Key Insights

Yes, EV charging can be salary sacrificed - through The Charge Scheme, the UK's first and only dedicated charging benefit of its kind.
Save 20–50% on every kWh you use, whether charging at home, at work, or in public.
76,000+ public charge points covered, including BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, and Pod Point.
No BiK tax is triggered on charging managed through the scheme.
Bolt-on compatibility - works with any existing car scheme or private EV, no switching required.
Just 10 seconds of admin per month - submit a mileage reading, and the scheme handles everything else.

Yes, you can salary sacrifice EV charging - and it's about time!

Electricity prices have climbed sharply over the past few years, and EV drivers are feeling it. Whether you're paying the domestic rate for overnight home charging, using workplace charge points, or relying on public rapid chargers for longer journeys, the cost of keeping your battery topped up is a real and growing line item.

Yet until recently, most drivers had no choice but to fund every single charge from their take-home pay - after tax, after National Insurance, at full cost. Salary sacrifice covered the car. The "fuel" was on you.

That's no longer the case. Through The Charge Scheme, a first-of-its-kind benefit in the UK from The Electric Car Scheme, EV charging can now be salary sacrificed too. So why pay for charging from your take-home pay when you can save up to 50% by paying from your gross salary?

How The Charge Scheme Makes Charging Salary Sacrifice a Reality

Salary sacrifice works by letting you give up a portion of your gross salary (before Income Tax and National Insurance are applied) in exchange for a non-cash benefit. The result is that you pay significantly less for the same thing, because a chunk of the cost never gets taxed in the first place.

Until now, this logic applied neatly to the car itself, but stopped there. Charging was treated like any other household bill - something you paid from whatever was left after HMRC had taken its cut.

The Charge Scheme changes that. It's the UK's first salary sacrifice benefit dedicated entirely to EV charging, built by the team behind The Electric Car Scheme. It extends the salary sacrifice principle to cover all of your charging costs (home, workplace, and public), meaning the electricity powering your car is now paid from your gross salary rather than your net pay.

And because it's a bolt-on benefit, it doesn't require you to change a thing about your current setup. Whether you're in an EV through a salary sacrifice arrangement, a personal lease, or a car you own outright, The Charge Scheme adds on with minimal admin and zero disruption. It even works if your car isn't from The Electric Car Scheme. That's how it's been designed to be the easiest upgrade you'll make to your EV benefit package!

Key Takeaways

The Charge Scheme is the UK's first salary sacrifice charging benefit.
Charging costs are deducted from gross salary, before tax.
Works as a bolt-on - no need to change your current car setup.
Built by The Electric Car Scheme, the UK's leading EV benefit provider.

Breaking Down the Savings: Home, Work, and Public Charging

The 20–50% saving is the realistic range across all charging types, depending on your tax bracket.

Basic rate taxpayers (20%) save around 32% when Income Tax and National Insurance savings are combined.
Higher rate taxpayers (40%) can save up to 42% on every kWh.
Additional rate taxpayers can save up to 50%.

In practical terms, this brings real-world public charging costs down significantly, even when using faster, premium chargers. For home charging, where costs are already lower, the salary sacrifice saving compounds the value further.

Here's how it plays out across each charging environment:

Home Charging

Home charging is already the most cost-effective way to power an EV, but paying from your post-tax salary means you're still leaving money on the table. Through The Charge Scheme, your home charging costs are covered by your gross salary deduction. You charge as normal and submit a mileage reading at the end of the month - that's all there is to it.

Workplace Charging

Charging your EV at work is covered seamlessly. If your employer has on-site charge points, any charging you do there is captured within the scheme. No receipts, no separate billing.

Public Charging

If you regularly charge your EV in public, you’ll notice the salary sacrifice savings first. This is because rapid and ultra-rapid chargers carry a premium for convenience, and without a smarter way to pay, those costs stack up fast. With The Charge Scheme, access to over 76,000 charge points (including BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, and Pod Point) is covered through salary sacrifice. The pence-per-kWh rate stays the same at the charger; what changes is what you actually pay after the tax saving is applied.

Key Takeaways

Basic rate taxpayers save around 32% on every charge.
Higher-rate taxpayers can save up to 42% per kWh.
Home, workplace, and public charging are all covered.
76,000+ public charge points are included across major UK networks.

The 4-Step Process: From Plug-In to Payroll

One of the most common concerns around any workplace benefit is the admin burden. The Charge Scheme has been designed to make that concern irrelevant. Here's how the process looks:

1. Charge

Use the app or The Charge Scheme card for public charging. At home and at the office, just plug in as you normally would. Nothing about the charging experience changes!

2. Submit Your Mileage Reading

At the end of the month, submit your mileage reading. This takes around 10 seconds. That is the entirety of your monthly admin.

