True monthly cost, salary by salary
| Salary | True cost a month | You save a month | Saving rate |
|---|
| £30,000 | £462 | £138 | 23% |
| £35,000 | £462 | £138 | 23% |
| £40,000 | £462 | £138 | 23% |
| £45,000 | £462 | £138 | 23% |
| £50,000 | £462 | £138 | 23% |
| £60,000 | £408 | £192 | 32% |
| £70,000 | £408 | £192 | 32% |
| £80,000 | £408 | £192 | 32% |
| £90,000 | £408 | £192 | 32% |
| £100,000 | £408 | £192 | 32% |
| £110,000 | £318 | £282 | 47% |
| £120,000 | £318 | £282 | 47% |
The headline sacrifice is £600 a month at every salary. What changes is how much of it you would have paid in tax and National Insurance anyway, so the true cost falls and the saving rate rises as the salary moves up the bands. The jump above £100,000 is the Personal Allowance taper, where each pound sacrificed avoids about 62% in tax and National Insurance before the Benefit-in-Kind tax.
How the true cost is worked out
Three numbers decide it. The sacrifice cuts gross pay, so take-home drops by less than £600 because income tax and National Insurance are no longer paid on that slice. The electric car is then a Benefit-in-Kind, charged on 4% of the £45,000 P11D value at your income tax rate. The true monthly cost is the take-home drop plus that Benefit-in-Kind tax. The EV salary sacrifice calculator runs your own salary, car price and sacrifice.
Common questions
Why does EV salary sacrifice save more on a higher salary?
The sacrificed pay avoids income tax and employee National Insurance at your marginal rate, so a higher-rate taxpayer avoids 40% tax plus National Insurance, against 20% plus National Insurance at the basic rate. The best band is £100,000 to £125,140, where sacrificing pay also restores tapered Personal Allowance, avoiding about 62% in tax and National Insurance before the Benefit-in-Kind tax is added back.
What car do these figures assume?
One representative electric car on every page: a £45,000 P11D value on a £600 a month gross sacrifice, taxed as a Benefit-in-Kind at 4% for 2026/27. Change the salary, car price or sacrifice on the calculator for your own quote.
Is the true cost the same as the lease price?
No. The headline sacrifice is the gross amount taken from your pay. Your take-home falls by less than that because you no longer pay tax and National Insurance on it, but you then owe a small Benefit-in-Kind tax on the car. The true cost is the take-home drop plus that Benefit-in-Kind tax.
What is the risk with salary sacrifice cars?
The scheme is tied to your job. If you leave, most schemes end and you return the car, sometimes with an early-termination cost. The Benefit-in-Kind rate also rises each year, from 4% now to 9% by 2029/30, so later years cost a little more.
Sources & Rate Verification
Rates verified against official statutory guidance on 6 September 2026.
Information, not financial advice. Figures use the published 2026/27 rates and one representative car, and assume your employer offers salary sacrifice and passes on the full amount.