about four passengers, plus the driver, along with having four doors capable of being opened independently, whether the rear doors are hinged at the front or the rear. Two door versions are normally accepted to be vans.

It also suggests that there should be an uncovered pick-up area behind the passenger cab.

“There is no change to the classification of other ‘vans’,” said Quartermain.