Sending car data to HMRC: payrolling car benefit and car fuel benefit
Find out how to report employee or director car benefits to HMRC where car and fuel benefits are payrolled.
Overview
Employers registered to payroll employees taxable benefits and expenses must send the taxable amounts to HMRC, using a Full Payment Submission (FPS).
From 6 April 2017 registered employers can also voluntarily send HMRC information about the cars employees use. This is similar to sending information on form P46 (Car) by employers who do not do payrolling.
From 6 April 2018, this information will be mandatory if you’re an employer registered to use the payrolling service where a car and car fuel are made available to an employee.
Employers who are not registered to payroll employees taxable benefits and expenses by 6 April must continue to complete form P46 (Car).
Find out what information to send
The list below shows what information is needed (if your payroll software is compatible):
- make and model of car
- date first registered
- carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
- zero emission mileage
- fuel type
- car identifier
- calculated price
- date car available from
- date car available to
- cash equivalent or relevant amount
- date free fuel provided
- cash equivalent or the earnings foregone for fuel
- date free fuel withdrawn
- amendment indicator
Completing the fields
The headings below show you what information to submit in the first FPS that includes payrolled tax.
Make and model of car
Enter the make and model of the car provided.
CO2 emissions
Enter the approved CO2 emissions figure shown on the Vehicle registration certificate (V5C). The CO2 value does not apply to:
- cars first registered before 1998
- some rare car models imported from overseas
For these cars enter ‘X’ in this field.
Date first registered
The date entered must be today’s date or earlier. The date first registered can be found on your V5C.
Zero emission Mileage
From 2020 to 2021 if a car has a CO2 figure of 1-50g/km you will need to provide the cars zero emission mileage. This is the maximum distance in miles that can be driven in electric mode without recharging the battery.
Zero emission mileage can be obtained from the car leasing firm or fleet provider.
If you own the vehicle, the zero emission mileage figure can be found on your vehicle’s Certificate of Conformity.
Fuel type
If you’re calculating taxable value for the 2019 to 2020 tax year select:
- ‘F’ for diesel cars that meet Euro standard 6 d (also known as RDE2)
- ‘D’ for all other diesel cars
- ‘A’ for all other cars
For 2019 to 2020 information will be available from the Driver Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) so you can identify whether a car meets Euro standard 6d through their online Vehicle Enquiry Service for cars manufactured after September 2018. Euro standard 6d information is available on the form V5C for cars registered from 1 September 2018 onwards.
Car identifier
This field helps you identify which car you’ve allocated to an employee, for example where the same models are provided. We recommend you record the car registration number.
Calculated price
Enter the calculated price. The calculated price is the list price of the car added to the price of any accessories. Then subtract any capital contribution paid by the employee. Payments for private use or amounts ‘made good’ are not taken into account in this calculation.
Date car available from
Enter the date the car was first made available on the next FPS that the employee is paid. You should enter 6 April in the first FPS if the car was available from that date.
If a car is made available after sending the last FPS for a tax year. You should use the first FPS of the new tax year and the ‘available from’ date should be completed with a date of 6 April.
To get the tax payable for the period of availability in the previous tax year you should recalculate the taxable amount and the tax due. Then send these with any amendment to taxable pay in an FPS or an Earlier Year Update (EYU).
Date car available to
Enter the last date that the car is made available. You cannot record a date later than 5 April in an FPS for the same tax year.
If a car is no longer made available after sending the last FPS for a tax year, there is no need to send an amended FPS for car data in the next tax year. An ‘available to’ date before 6 April would be rejected.
A month 1 FPS cannot be sent as an amendment for car data with 31 March. For example, if the last pay day is 20 March and the car was made unavailable at 31 March.
Payrolling taxable amounts must be amended for the last FPS in a tax year or included in an EYU to show the revised taxable amount. This is because the employee will have paid the wrong amount of tax based on the availability of the car to 31 March.
Cash equivalent or relevant amount
Enter the expected cash equivalent or the relevant amount when sending information for the first time in an FPS.
