{"id":123603,"date":"2026-07-29T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=123603"},"modified":"2026-07-29T00:55:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:55:22","slug":"millions-without-driveways-32p-mile-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/millions-without-driveways-32p-mile-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions Without Driveways Could Face 32p-Per-Mile Charges Under Andy Burnham Proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Industry groups and consumer organisations say the policy will increase the financial gap between households with off-street parking and those who rely on public charging networks. According to the Press Association, campaigners argue that drivers without driveways will continue paying substantially more because public charging remains subject to 20% VAT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The measure forms part of the Government\u2019s wider response to the cost of living<\/strong>, although its effect on electric vehicle users varies depending on how they are able to charge their vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For motorists with home charging facilities, the reduction in domestic electricity costs is expected to lower the cost of running an electric vehicle. Those without access to private charging, meanwhile, will continue using public infrastructure where prices remain considerably higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Charging Becomes Cheaper While Public Charging Costs Remain Unchanged<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that VAT on household electricity bills, currently set at 5%, will be removed from 1 October. According to the information released by the Government, the reduction will automatically apply to existing fixed tariffs as well as other eligible domestic electricity bills for a six-month period<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change is expected to benefit electric vehicle <\/a>owners who charge at home. According to Express.co.uk, drivers using the Intelligent Octopus Go tariff currently pay 8p per kWh during off-peak hours. Charging a 100kWh battery under that tariff costs \u00a38, which equates to around 1.6p per mile for a vehicle with a 500-mile range. If suppliers pass on the VAT saving, that figure would fall to approximately 1.52p per mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The situation differs for drivers who cannot charge at home. According to Carwow<\/strong>, the Ionity public charging network charges \u00a30.81 per kWh. A full charge for a 100kWh battery would therefore cost \u00a381. Based on a vehicle averaging five miles per kWh, the running cost would be 16.2p per mile. For a vehicle achieving 2.5 miles per kWh, the cost rises to 32.4p per mile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carwow also reports that other public charging providers charge comparable rates. Instavolt lists a standard price of \u00a30.92 per kWh, while Osprey charges \u00a30.86 per kWh for rapid charging. BP Pulse charges between \u00a30.69 and \u00a30.89 per kWh depending on charger speed and whether the customer is a subscriber or guest user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EV drivers without driveways face higher electricity costs \u00a9 Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Industry Groups Call for Equal VAT Treatment on Public Charging<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several organisations representing the electric vehicle sector have criticised the continuing difference between VAT rates for domestic and public electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Press Association, Tanya Sinclair<\/a>, chief executive of Electric Vehicles UK, said the announcement “entrenches one of the biggest inequalities in the UK’s EV transition”. She said millions of drivers without off-street parking have no alternative but to pay 20% VAT on public charging while households with driveways will pay none on domestic electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siobhan Doyle<\/a>, consumer writer at Carwow, said removing VAT from domestic electricity “highlights the growing divide in EV ownership”. She added that equalising VAT between home and public charging remains the missing element if electric vehicles are to become equally accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAC head of policy Simon Williams<\/a> also urged the Government to consider reducing VAT on public charging, saying this would help drivers without driveways switch to electric vehicles more affordably. John Lewis<\/a>, chief executive of public chargepoint operator char.gy, said the current policy brings the difference in tax treatment into sharper focus, adding that the electricity supplied is the same and should receive the same VAT treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Government\u2019s decision to remove VAT from domestic electricity bills from October is set to reduce charging costs for electric vehicle owners who can plug in at home. The change, announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, has also renewed criticism of the difference between home and public charging costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":123607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123603"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123620,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123603\/revisions\/123620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}