HMRC has apologised after making an error calculating the new advisory electricity rate (AER) for charging an electric company car on the public network.

A new rate for home charging and a new rate for public charging, replacing a single pence per mile (ppm) reimbursement rate for drivers of electric company cars, were published by tax officials on Friday (August 22). 

However, HMRC has admitted to making a mistake in calculating the new AER for public charging, when it originally published the new advisory fuel rates (AFRs) for company cars, effective from September 1.   

Electric vehicle (EV) company car drivers will still be reimbursed 8ppm for home charging but will now receive more than the 12ppm for public charging HMRC originally reported.

Using an electrical efficiency miles per kilowatt-hour (weighted by car sales) of 3.59 kWh, with an electricity cost per kilowatt-hour of 51p, the public charging AER should have been 14ppm.

An HMRC spokesperson told Fleet News: “We’ve corrected this figure on our guidance page and apologise for any confusion caused.”

The 51p cost is based on ‘slow or fast public charge cost per kilowatt-hour’ derived from the Zapmap public charging price index monthly published figure for slow or fast chargers (charging speed less than 50 kilowatts), which is then uprated with the latest estimate of electricity prices from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

With the new public charging reimbursement rate not based on what a company car driver would have to pay at an ultra-fast charger, HMRC says that a higher amount than the advisory rates can be used as long as you can show that the fuel cost per mile is higher.

Creating an advisory electricity rate for home charging and a higher rate for public charging has been welcomed by the fleet and leasing industry.

Source: Fleet News