Petrol and diesel motorists living and working in countryside areas could be caught out by Labour’s new April car tax hike, according to campaigners. Experts at Countryside Alliance have stressed the rules around benefit-in-kind double cab pick-up fees would come to bite many in rural locations.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reclassified double cab pick-up truck vehicles from April 6, 2025 with the decision increasing rates for road users. The decision means owners no longer receive favourable benefit-in-kind rates for owning a double cab pick-up with many fees skyrocketing. BiK is a tax on employees who receive benefits or perks on top of their salary. Usually they apply on a salary sacrifice car scheme.
Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, warned the decision would “hit working people hard” in a major blow.
He said: “Rachel Reeves’ pick-up truck tax will hammer thousands of working people in the countryside and beyond.
“From farmers and gamekeepers to plumbers and builders, the twin cab pick-up has become the country’s favourite workhorse. The decision to reclassify them as cars will hit working people hard.”
From April 6, double cab pick-up trucks with a payload of at least one metric tonne are no longer classified as vans.
Instead, these vehicles will be treated as cars and will pay a hefty increase to stay on the roads.
According to a previous analysis from Haines Watt, owners of a double cab pick-up would have likely paid around £1,887 in tax fees under the previous system.
However, from April 2025 the same vehicle will be taxed as a car which is based on CO2 emissions and the vehicle’s list price.
However, most pick-ups are heavy vehicles which are likely to fall into the highest pollution band.
This will see road users pay an eye-watering £10,094 to use the roads in a whopping 432% rise.
HMRC explained: “It therefore follows that from 6 April 2025, most double cab pickups are expected to be classified as cars when calculating the benefit charge.
“This is because typically these vehicles are equally suited to convey passengers and goods and have no predominant suitability.”
However, many firms are likely to have benefited from the Government’s transitional arrangements.
This ensured employers who purchased, leased, or ordered a double cab pick-up before 6 April 2025 could follow the old tax rules until 2029.