EV salary sacrifice calculator
What an electric car on salary sacrifice actually saves a UK driver, computed from HMRC income tax, National Insurance and benefit-in-kind rates. Free to use.
Salary sacrifice on an electric car saves a UK basic-rate taxpayer 28% of the amount sacrificed and a higher-rate taxpayer 42%, being income tax plus employee National Insurance at the marginal rate. The driver then pays benefit-in-kind on the car at 4% of its P11D value for 2026/27 (THRIVE, from HMRC).
Cite this
THRIVE EV salary sacrifice saving by tax band, 2026/27. thrivefleet.co.uk/data/salary-sacrifice (accessed 1 September 2026).
| Take-home pay falls by | £290.00 |
|---|---|
| Tax and NI you stop paying | £210.00 |
| Benefit-in-kind tax you start paying | £53.33 |
| Net monthly cost | £343.33 |
What the quote does not show you
Benefit-in-kind on an electric car rises every April, so the figure a scheme quotes is the cheapest month of the contract. Over a three-year term this one starts at £343.33 and ends at £383.33, averaging £361.11 a month.
| Tax year | BiK rate | Cost a month |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 4% | £343.33 |
| 2027/28 | 5% | £356.67 |
| 2028/29 | 7% | £383.33 |
| Whole term | avg | £13,000 |
And the fuel you stop buying
HMRC values petrol in a 1401cc to 2000cc car at 17p a mile and home-charged electricity at 7p. At 10,000 miles a year that is £83.33 a month you stop spending, which is the part that decides whether the arrangement is worth it.
Illustrative, not advice, and not a quote. Uses 2026/27 rates: 40% income tax, 2% employee National Insurance and 4% benefit-in-kind on an electric car. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Scottish income tax bands differ. It assumes the sacrifice does not take you below the National Minimum Wage or into a different band, and ignores any employer administration charge.
Saving on gross pay
Income tax plus employee NI
| Category | Value (%) |
|---|---|
| Basic | 28% |
| Higher | 42% |
| Additional | 47% |
A salary sacrifice comes out of gross pay, so the driver never pays income tax or employee National Insurance on the sacrificed amount. That is where the saving comes from, and it is why the figure differs by band rather than being one headline percentage.
The counter-intuitive part is National Insurance. It does not rise with income: it falls to 2% above the upper earnings limit. So a higher-rate taxpayer saves 40% tax plus 2% NI, which is 42% and not 48%. A basic-rate taxpayer saves less income tax but more NI, at 28% in total. An additional-rate taxpayer saves 47%.
Against that, the car is a taxable benefit. The driver pays benefit-in-kind at 4% of the car's P11D value for 2026/27, at their marginal income tax rate, which is what keeps an electric car worth sacrificing for and a petrol one usually not. The full timeline to 2029/30 is on the company car tax page.
This is arithmetic on published rates, not advice, and it is deliberately not a lease quote: the monthly figure depends on the vehicle, term, mileage and the provider's rates, none of which THRIVE holds from a primary source.
| Band | Income tax | Employee NI | Saved per £1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | 8% | 28% |
| Higher rate | 40% | 2% | 42% |
| Additional rate | 45% | 2% | 47% |
Saving per £1 sacrificed = marginal income tax rate + marginal employee National Insurance rate. Basic rate uses the 8% main NI rate, since that band sits below the monthly upper earnings limit; higher and additional rate use the 2% rate above it.
Rates for 2026/27 from GOV.UK income tax rates, National Insurance rates and category letters (Class 1, category A) and HMRC's appropriate percentages, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. All read live from the rates API.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Scottish income tax bands differ, so a Scottish taxpayer's saving is not the figure above. Employers also pay Class 1A National Insurance on the benefit at 15%, which sits on the employer's side of the arrangement rather than the driver's.
Figures checked against GOV.UK on 1 September 2026.
Free JSON API — no key, open CORS, cache-friendly:
curl https://www.thrivefleet.co.uk/api/v1/rates{ "rates": [ { "key": "income_tax_higher_pct", "value": 40, … } ] }Attribution is requested, never required — see the data terms and the API guide.
How much does salary sacrifice save on an electric car?
28% of the amount sacrificed at the basic rate and 42% at the higher rate, being income tax plus employee National Insurance. The driver then pays benefit-in-kind at 4% of P11D value for 2026/27.
Why does a higher-rate taxpayer save 42% and not 48%?
Employee National Insurance falls to 2% above the upper earnings limit rather than rising. So the higher-rate saving is 40% income tax plus 2% NI.
Is salary sacrifice still worth it for a petrol car?
Usually not. The saving is the same percentage of gross pay, but the benefit-in-kind charge on a petrol car is far higher than the 4% on an electric one, which normally cancels it out. See the company car tax rates.