Budget 2013: Van owners are will see road tax increase in-line with inflation and and will pay slightly less fuel duty than they would have done, but there were no earth-shaking changes in today’s budget.
Here’s a quick summary of the announcements in today’s budget that may affect van owners and operators:
Vehicle Excise Duty (Road Tax)
The government has no plans to reform road tax in the current parliament.
From 1 April 2012, road tax will increase in line with Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation. For van owners, this means £5 per year more:
| Vans (up to 3.5t) registered before 1 March 2001 | ||
| Engine size | 2012/13 tax year | 2013/14 tax year |
| 1,549cc or below | £135 | £140 |
| Above 1,549cc | £220 | £225 |
| Vans (up to 3.5t) registered on or after 1 March 2001 | ||
| Emissions rating | 2012/13 tax year | 2013/14 tax year |
| Euro 4/5 compliant | £135 | £140 |
| All other vans | £215 | £220 |
Fuel Duty
The Chancellor also announced that the proposed 1.89p increase in fuel duty that was planned for 1st September 2013 will be cancelled.
In a possible sign of things to come, the budget included confirmation that in 2015-16 “the duty differential for liquefied petroleum gas will be reduced by the equivalent of 1 penny per litre.”
Anyone thinking about buying a van with an LPG conversion might want to consider this — cost savings of using LPG are solely down to its favourable tax treatment. You certainly don’t get better mpg and the fuel itself isn’t intrinsically cheaper.
If LPG’s favourable tax treatment is reduced or removed, there is no real cost benefit. Interestingly, the difference between the main rate of fuel duty and the rate for compressed natural gas (CNG) is going to be maintained. I wonder what the logic is in the different treatment of LPG and CNG?
Van Benefit Charge
Van benefit charge will be frozen at £3,000 in 2013/14 and will be increased in line with RPI from 6th April 2014. The fuel benefit multiplier (Fuel Benefit Charge) will also increase in line with RPI from 6th April 2014.