The relevant amount is the taxable figure where an employee gives up the right to salary to get a benefit instead, such as a company car.
Date free fuel provided
Enter a date of 6 April if free fuel is provided from the start of the tax year, otherwise enter a date during the tax year where you’ve agreed to provide free fuel.
Cash equivalent or earnings foregone for fuel
Enter the expected cash equivalent or amount of earnings foregone for fuel made available to an employee.
The amount foregone is the amount of earnings given up to get car fuel benefit instead.
Date free fuel withdrawn
Enter the date free fuel was withdrawn. If free fuel was withdrawn at the end of the previous tax year but is not provided in the new tax year, do not complete this field.
Amendments and corrections
The headings below show how to correct or amend a submission.
Amendment indicator
This should be marked as a ‘yes’ if a correction is needed during the tax year for the following fields:
- make and model of car
- date first registered
- CO2 emissions
- zero emission mileage
- fuel type
- car identifier
- calculated price
- date car available from
- date car available to
- cash equivalent or relevant amount
- date free fuel provided
- cash equivalent or the earnings foregone for fuel
- date free fuel withdrawn
Then enter the revised details for one or more of the above fields on the next FPS in the tax year. If you only need to submit a change to car data but not pay and tax details you should:
- leave the pay in period fields blank
- include the latest year to date pay and tax details
If no payment of income is made in the next pay period, you only need to report the change of car data. For example, if the employee is paid irregularly.
If the wrong car data is discovered after you send the last FPS, you should send the correct details in the first FPS in the new tax year, if the car is still made available. The amendment indicator should not be used.
Corrections
Corrections to car data information should only be entered on your FPS within the next tax year. You cannot report car data amendments on an EYU.
Make and model of car
If you’ve entered the wrong description, send the correct information on your next FPS.
CO2
If you’ve entered the wrong CO2 figure you should select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and send the correct CO2 figure in your next FPS.
If you discover the wrong CO2 figure after the end of the tax year, make sure the first FPS for the new tax year shows the correct figure if the car is still payrolled.
Fuel type
If you’ve submitted the wrong fuel type letter, send the correct one in your next FPS and select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator. If you’ve discovered the fuel type is wrong after the end of the tax year, make sure the first FPS for the new tax year shows the correct type if the car is still payrolled.
Car identifier
If you’ve realised an entry is wrong, submit the correct details in your next FPS and select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator.
Calculated price
If the calculated price is wrong, select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and include the new price in the next FPS.
Date car available from
If the ‘available from’ date is wrong, select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and include the new date in the next FPS.
Date car available to
Where this date is later found to be wrong, select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and include the new date in the next FPS before the end of the tax year.
Cash equivalent or relevant amount
If the availability of a car ends or the cash equivalent or relevant amount is wrong, the cash equivalent or relevant amount should be changed in the next FPS and notified as an amendment.
Date free fuel provided
If the date reported is wrong an amendment should be sent and a revised date entered. If free fuel is withdrawn, that is not an amendment. You should complete the ‘date free fuel withdrawn’ field.
Cash equivalent or earnings foregone for fuel
This field should be amended if the cash equivalent or earnings foregone for the fuel are wrong, or the availability of fuel changes.
Date free fuel withdrawn
If the date you entered in a previous FPS in the same tax year was wrong, send the correction as an amendment.
Date first registered
If you’ve entered the wrong date first registered you should select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and send the correct date first registered in your next FPS.
Zero emission mileage
If you’ve entered the wrong zero emission mileage you should select ‘yes’ in the amendment indicator and send the correct zero emission mileage in your next FPS.
Updates to this page
Last updated 6 April 2020 + show all updates
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Amendments and corrections information updated for zero emission mileage and date first registered.
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Car fuel type information amended for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
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Car fuel type information amended for the 2019 to 2020 tax year.
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Updated with information for RDE2 (also known as Euro 6d) compliant diesel cars for tax year 2018 to 2019.
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Guidance on payrolling car fuel benefits for employees has been added.
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A Welsh language version of the guidance has been added.
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First published.