3. Calculate Charging Costs

The system uses your mileage submission to calculate the cost of your charging across the month - home, work, and public - accurately and automatically.

4. Save!

Your employer deducts the charging cost from your gross salary before your payslip is processed. You pay less tax and National Insurance, and the saving lands in your pocket every single month.

No spreadsheets. No manual expense claims. No end-of-month scramble. Just a 10-second submission and a noticeably lower tax bill!

Key Takeaways

The entire monthly process takes just 10 seconds.
Submit mileage once - the scheme calculates your costs automatically.
Savings are applied directly through your employer's payroll.
No expense claims, spreadsheets, or manual tracking required.

Why Are Employers Adding Salary Sacrifice For EV Charging to Their Benefit Packages

For HR and benefits teams, The Charge Scheme is a differentiated offering (and a timely one). As EV adoption increases across the UK workforce, charging costs are becoming part of the conversation around the total cost of ownership. Employers who address that directly are removing a real, practical barrier to uptake.

There's a strong commercial case too. Because salary sacrifice reduces gross pay, the employer's National Insurance contributions fall as well. The Charge Scheme creates a net positive for both sides of the payslip - employees save on charging, employers save on NICs.

From an admin perspective, the bolt-on nature of the scheme means minimal setup and no requirement to overhaul existing car benefit arrangements. Employers don't need to run an EV salary sacrifice scheme through The Electric Car Scheme to offer it, though those who do benefit from a seamlessly integrated experience.

For organisations with Net Zero commitments, supporting employees to charge affordably at home, at work, and on the road is a practical, measurable step and not just a policy aspiration. For employees still on the fence about making the switch to electric, knowing their charging costs are covered tax-efficiently can be the nudge that tips the decision.

Key Takeaways

Employers also save on National Insurance contributions.
Bolt-on setup requires no overhaul of existing car arrangements.
Supports measurable progress toward Net Zero targets.
Helps undecided employees make the switch to electric.

Compatibility: Does The Charge Scheme Work With My Current Car?

The Charge Scheme is a bolt-on benefit. This is important because it means no switching, no disruption, and no dependency on any particular car arrangement. The scheme is compatible with:

EVs taken through any salary sacrifice scheme, including those from other providers
Personally leased or financed electric vehicles
Privately owned electric cars

There is no requirement to change your car arrangement, move your lease, or switch providers. The Charge Scheme simply plugs into whatever you're already doing and starts saving you money on every charge.

The only step required is that your employer enrolls in the scheme. If they're not yet signed up, it's worth raising with your HR or benefits team - setup is straightforward, and many employers are actively looking for ways to complete their EV benefit offering at the moment!

Key Takeaways

Compatible with any salary sacrifice, lease, or privately owned EV.
No switching, no disruption, no dependency on a specific provider.
The only requirement is that your employer enrolls in the scheme.
Setup is straightforward - employers can be live within days.

Stop Paying Full Price for EV Charging

The logic is hard to argue with: if you're driving an electric car and paying for every charge from your take-home pay, you're paying more than you need to. Electricity costs have risen. Charging more often is part of EV life. The Charge Scheme is the fix - a first-of-its-kind benefit that finally extends salary sacrifice to the one area of EV ownership that's been left out until now.

Why pay for charging from your take-home pay when you could be saving up to 50% by paying from your gross salary?

Find out more about The Charge Scheme for employees, or see how it works for companies

Frequently Asked Questions About EV Salary Sacrifice Charging

Not at all. The Charge Scheme covers public charging across 76,000+ charge points, as well as workplace charging. A home charger isn't a requirement.
That said, if you're considering installing one, the government's EV chargepoint grant currently covers up to £350 towards home installation - a worthwhile addition to the overall saving.
No. Unlike the car lease itself, charging managed through The Charge Scheme does not typically trigger additional BiK. This is one of the key advantages of the scheme and keeps the tax position clean and simple.
Workplace charging is included. If your employer has on-site charge points, your charging there is captured in your monthly mileage submission and processed through the same payroll deduction. No separate billing or receipts required.
You don't need to track individual sessions. Charge as normal throughout the month and submit your mileage reading at the end.
The Charge Scheme calculates your costs from there - the 10-second submission is all you need to do.
No cap. The more you drive and charge, the more you benefit. Higher mileage drivers and those on higher tax rates will naturally see the largest absolute savings each month.
For employees, account setup in the app takes just a few minutes. For employers, The Electric Car Scheme team can have a scheme ready to launch quickly and with minimal lead time. Getting your HR or benefits team in touch is the first step.
The Charge Scheme gives you access to over 76,000 charge points across the UK, including BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, and Pod Point - comprehensive coverage whether you're commuting, travelling, or charging away from home.

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