NEW HMRC RULES ON DOUBLE CAB PICK UPS FROM 1 JULY 2024 HAVE BEEN SCRAPPED

“New rules that would have seen company car benefit-in-kind tax charges applied to double-cab pick-ups have been scrapped by HMRC a week after them being announced. The U-turn follows HMRC’s decision to update guidance on double-cab pick-up trucks following a Court of Appeal judgement in 2020. Just last week, the Treasury announced that from 1 July this year double-cab pick-ups would no longer be taxed as goods vehicles, but would instead be classed as cars for the purposes of calculating capital allowances and benefit-in-kind (BiK) liabilities for drivers. In an announcement yesterday (19 February 2024), the government says it has “listened carefully to views from farmers and the motoring industry” over the potential impacts of last week’s changes, and withdrawn the new guidance. This means that double-cab pick-ups will continue to be classified as commercial vehicles for BiK company car tax, according to the Treasury statement. The government says it has acknowledged that its new guidance would have an effect “not consistent” with its broader objectives of supporting farmers and the automotive industry, although it makes no attempt to explain why this fact wasn’t clear last week when the changes were announced.”