You need to tell HMRC if you provide company cars to your employees by filling in form P46 (Car). If you can’t do this through your payroll software, use the HMRC PAYE Online service.

You need to tell HMRC about employees’ company cars, vans or other vehicles by filling in form P46 (Car)

To send form P46 (Car), you can:

• use HMRC’s PAYE Online service for employers
• use commercial payroll software
• use HMRC’s Basic PAYE Tools
• download and fill in a paper version (you can’t use this to tell HMRC about replacement cars)

You need to tell HMRC if you provide any cars for private use by company directors or employees.

‘Private use’ includes employees’ journeys between home and work, unless they’re travelling to a temporary place of work.

You’ll also need to report on your end-of-year forms and pay Class 1A National Insurance on the value of the car benefit.

If you replace a company car, you can tell HMRC straight away by submitting the new details online. Otherwise, you’ll have to report the change on your end-of-year forms.

Other reporting requirements

You also need to tell HMRC if:

• you stop providing a company car
• you provide someone with an additional car, available for private use
• someone you provide a car starts earning at a rate of £8,500 or more

Exceptions

You don’t need to tell HMRC if you provide:

• ‘pool’ cars, which are used by more than one employee for business purposes, and normally kept on your premises
• cars adapted for use by employees with a disability, if the only private use is for journeys between home and work
• emergency vehicles used only by on-call employees of the police, fire and rescue, ambulance or paramedic services

When you need to tell HMRC

There are 4 deadlines for sending in form P46 (Car), depending on when the change to company cars you provide happens.

When the change takes place
When you need to tell HMRC by

6 January to 5 April
3 May

6 April to 5 July
2 August

6 July to 5 October
2 November

6 October to 5 January
2 February