Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 283

Exclusion from section 281 of taxable car and van facilities

Section 283 ensures that the relocation expenses exemption under section 281 does not apply to company cars and vans that are also made available for private use, so that these vehicles remain subject to the normal car and van benefit-in-kind rules.

• A car or van provided in connection with a relocation is excluded from the section 281 exemption if it is also made available for private use beyond the relocation journey itself.
• The exclusion applies where the vehicle is provided by reason of the employee's employment and no transfer of ownership takes place — in other words, the employee does not become the owner of the vehicle.
• Where this exclusion applies, the car or van will instead be taxed under the normal company car and van benefit-in-kind rules in Chapter 6 of Part 3 of the Act.
• The definitions of "car", "van", "made available by reason of employment" and "availability for private use" are taken from sections 115, 117 and 118 respectively, which are the same definitions used for the general taxable benefits rules on cars and vans.