Company car / names on docs

[billuk]

So I purchased my M3 using my company (of which I am owner/director only employee). This was recommended by accountant.

My V5C has come through from DVLA and it is in the companies name but says it doesn't prove ownership. Should my personal name be on this as the registered keeper? The address is the same.

My insurance has come through and it says policyholder is the legal owner and registered keeper, which I suppose is not correct.

What is the normal setup for these sort of things as it's my first company car.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Medved_77]

I don't have any experience of this myself but do remember a previous thread which posed the same question:

Registered Keeper and company car

 

[billuk]

Excellent, thank you

 

[Jason71]

So I purchased my M3 using my company (of which I am owner/director only employee). This was recommended by accountant.

My V5C has come through from DVLA and it is in the companies name but says it doesn't prove ownership. Should my personal name be on this as the registered keeper? The address is the same.

My insurance has come through and it says policyholder is the legal owner and registered keeper, which I suppose is not correct.

What is the normal setup for these sort of things as it's my first company car.

Thanks in advance.

even if you fix the V5 you will still only be the registered keeper and not the legal owner so you may still need to talk to your insurance company. Mine said that the policy holder should be EITHER the legal owner or registered keeper so with the V5 in my name I a covered. For the record they would still have covered me if I was neither ( that situation describes most leased vehicles so its not unusual) but they wanted a bit more cash. I think its to do with the less stake you have in the car the less careful you are statistically.
for the record my accountant was adamant that the company should be the keeper though DVLA /police say it should be the actual person who keeps the vehicle i.e. you. its a bit of a grey area and since lease companies always make themselves the keepers its clearly not unusual or a problem if you are not the keeper just need to get the right policy.
It is possible to get the keeper name changed without doing a change of keeper i.e. a correction but what that pre covid thread probably won't say is how long it will take right now to get the DVLA to process the request. I think they may well still have a backlog of work so if you are sending them the V5 make sure you don't need it for anything anytime soon and take a photo of it before sending.

 

[Morhydro]

I have three company cars - the M3, a Leaf and a Nissan Pickup. All V5s have the company name. Does not seem to be a problem and I have never been asked by my insurance company (Direct Line).

 

[Neilda]

I purchased my M3 using my company (of which I am owner/director only employee). This was recommended by accountant.

My V5C has come through from DVLA and it is in the companies name but says it doesn't prove ownership. Should my personal name be on this as the registered keeper? The address is the same.

My insurance has come through and it says policyholder is the legal owner and registered keeper, which I suppose is not correct.

What is the normal setup for these sort of things as it's my first company car.

Thanks in advance.

I picked up my new Tesla yesterday - and also did exactly the same as you.... I bought it through my company as advised by my accountant as it will reduce the amount of tax I have to pay.

The car was bought through XX Ltd and I am awaiting the V5 which I suspect will also be XX Ltd. It is insured under my name - rather than XX Ltd.

My accountant tells me it's somewhat of a grey area.... the owner of the company is me (100%) and I am driving it with the owners permission. He says it's perfectly fine. Let's hope so!

 

[Fairchild]

So I purchased my M3 using my company (of which I am owner/director only employee). This was recommended by accountant.

My V5C has come through from DVLA and it is in the companies name but says it doesn't prove ownership. Should my personal name be on this as the registered keeper? The address is the same.

My insurance has come through and it says policyholder is the legal owner and registered keeper, which I suppose is not correct.

What is the normal setup for these sort of things as it's my first company car.

Thanks in advance.

I have both my company's name and my name on the title. Safer that way IMHO.

 

[Jason71]

I picked up my new Tesla yesterday - and also did exactly the same as you.... I bought it through my company as advised by my accountant as it will reduce the amount of tax I have to pay.

The car was bought through XX Ltd and I am awaiting the V5 which I suspect will also be XX Ltd. It is insured under my name - rather than XX Ltd.

My accountant tells me it's somewhat of a grey area.... the owner of the company is me (100%) and I am driving it with the owners permission. He says it's perfectly fine. Let's hope so!

it is perfectly OK and who should be the keeper is a grey area but what is not is if you have personal insurance and it asks the question "are you the owner and or registered keeper" (and they all seem to ask that) and you answer "yes" and you are not then that is not a grey area and is not OK. You need to tell them it is a company car and the company is the keeper. They will probably want more cash but better that than them finding out after you have a crash.

 

[Jason71]

I have both my company's name and my name on the title. Safer that way IMHO.

Is that company in the name and your name in the first line of the address and then your home address? That's how mine is.

 

[scs8]

I’ve just gone through the process of asking Tesla to modify the name for me. Prior to delivery they assured me the v5 would be in my name not the companies (as I specifically asked). They’ve now sent me a letter to send to the DVLA to correct things.

 

[Fairchild]

Unfortunately, you have to start the order with your business name.

 

[Caterman]

I believe there are two issues here.
From a tax point of view I think that the VRD needs to be in the Company name to enable you to claim the tax advantages.
From an Insurance point of view the Insurer will need to know that the car is registered to a company if you are insuring it personally. Several larger Insurers will not quote on that basis and most will rate the risk on the vehicle slightly higher but you want to have that conversation when taking out the policy, not when you have a claim.
Conversely you may want to get a Commercial Car quote, ie the car is insured by the company with you as the driver , this may actually be cheaper and you can then ,I believe , write the premium off as a Company expense?

 

[TheManofMead]

From a tax point of view I think that the VRD needs to be in the Company name to enable you to claim the tax advantages.

That is not correct. The purchase invoice must be in the name of the company purchasing the vehicle (to claim the tax advantages).
The V5 is not relevant to claiming the AIA.

The (V5) registered keeper is the person responsible for the vehicle, its maintenance, roadworthiness and the recipient of communications from the DVLA and emergency services such as the Police. A registered keeper should be the person who will be using the vehicle. Therefore, only an individual persons name should be seen on a V5.

 

[Arran]

That is not correct. The purchase invoice must be in the name of the company purchasing the vehicle (to claim the tax advantages).
The V5 is not relevant to claiming the AIA.

The (V5) registered keeper is the person responsible for the vehicle, its maintenance, roadworthiness and the recipient of communications from the DVLA and emergency services such as the Police. A registered keeper should be the person who will be using the vehicle. Therefore, only an individual persons name should be seen on a V5.

It's 100% this. The final invoice for my Model 3 was for addressed to my Ltd company. They are the sole owner of the car.

Tesla (on request) put my personal name on the V5 as the registered keeper, which maybe necessary for insurance purposes (it was for me). If your V5 is already in the company name, be careful about changing it as it may rack-up the number of previous owners if not done correctly.

 

[Neilda]

It's 100% this. The final invoice for my Model 3 was for addressed to my Ltd company. They are the sole owner of the car.

Tesla (on request) put my personal name on the V5 as the registered keeper, which maybe necessary for insurance purposes (it was for me). If your V5 is already in the company name, be careful about changing it as it may rack-up the number of previous owners if not done correctly.

Interesting info... thanks. I might have my V5 changed which is in my company's name - which should mean my insurance ties up better as currently the policy has my name on it. How do you change the V5 without adding to the number of previous owners?

 

[Jason71]

Interesting info... thanks. I might have my V5 changed which is in my company's name - which should mean my insurance ties up better as currently the policy has my name on it. How do you change the V5 without adding to the number of previous owners?

You will need to contact the DVLA and tell them that the name on the V5 is wrong and you want to get it "corrected". They are probably going to ask for confirmation in writing from the manufacturer which you will have to get from Tesla.
I would phone DVLA in the first instance to confirm the process. There may be a time limit on requesting a correction so do it soon if you are going to. Be aware though, as I mentioned before, due to corona virus if you have to send them paperwork it is probably not going to be a fast process.

 

[Neilda]

Actually I phoned Direct Line first thing this morning and they have changed the registered keeper/owner details on my policy to my company's name. There was no charge for doing this.

I also asked them if I had been incorrectly insured previously and they said 'no, we just like to know for our files who the owner of the vehicle is, this would not make a difference in the event of a claim'.

I am pleased to have tidied up the paperwork and as Jason71 mentioned a lot earlier, I may have answered 'yes' in the online form filling when asked if I was the owner of the vehicle. I honestly cannot remember, but it's likely I did - as I own the company... ignorance is never a defence, so my mistake!

Anyhoo, thought I'd post this up here in case anyone else is pondering the same predicament.

 

[DaSwede]

You will need to contact the DVLA and tell them that the name on the V5 is wrong and you want to get it "corrected". They are probably going to ask for confirmation in writing from the manufacturer which you will have to get from Tesla.
I would phone DVLA in the first instance to confirm the process. There may be a time limit on requesting a correction so do it soon if you are going to. Be aware though, as I mentioned before, due to corona virus if you have to send them paperwork it is probably not going to be a fast process.

Just remember to check both work DVLA and your accountant as changing the ownership of the vehicle to your personal ownership likely removes the tax benefit of registering/ purchasing the vehicle in your company's name. So, can be quite a minefield to start changing ownerships..

 

[Neilda]

Just remember to check both work DVLA and your accountant as changing the ownership of the vehicle to your personal ownership likely removes the tax benefit of registering/ purchasing the vehicle in your company's name. So, can be quite a minefield to start changing ownerships..

In my case it's now sorted. But it's the invoice from Tesla that proves who the owner is for tax purposes, not the V5/DVLA.