Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 118

Availability for private use

Section 118 explains what is meant by a car or van being "available for private use" and defines "private use" for the purposes of the company car and van benefit rules.

• A car or van provided to an employee or their family/household member is automatically treated as available for private use unless both conditions below are met.
• The terms on which the vehicle is made available must explicitly prohibit private use, and the vehicle must not actually be used privately during the tax year.
• Both conditions must apply together — a prohibition alone is not enough if private use still occurs, and absence of private use is not enough without a formal prohibition.
• "Private use" means any use of the vehicle other than for the employee's business travel.