Readers’ forum: Cars and coronavirus

My client company is receiving enquiries from its employees – mainly the sales force but some managers as well – on whether they should still be liable to the car benefit-in-kind charge. The sales force employees have been furloughed because their work would bring them into contact with others and many of their customers have of course furloughed their own employees.

My client’s employees are taking the lockdown seriously and say that they are not using their company cars for business or personal purposes. Is there a way of the taxable benefit-in-kind charge being reduced for the duration of the lockdown period?

If the benefit charge was reduced presumably my client company could also benefit from a reduced class 1 National Insurance charge? The director has asked whether the company cars could be subject to a SORN (statutory off road notification) declaration. Might that...