Commerical Vehicle with Rear Seats

aidanki

my mate (self employed) is looking to purchase a new motor.

He is looking for a commerical vehicle with rear seats. What is about that satisfies that criteria, is it only Landcruisers with rear seats. Are there any Commerical Cars with Seats

Atlantic Dawn

Crew cab vehicle is what he is likely looking for, you will see lots of Range Rovers registered this way, have even seen a couple of SVR's.

https://www.sligococo.ie/Services/MotorTaxation/MotorTaxationGuidelines/CrewCabs/

bazz26

Any car based vans such as the Golf or Focus had their rear seats removed. The rear seatbelt harnesses were removed and welded over too afaik. You won't find a 4 seater car derived van. There were some "business" class SUVs that were classed as 4 seater commercials such as the Ford Kuga and Land Rover Discovery.

goochy

cant you take the middle seatbelts out of some SUVS like Kuga and SPORTAGE ?

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058314634/commerical-vehicle-with-rear-seats

There are companies (NSAI certified and Approved Test Centres) that will have all the answers to any questions your mate has.

In a nutshell once he qualifies as a legitimate commercial business he will have a choice of the types of vehicles that can be certified as commercial and include rear seats. It would be well worth his while to contact one of these companies for guidance.

aidanki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121135249#Comment_121135249

who would those companies be

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121137409#Comment_121137409

This is an example of the ones in Cork, each county will have their own.

https://www.corkcoco.ie/en/resident/motor-tax/approved-test-conversions-centres-atcs

GustavoFring

Just make sure he does the maths on it. There’s a huge difference in BIK payable for having the rear seats.

R.O.R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121138146#Comment_121138146

No BIK for Self Employed / Sole Traders.

Pick-up - Ford Ranger / Toyota Hi-Lux are the only other ones if it's brand new he's looking for. LandCruiser is a crazy price as it's full VRT. Pick-Up's still get the 13.3% VRT Rate for 5 seaters, and the new ones are much better to drive than they used to be.

gearoidol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121138155#Comment_121138155

Hi ROR

It is my understanding the commerical SUV/ Jeep type vehicles ie not the ranger /hilux type crew cabs are subject to BIK. IE a Land Crusier business is subject to BIK where as a defender 2 seater is not.

Are you providing company cars or vans for your employees?

If you provide company vehicles for your employees or directors, the first thing to establish is whether the vehicle’s specification qualifies as ‘commercial’. The general rule is that if there are seats behind the driver's seat, then the vehicle is treated as a car for BIK purposes. In our experience, very often, vehicles advertised as commercial do not qualify as ‘commercial’ under Revenue’s definition and, consequently, are subject to BIK at passenger motor vehicle rates. 

According to the Revenue website, a van is a vehicle which is made solely or mainly for the transport of goods, has a roofed area behind the driver’s seat, and has no side windows or seating fitted in the roofed area. Revenue says that if a vehicle does not meet all these criteria, it may be a car for tax purposes. 

R.O.R

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121142295#Comment_121142295

2 Seat SUV's / Car Vans qualify for Van rates of BIK @ 8%. If it has 5 seats (whether it's a crew cab van, 5 seat discovery, Ford Ranger pick up etc.) it hasn't been applicable for van rates of BIK since the rules changed in 2003.

There are 2 bits to whether a vehicle is commercial - VAT & BIK. For VAT purposes, the likes of the Ranger, 5 Seat Discovery (when it was available) and apparently the LandCruiser Business 5 Seat are commercial vehicles, and all VAT can be recovered. The BIK classification is actually whether it meets Revenue's definition of a Van, rather than whether it's commercial or not. Only vehicles that meet Revenue's definition of a Van qualify for the flat rate of BIK (currently 8%, was 5%).

If someone is a sole trader, they are the business and therefore there's no BIK applicable - it's only limited/unlimited companies where BIK applies.