EV Charger Installation Tax Relief for UK Businesses: What You Can Claim

UK businesses can deduct the full qualifying cost of EV charger installation from taxable profits in the year the expenditure is incurred a relief known as the 100% First Year Allowance (FYA). The 100% first-year allowance applies to the installation of electric vehicle charge points, with a deadline of 31 March 2027 for corporation tax purposes or 5 April 2027 for income tax meaning the full cost can be written off in the year of purchase. For a business paying corporation tax at 25%, this translates directly into a tax saving of £250 for every £1,000 spent on qualifying EV charger installation. This guide explains exactly what qualifies, how the allowance works in practice, how it stacks with the Workplace Charging Scheme grant, and what other tax reliefs apply to businesses investing in EV charging infrastructure.

Important note: Tax rules are subject to change and individual circumstances vary. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute tax advice. Speak to a qualified accountant or tax adviser to confirm how these reliefs apply to your specific situation before making a claim.

What the 100% First Year Allowance Actually Means

Capital allowances are the mechanism through which HMRC allows businesses to deduct the cost of assets from taxable profits. Normally, assets go into a capital allowance pool and are written off gradually at a writing-down allowance (WDA) rate that determines how much you can deduct each year.

From April 2026, the main rate writing-down allowance was reduced from 18% to 14% per year on a reducing balance basis. This means that under the standard approach, a £10,000 asset would take many years to be fully written off against taxable profits.

The 100% FYA for EV charging points works differently. Instead of entering the capital allowance pool and being written off gradually, the full cost is deducted from taxable profits in the year the expenditure is made. Assets relieved through EV-specific 100% FYAs do not enter capital allowance pools, which limits future exposure to writing-down allowances increasingly relevant as the main WDA rate reduces from 18% to 14% from April 2026.

In practical terms: if your business spends £15,000 on EV charger installation in the 2026–27 tax year, the full £15,000 is deducted from taxable profits in that year. At a 25% corporation tax rate, that is a £3,750 reduction in your tax bill in year one, not spread across a decade.

What Qualifies for the Relief

EV Charger Equipment and Installation

Qualifying EV chargepoint equipment is eligible for 100% first-year capital allowances, meaning you can deduct the full cost of the non-grant-funded portion from your taxable profits in year one.

The qualifying cost includes the charger unit itself and the installation work meaning the cost your business actually pays after any Workplace Charging Scheme grant is deducted. The grant reduces the total project cost; the 100% FYA then applies to what remains.

The Grant Plus Tax Relief Combination

This is where the financial case for commercial EV charger installation becomes particularly compelling. With the Workplace Charging Scheme at £500 per socket from April 2026, your business contribution on a typical 7kW chargepoint installation (usually £800–£1,200 per socket fully installed) could be as low as £300–£700 out of pocket. Claim the 100% capital allowance on that remainder and the effective cost drops further.

A worked example:

In this example, a £4,000 installation has an effective net cost of £1,500 a 62.5% reduction through the combination of grant funding and tax relief. The actual figures depend on your specific installation costs, grant eligibility, and tax position, but the principle applies across most qualifying commercial installations.

For the full breakdown of what the Workplace Charging Scheme covers and how to apply, see our dedicated EV charger grants guide.

The Deadline: Why Timing Matters

The Autumn Budget confirmed a one-year extension of the 100% FYAs for new and unused zero-emission cars and plant or machinery used for EV charging points. This extension allows eligible businesses to continue to deduct the full qualifying cost from taxable profits in the year the expenditure is incurred, provided the relevant conditions are met.

The same deadline applies 31 March 2027 for corporation tax purposes or 5 April 2027 for income tax.

This is a confirmed deadline, not an indefinite entitlement. Businesses planning to install EV chargers should factor the deadline into their project timeline. Installation must be completed and the expenditure incurred before the relevant date to qualify for the 100% FYA under the current extension.

After the deadline, EV charger installation costs would fall under the Annual Investment Allowance or standard capital allowance rules still deductible, but not necessarily in full in year one.

Business Rates Relief for EV Charging Points

Tax relief on installation costs is not the only tax incentive available for commercial EV charging infrastructure. 100% business rates relief for EV charging points runs for a decade, slashing operational costs for operators and workplaces.

Business rates are typically levied on commercial properties based on their rateable value. EV charge points installed at commercial premises qualify for 100% business rates relief meaning the charge points themselves do not attract additional business rates liability. For businesses installing multiple charging points, this represents a meaningful ongoing saving over the asset’s operating life.

VAT Recovery on Commercial EV Charger Installation

VAT-registered businesses can generally reclaim the input VAT on EV charger installation carried out for business purposes. There are significant VAT recovery opportunities for businesses making the switch to electric.

Standard VAT at 20% applies to commercial EV charger installation. For a VAT-registered business, reclaiming this input VAT through the VAT return reduces the net cost of the installation by 20% compared to a non-VAT-registered purchaser.

