Q I’m a small business owner - can I lease a vehicle personally or do I have to go through my company?

If you choose Business Car Leasing or Business Contract Hire the car is tied to your business so the rental cost can be offset against tax. If the car is also for personal use, it will be considered a benefit in kind by HMRC and you will pay company car tax, however, the other tax benefits may outweigh this.

You can also choose Personal Contract Hire which means the car is not tied to your business. You use the car as you please, so it can work well for business owners who only use their car for business occasionally. The car is not seen as a benefit-in-kind by HMRC, so you don’t have to pay company car tax, although the cost of contract hire cannot be offset against corporation tax. You can claim mileage back from your business - 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter.