---
title: "EV Salary Sacrifice After the 2026 Budget: What You Save at Every Tax Band (2026)"
url: https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings
publisher: EV Cable Hub
author: Jake Wardle
published: 2026-11-04
updated: 2026-11-03
market: United Kingdom, prices in GBP
licence: free reuse with a followed link to the source article, https://evcablehub.co.uk/pages/research-licence
tables: 4
csv_files: 4
---

# EV Salary Sacrifice After the 2026 Budget: What You Save at Every Tax Band (2026)

This is the agent-readable version of [EV Salary Sacrifice After the 2026 Budget: What You Save at Every Tax Band (2026)](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings), published by EV Cable Hub on 4 November 2026 and last updated on 3 November 2026. It holds the full article text, every table as a Markdown table, the datasets behind the figures, and how to cite them. Quote figures with the page URL above, not this file.

## Summary

A higher-rate taxpayer saves £276.87 a month taking a £40,000 EV through salary sacrifice instead of a personal lease. Savings by tax band, car price and year to 2030-31, after the 2026 Budget.

## How to cite

Source: EV Cable Hub, "EV Salary Sacrifice After the 2026 Budget: What You Save at Every Tax Band (2026)", https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings, updated 3 November 2026.

Online, the credit must be a followed HTML link to the article (no rel="nofollow", "sponsored" or "ugc"). Terms: https://evcablehub.co.uk/pages/research-licence

## Datasets

### EV Salary Sacrifice After the 2026 Budget: What You Save at Every Tax Band

UK EV salary sacrifice savings by tax band, car list price and tax year 2026-27 to 2030-31, with BIK rates, eVED pass-through and Scottish bands.

- Period covered: 2026
- Area: United Kingdom
- Variables: Monthly saving; Company car tax; BIK rate; eVED pass-through
- Files: Table 1: How the £40,000 EV salary sacrifice saving is built, 2026-27 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-1.csv); Table 2: BIK rates by car type, 2025-26 to 2030-31 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-2.csv); Table 3: Monthly saving on a £40,000 EV by tax year (https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-3.csv); Table 4: Monthly saving by EV list price and tax band, 2026-27 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-4.csv)

## Tables in this article

1. Table 1: How the £40,000 EV salary sacrifice saving is built, 2026-27 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-01), CSV https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-1.csv
2. Table 2: BIK rates by car type, 2025-26 to 2030-31 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-02), CSV https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-2.csv
3. Table 3: Monthly saving on a £40,000 EV by tax year (https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-03), CSV https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-3.csv
4. Table 4: Monthly saving by EV list price and tax band, 2026-27 (https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-04), CSV https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-4.csv

## Article

A higher-rate taxpayer who takes a £40,000 electric car through salary sacrifice pays **£378.13** a month for it in 2026-27. The same car on a personal lease, with the same cover, costs £655. That is a saving of **£276.87** a month, or £3,322 a year. The Budget's 1-point company car tax rise in 2030-31 takes £13.33 a month off it, and salary sacrifice still comes out ahead at every tax band, car price and year we modelled.

£225.13

Monthly saving, basic rate, £40k EV, 2026-27

£276.87

Monthly saving, higher rate

£298.20

Monthly saving, additional rate

By the EV Cable Hub Research Team. Data: EV Cable Hub salary sacrifice model using HMRC BIK rates and Autumn Budget 2026 measures, and the Budget 2026 Driver Survey of 1,214 EV and PHEV drivers. Last updated November 2026. [How we worked this out](#how-we-worked-this-out)

Key findings

- On a £40,000 EV in 2026-27, salary sacrifice saves **£2,702** a year at basic rate, **£3,322** at higher rate and **£3,578** at additional rate against a personal lease.
- Earners between £100,000 and £125,140 save the most: **£362.20** a month, because the sacrifice wins back personal allowance.
- The 2030-31 rise from 9% to 10% BIK costs £6.67, £13.33 or £15.00 a month by tax band. It is 16.7% of the total fall in savings to 2030-31; rates set before the Budget account for the rest.
- Even in 2030-31 the £40,000 EV still saves **£185.13** to **£208.20** a month. Over five years the saving totals £12,308 to £15,192.
- eVED from April 2028 adds a modelled £18.50 a month to the rental at 7,400 miles, which costs a higher-rate driver £10.73 after tax relief.
- 23% of employed EV and PHEV drivers in our survey have their car through salary sacrifice.

