The company purchased a Land Rover Defender available to the director for private use.
Customs accepted it was a commercial vehicle for private use & VAT was recovered. For P11D purposes, is that good enough? Do we report a van benefit? Looking at the make & model & the HMRC views on what constitites a car, tis particular model would appear to be a car.
Is it possible to be a van for VAT purposes but a car for tax purposes? And if so, why?
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Is it possible to be a van for VAT purposes but a car for tax purposes?
Yes.
And if so, why?
Because it is different legislation.
I might disagree. It could be a van. We are not given enough details to determine whether it is a van or car for either purpose.
What's the class of vehicle per the V5? M1 or N1? M1 = car, N1 = van, for direct tax purposes.
has it got seats in the rear....back windows...is its main purpose carrying goods or passengers...answer those and you are likely to have your answer.....
Seats and windows are only releavnt for VAT purposes, and those tests are trumped when the maximum payload exceeds one tonne.
Might that be because you didn't ask? The OP did say that it had been accepted by HMRC (implicitly) as not being a car.
indeed Dick...I didn't....which kinda makes your statement regarding the payload trumping the other factors irrelevant until we know the facts....
I just wanted to clarify the 'facts'....the implication is that this has been accepted by C&E...but is that because the VAT return has not been queried...only the OP can answer that...
has he...? I guess it depends on OP's definition of 'customs accepted'...in writing as a response to a direct question or merely an assumption on the basis that the respective VAT return was not queried....I guess you must have a better crystal ball than me....
It has 7 seats & rear windows.
I'm not sure about the payload - but is that relevant & if so why?
Yes. Because the VAT legislation says so.
Are you sure about the N1 classification? What you are describing sounds like M1
It's the other way around. N1 classification means that it is a van for direct purposes "of a construction primarily suited to the conveyance of goods or burden".
The fact that it is N1 would also suggest a payload in excess of one tonne though, which would make it a van (or rather not a car) for VAT purposes.
sounds like a car....what details were provided to the VAT office to support the VAT claim - was the vehicle model accurately detailed....
I would like to think that the DVLA classification was decisive,
ie. DVLA say M1 = its a car for tax purposes
DVLA say N1 = its a van for tax purposes
But I have seen indications that HMRC are not prepared to accept the above definition for BIK purposes, and instead are looking at a 1 tonne payload benchmark figure to determine car or van.
Some vehicles that have a payload of less than 1 tonne are classified as N1 by DVLA but being less than 1 tonne payload sets HMRC off on saying therefore it is a car and liable to BIK as a car rather than a van.
DVLA definition is not tax legislation....
if its primary function is to carry people then its probably a car (unless one of the exceptions apply) - what did you actually say to VAT office about the vehicle to give them the impression it was a van....