Where installation is at a commercial premises for business use, input VAT recovery is generally straightforward. Where the installation is at an employee’s home for a company car, or involves mixed business and private use, the position is more nuanced and the apportionment of input VAT recovery should be discussed with your accountant. For the full rules on VAT and EV charger installation, see our VAT on EV charger installation guide.

Benefit-in-Kind Tax Relief for Company Car Charging

For businesses providing company electric vehicles alongside workplace charging infrastructure, the Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax position is another significant lever. Benefit-in-Kind rates for EVs sit at 3% until April 2026, then rise to 4% still far below rates for petrol cars, keeping salary sacrifice schemes attractive.

To put that in context: a petrol company car with a list price of £40,000 might carry a BiK rate of 25–37%, producing a substantial income tax and National Insurance liability for both employer and employee. The same vehicle as an EV carries a BiK rate of 4% a fraction of the equivalent petrol cost.

If an employee is supplied with a company EV and the employer pays for installation of a charger at the employee’s home solely for the company car, there is no taxable benefit, provided the cost can be linked solely to the charging of the car.

This means employers can fund home charger installation for employees with company EVs without creating a BiK liability provided the charger is for the company car and not general personal use. This is a nuanced area and one where HMRC guidance should be followed carefully; your accountant can confirm the correct treatment for your specific arrangement.

The Full Financial Picture: Stacking the Incentives

The most important thing to understand about EV charger installation tax relief is that these incentives are designed to stack the 100% FYA, the Workplace Charging Scheme grant, VAT recovery, and business rates relief are not mutually exclusive. A business that structures its installation correctly can access all of them simultaneously.

Here is how the stacked incentives affect a medium-scale workplace installation:

Add in the BiK advantages for company EVs, potential revenue from staff or public charging, and the ESG reporting benefits, and the payback period on most installations is under two years. Some businesses with high footfall see a return within months through public charging revenue.

What Does Not Qualify

Understanding the boundaries of the relief avoids unexpected outcomes at the point of claiming:

• Used charger equipment: The 100% FYA applies to new and unused equipment only. Second-hand or refurbished units do not qualify for the enhanced allowance and would fall into the standard capital allowance pool.
• Infrastructure and groundworks: The 100% FYA applies to the charger equipment and its installation. Associated infrastructure work groundworks, surface reinstatement, cable trenching across car parks, electrical distribution board upgrades may be treated differently depending on how costs are categorised. Your accountant should review the full project cost breakdown before a claim is made.
• The grant-funded portion: The 100% FYA applies to the net cost after grant funding. You cannot claim capital allowances on the portion covered by the Workplace Charging Scheme grant the FYA applies to what your business actually pays.
• Residential properties: The 100% FYA for charge points applies in a business context. The tax treatment of chargers installed at employees’ homes is governed by different rules as described above.

How to Claim

The 100% FYA for EV charger installation is claimed through your corporation tax return (CT600) or self-assessment return, depending on your business structure. The claim is made in the tax return for the year in which the expenditure was incurred.

Key practical steps:

• Keep full records of the installation cost including the installer’s invoice, the Workplace Charging Scheme grant amount received, and any separate invoices for associated electrical work
• Identify the qualifying expenditure the charger equipment and installation labour qualify; separate out any items that may not qualify (groundworks, infrastructure works) and discuss treatment with your accountant
• Confirm the expenditure date the FYA applies in the tax year the expenditure is incurred. Timing matters relative to your accounting year-end
• Make the claim in your tax return your accountant or tax adviser will include the capital allowance claim in the relevant return

The claim is not automatic it must be made in the return. Businesses that have already incurred qualifying expenditure without claiming may be able to amend previous returns, subject to time limits. An accountant with experience in capital allowances can advise on the options.

Who This Applies To

The 100% FYA for EV charge points applies to UK businesses subject to corporation tax or income tax covering:

• Limited companies paying corporation tax
• Sole traders and partnerships paying income tax
• Landlords with commercial properties installing charge points
• Charities operating as businesses in qualifying contexts

The relief is not available to private individuals installing home chargers those installations may be eligible for the OZEV EV Chargepoint Grant if the individual meets residential eligibility criteria, but capital allowances are a business tax relief. For a full guide to grants available for both residential and commercial installations, see our EV charger grants guide.

The deadline matters. As other reliefs evolve, including reductions to main rate WDAs from April 2026, EV incentives remain one of the clearest opportunities for accelerated relief. Businesses that act before 31 March 2027 can access the full stack of incentives; those that wait beyond the deadline will face a less favourable tax position on the same investment.

EV Install Pro is OZEV-approved and NICEIC-registered, carrying out commercial EV charger installations and home EV charger installations across London, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East and West Sussex, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and North Yorkshire. We handle OZEV grant applications and full installation certification as part of every job.

For a full breakdown of installation costs, see our EV charger installation cost guide. For the complete picture of grants available alongside tax relief, see our EV charger grants guide. Contact us to arrange a site survey and no-obligation quote.