Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 248A

Emergency vehicles

Section 248A provides an income tax exemption for the benefit of having an emergency vehicle made available to employees of emergency services, provided the vehicle is mainly for business use and private use is restricted to on-call duties and commuting.

• Emergency service employees who take their work vehicles home so they can respond quickly to emergencies are exempt from income tax on the benefit of that vehicle, provided private use is limited to on-call and commuting journeys.
• An emergency vehicle is one used to respond to emergencies that either carries a fixed flashing light or would do so but for the security risk of identifying its users as emergency service workers.
• The exemption covers employees of the police, fire and rescue services, and ambulance or paramedic services, and the Treasury may amend this list by order.
• To qualify, the employee must be liable as part of normal duties to be called upon to respond to emergencies, and commuting means travelling to and from work in the vehicle so it is available for emergency response.