Rachel Reeves is going through a serious backlash from “white van men” following a tax reclassification launched in her 2024 Autumn Budget. The new measures, which took full impact from April 2025, deal with most double-cab pick-up vehicles — such because the Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Isuzu D-Max — as firm automobiles slightly than industrial vans for benefit-in-kind (BIK) and capital allowances functions.
The change, now in pressure as of January 2026, stem from HMRC aligning tax guidelines with a 2020 Court of Appeal judgment. This dominated that double-cab pick-ups (with rear seating plus a load mattress) are equally suited to carrying passengers, missing “primary suitability” for industrial masses. From April 6, 2025, for earnings tax/BIK (and April 1, 2025, for company tax), these autos not qualify for the flat van BIK charge of £4,020, which beforehand meant a basic-rate (20%) taxpayer paid round £804 yearly, plus a low flat gas profit.
Instead, new or newly supplied double-cab pick-ups fall below automotive guidelines: BIK is calculated as a share of the automobile’s checklist worth (P11D worth) primarily based on CO2 emissions, usually hitting the highest 37% bracket for high-emission diesels.
For a typical £48,000–£50,000 mannequin like a Ford Ranger Wildtrak, this could push the taxable profit to £17,760–£18,500 or extra — quadrupling the invoice to £3,552+ for basic-rate taxpayers and £7,100+ for higher-rate (40%) ones.
Private gas provision provides 1000’s extra, with the 2025/26 gas multiplier at £28,200 multiplied by the emissions share (eg, £10,434 at 37%), stories The Sun.
The Treasury maintains the reform corrects inconsistent therapy post-court ruling and consists of transitional aid: autos bought, leased, or ordered earlier than April 6, 2025 proceed below previous van guidelines till disposal, lease finish, or April 5, 2029 (whichever comes first), even when reassigned between staff.
VAT reclaim guidelines stay unchanged for payloads of 1 tonne or extra.
However, critics — together with farmers, builders, plumbers, electricians, and small enterprise teams — argue the “stealth tax” hits the “little guy” hardest. It disproportionately impacts self-employed tradespeople and rural employees who depend on rugged double-cabs for instruments, crew transport, and household use.
Industry voices warn of fleet downsizing, greater prices for important workhorses, and stress to change to much less succesful single-cab fashions or lower-emission alternate options.
A Treasury spokesperson stated the adjustments assist companies transition whereas closing a loophole for multi-purpose autos.
As the total affect bites within the 2025/26 tax yr, many affected drivers face sharply greater payments until they secured transitional safety. Experts advise reviewing fleets urgently and consulting tax professionals.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2156338/rachel-reeves-white-van-tax-budget