Private use of employer-provided vehicles
Overview
Your employee may receive a car for private use because they are employed by you. Where this happens, your employee must pay Income Tax, Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and Universal Social Charge (USC) for that private use.
Travel to and from work is generally considered private use.
Your employee will usually have to have received a car from you to be liable for this charge. However, they will also be liable if they receive a car because they are employed by you (for example, for sponsorship purposes) from:
- a connected party
- or
- a third party.
The information in this section applies to you whether you are a company, a partnership or a sole trader.
Note
For the purposes of this section of the website, an ‘employer-provided vehicle’ refers to all cars provided to employees from their employer.
A ‘car’ can be any car within the ordinary meaning of the word, as well as crew cabs and jeeps. It does not include:
- motor-cycles less than 410kg
- vans (please see Private Use of Company Vans)
- and
- vehicles not commonly used as a private vehicle and unsuitable for such use, for example, hearses and lorries.
This section is only applicable where ownership of the car does not transfer to the employee. If you transfer the car to your employee, general Benefit in Kind (BIK) rules shall apply. For further information, please see valuation of benefits.
If you pay an allowance to an employee to allow them to purchase a car, this will be taxable salary. This section will not apply.
Revenue introduced a concessionary measure regarding travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information, please see Employer-provided vehicles in BIK changes during COVID-19 restriction.
Next: How to calculate the taxable benefit