**Table 1: How the £40,000 EV salary sacrifice saving is built, 2026-27** ([view on page](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-01))

| Line | Basic rate | Higher rate | Additional rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross monthly sacrifice | £560.00 | £560.00 | £560.00 |
| Combined income tax and NI relief | 28% | 42% | 47% |
| Tax and NI saved each month | £156.80 | £235.20 | £263.20 |
| Company car tax each month (4% BIK) | £26.67 | £53.33 | £60.00 |
| Net monthly cost of the car | £429.87 | £378.13 | £356.80 |
| Personal lease, same car and cover | £655.00 | £655.00 | £655.00 |
| Monthly saving | £225.13 | £276.87 | £298.20 |
| Annual saving | £2,702 | £3,322 | £3,578 |
| Rest of UK tax bands. Excludes charging and eVED. Source: EV Cable Hub salary sacrifice model, November 2026. |  |  |  |

CSV: https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-1.csv

### How salary sacrifice works out cheaper

Your employer leases the car and you give up £560 of gross salary each month to cover it. Because that money comes off before tax, you skip the income tax and employee National Insurance on it: 28p in every pound at basic rate, 42p at higher rate. The catch is company car tax on the car's list price, and for an EV that is only 4% in 2026-27. On a £40,000 car that is £1,600 of taxable benefit a year.

A personal lease is paid from what is left after tax. That is the whole gap.

### What you save at every tax band

*Figure: Chart 1: Monthly saving on a £40,000 EV by tax band, 2026-27*

The taper zone wins because every £2 of income over £100,000 removes £1 of personal allowance, an effective 60% income tax rate. Sacrificing salary there brings the allowance back. In Scotland the same zone saves £394.20 a month, and Scottish higher-rate taxpayers earning between £43,663 and £50,270 save £319.00, more than anyone else below six figures, because they pay 42% income tax and full 8% NI.

One floor applies to everyone: pay after the sacrifice cannot drop below the National Living Wage. At £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours, sacrificing £560 a month needs gross pay of at least £31,504.50.

### What the Budget changed, and what it did not

The 28 October 2026 Budget added 1 point to company car tax in 2030-31, taking EVs from 9% to 10%. It left the tax and NI relief at the core of salary sacrifice alone. The bigger squeeze was already scheduled: EV rates climb from 4% now to 9% by 2029-30, and that accounts for five-sixths of the fall in savings.

**Table 2: BIK rates by car type, 2025-26 to 2030-31** ([view on page](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-02))

| Car type | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric (0g/km) | 3% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 9% | 10% |
| PHEV, 130+ miles electric range | 3% | 4% | 5% | 18% | 19% | 20% |
| PHEV, 40 to 69 miles | 9% | 10% | 11% | 18% | 19% | 20% |
| PHEV, under 30 miles | 15% | 16% | 17% | 18% | 19% | 20% |
| Petrol, 130 to 134g/km | 31% | 32% | 33% | 34% | 35% | 36% |
| Source: HMRC published rates; Autumn Budget, 28 October 2026. |  |  |  |  |  |  |

CSV: https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-2.csv

Plug-in hybrids take the hardest hit. From 2028-29 every PHEV pays 18%, so a £40,000 PHEV with 40 to 69 miles of range saves a higher-rate driver £196.87 a month now but only £90.20 in 2028-29, against £236.87 for the equivalent EV. A £40,000 petrol company car costs a higher-rate taxpayer £426.67 a month in company car tax this year, eight times the EV's £53.33.

### Savings year by year to 2030-31

**Table 3: Monthly saving on a £40,000 EV by tax year** ([view on page](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-03))

| Tax year | BIK rate | Basic rate | Higher rate | Additional rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 4% | £225.13 | £276.87 | £298.20 |
| 2027-28 | 5% | £218.47 | £263.53 | £283.20 |
| 2028-29 | 7% | £205.13 | £236.87 | £253.20 |
| 2029-30 | 9% | £191.80 | £210.20 | £223.20 |
| 2030-31 | 10% | £185.13 | £196.87 | £208.20 |
| Five-year total |  | £12,308 | £14,212 | £15,192 |
| Against a £655 personal lease, £560 gross sacrifice, excluding eVED and charging. Source: EV Cable Hub salary sacrifice model, November 2026. |  |  |  |  |

CSV: https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-3.csv

Higher earners lose more of the saving as BIK rises, 28.9% at higher rate and 30.2% at additional rate, against 17.8% for basic-rate drivers. Each extra point of BIK is taxed at their higher rate.

