Free fuel and the fuel scale charge

SHARE

Fuel gauge SEAT

THE level of benefit in kind car tax you pay for receiving free fuel for your company car rises again for the 2017/18 tax year.

For the tax year 2017/18 the fuel scale charge is £22,600.

It makes deciding whether to take free fuel a more important decision than ever. Never having to pay for your fuel might sound ideal; but you pay for it in ever increasingly expensive company car tax.

So it’s important to work out if it really is worth taking free fuel for your private journeys – and whether the ‘free’ bit is actually costing you money.

How to work out if free fuel is worth it

  • You will need to know the following:
  • Your company car’s combined fuel consumption figure
  • The CO2 emissions of your company car
  • The company car tax band of your company car
  • Your marginal rate of tax
  • The current cost of fuel (such as the AA’s Fuel Price Report)
  • And, of course, the government fuel scale charge
  • Or use our Free Fuel Benefit Checker

Business Motoring Award Winners 2025

ADVERTISEMENT

BUSINESS MOTORING

SEARCH

GET INVOLVED

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up here for our daily motoring newsletters.