Buying a commercial for private use

SpannerMonkey

hi everyone . im looking at Bmw X5's and there are quite a few commercial ones for sale . if i want one of these for private use is it just a matter of paying the private road tax or is there other costs ?

im not trying to pull a fast one by paying the cheaper commercial tax rate , its just there are some nicer ones that are commercial and are cheaper .

Tony Beetroot

Just tax it away commercially, you are not breaking any law. Use the savings on tax for your children's collage funds.

George Dalton

If you want to be fully 100% above board then you can just tax it privately with no issues.

But if you do choose to tax it commercially I seriously doubt you will encounter any issues at checkpoints etc.

Duiske

Thought the rules had changed regarding commercial motor tax. Don't you have to show documents to prove you are VAT registered ? Or have a letter from your employer stating you use the vehicle for work purposes ?

savagethegoat

you have to sign a declaration before you can tax it that you will only use it for commercial purposes if you want commercial tax. The OP is n't proposing that

punisher5112

It is very difficult these days to tax commercial they will be delighted to take the private motor tax rate though.

You have to have a business or farm and show documents.

porsche boy

As a sole trader all you need to do is sign a form with the tax office and supply your PPS number and it's done.

savagethegoat

he's not planning to tax it commercially..... OP it's straightfrward to tax it privately, insurance might be another matter, so I'd check that out

SpannerMonkey

cheers lads was more worried that there may be extra tax to pay on purchase of the car etc . if i tax it for private use is it not insured as a normal car ?

sword1

Surely if you change it from commercial there is a vrt change that would have to be paid?

sword1

sword1 wrote: »

Surely if you change it from commercial there is a vrt change that would have to be paid?

Only if its converted back to a private car, as in the seats put back in. Taxing a commercial atthe private rate in line with its use does not attract VRT.

sword1

Augeo wrote: »

Only if its converted back to a private car, as in the seats put back in. Taxing a commercial atthe private rate in line with its use does not attract VRT.

Is doe or nct tested then?

George Dalton

CVRT test applies. The vehicle is still officially classed as a commercial. It is just taxed at the private rate.

sword1

So if I was vat registered and a friend asked me to buy a big commercial I could buy it for example 70000(claiming 20000 tax back) and sell it to him for 80000 a week later, I have not worked out the savings but just going approx to give example

orm0nd

sword1 wrote: »

So if I was vat registered and a friend asked me to buy a big commercial I could buy it for example 70000(claiming 20000 tax back) and sell it to him for 80000 a week later, I have not worked out the savings but just going approx to give example

yep you could , but expect some correspondence from the revenue

You would need to return VAT on the sale.
You can't sell it ex VAT.

redfacedbear

SpannerMonkey wrote: »

cheers lads was more worried that there may be extra tax to pay on purchase of the car etc . if i tax it for private use is it not insured as a normal car ?

One thing to watch out for - the Private rates based on CO2 emissions are only available to vehicles on which full VRT is paid, so you will be paying private tax based on the CC (size of engine) even on a 152 if you buy a commercial vehicle at a lower VRT rate. On an X5 I would imagine that the VRT savings would get eaten up soon enough on the extra motor tax being paid.

The easiest thing to do is get the person you are buying it off to tax it commercially for a year and then worry about it in a year. Its madness paying the private rate of tax when you can get it for 333 with a bit of effort.