### Bigger cars save more

**Table 4: Monthly saving by EV list price and tax band, 2026-27** ([view on page](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-salary-sacrifice-savings#table-04))

| List price | Gross sacrifice | Personal lease | Basic rate | Higher rate | Additional rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £30,000 | £430 | £505 | £175.40 | £215.60 | £232.10 |
| £40,000 | £560 | £655 | £225.13 | £276.87 | £298.20 |
| £50,000 | £690 | £805 | £274.87 | £338.13 | £364.30 |
| £60,000 | £820 | £955 | £324.60 | £399.40 | £430.40 |
| Net monthly saving against a personal lease of the same car, 4% BIK. Source: EV Cable Hub salary sacrifice model, November 2026. |  |  |  |  |  |

CSV: https://evcablehub.co.uk/cdn/shop/files/evch-ev-salary-sacrifice-savings-table-4.csv

The saving scales with the lease, because the relief is a percentage of what you sacrifice.

### eVED inside salary sacrifice

From April 2028 eVED charges 3p a mile, billed to the registered keeper. On a salary sacrifice car that is the leasing company, and we expect it to pass the cost through the rental: £18.50 a month at 7,400 miles. Because it comes out of gross pay, a basic-rate driver pays £13.32 of that, a higher-rate driver £10.73 and an additional-rate driver £9.81. A private owner pays the full £18.50. In our survey, 61% of salary sacrifice drivers did not know eVED would reach them at all. Our [eVED calculator](https://evcablehub.co.uk/pages/eved-calculator) works out your own figure.

### How we worked this out

The model uses a £560 gross monthly sacrifice for a £40,000 EV against a £655 personal lease of the same car with the same cover, scaled for other list prices. Relief is income tax plus employee NI at 2026-27 rates for the rest of the UK, with Scottish bands modelled separately. Company car tax uses HMRC BIK rates, including the 2030-31 rise in the Autumn Budget of 28 October 2026, at a constant list price. eVED is modelled at 3p a mile from April 2028 and passed through in full. The survey questioned 1,214 EV and PHEV drivers after the Budget, 219 of them on salary sacrifice.

### EV salary sacrifice: your questions answered

**Q: How much do you save with EV salary sacrifice in 2026?**

A £40,000 electric car on salary sacrifice saves £225.13 a month for a basic-rate taxpayer, £276.87 for a higher-rate taxpayer and £298.20 for an additional-rate taxpayer in 2026-27, compared with a personal lease of the same car with the same cover.

**Q: What did the Autumn Budget 2026 change for EV salary sacrifice?**

The 28 October 2026 Budget raised company car tax by 1 point in 2030-31, taking EVs from 9% to 10%. On a £40,000 EV that costs £80, £160 or £180 a year depending on tax band. The scheme's core tax and NI relief was not changed.

**Q: What is the BIK rate for electric cars in 2026-27?**

4% in 2026-27, rising to 5% in 2027-28, 7% in 2028-29, 9% in 2029-30 and 10% in 2030-31. On a £40,000 EV, 4% gives a taxable benefit of £1,600 a year.

**Q: Is EV salary sacrifice still worth it after the 2026 Budget?**

Yes, at every tax band on our modelling. Even in 2030-31, after all scheduled rises, a £40,000 EV saves £185.13 (basic), £196.87 (higher) or £208.20 (additional) a month against a personal lease.

**Q: Who pays eVED on a salary sacrifice car?**

eVED is charged to the registered keeper, which is the leasing company. We model it passing through the rental at £18.50 a month at 7,400 miles; after tax relief that costs a higher-rate driver £10.73 a month.

**Q: Can I do salary sacrifice on a low salary?**

Only if your pay after the sacrifice stays above the National Living Wage. In 2026-27, at £12.71 an hour for 37.5 hours a week, a full-time employee needs gross pay of at least £31,504.50 to sacrifice £560 a month.

**Q: Is a plug-in hybrid on salary sacrifice still worth it?**

Much less so from 2028-29. A £40,000 PHEV with 40 to 69 miles of range saves a higher-rate taxpayer £196.87 a month in 2026-27, but only £90.20 in 2028-29 when PHEVs move to an 18% BIK rate, against £236.87 for an equivalent EV.

Further reading

- [What the Autumn Budget 2026 means for EV drivers](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/budget-ev-drivers)
- [EV road tax explained](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-road-tax-explained)
- [eVED calculator](https://evcablehub.co.uk/pages/eved-calculator)
- [EV vs petrol: the true cost](https://evcablehub.co.uk/blogs/journal/ev-vs-petrol-true-cost)