lovelectric Charge Card ready for new EV reimbursement rates

WITH new HMRC reimbursement rates for EV charging from September, lovelectric says that employees can steer clear of unnecessary tax payments by using its salary sacrifice Charge Card.

From 1 September HMRC splits the Advisory Electricity Rate (AER) into two bands: 8 pence per mile for home charging and 14 pence per mile for public. loveelectric – winner of the Best Salary Sacrifice Broker award 2025 – says that while the new public charging rate is a 100% increase on the old flat 7p rate and better reflects the higher cost of charging away from home, it still falls short of the actual cost.

“HMRC’s decision to split the Advisory Electricity Rate is a step in the right direction, but it still misses the mark in some important areas. Most notably, it does not account for the high cost of rapid charging.”

Steve Tigar, CEO lovelectric Tweet

According to Zapmap data, slow/fast public charging averages 52p per kWh and rapid/ultra-rapid charging averages 76p per kWh, some networks charging as much as 90p per kWh.

For an average efficiency EV, around 3.5 to 4 miles per kWh, that means 15p per mile on slow or fast charging and 23p per mile on rapid charging. In practice, employees are still paying more than HMRC’s allowance covers out of pocket, says Tigar.

How the Charge Card works

In June, lovelectric acquired charging tech startup Bypass to cut the cost of public electric car charging for employees across the UK. It has been testing its Charge Card since then with a full launch this autumn.

Tigar says: “The loveelectric Charge Card provides a more elegant solution by tracking the actual cost of every charging session and ensuring employees are reimbursed to the penny. It works for both sides: employees are never left out of pocket for business travel, and employers never pay more than they should”.

The Charge Card is structured as a pre-set salary sacrifice arrangement rather than a retrospective expense claim, which means it meets HMRC requirements. Deductions are agreed upfront and applied through payroll, and the card is restricted to public chargers and home energy suppliers to prevent misuse.

Employees sacrifice the appropriate amount based on their personal mileage and charging patterns. In return, they receive a virtual Visa card that works with Apple Pay or Google Pay at any UK charging point, as well as with home energy suppliers. This means, says lovelectric, they save between 30–60% on their personal mileage.

Because the card tracks the actual cost of every charging session and provides the appropriate data to employers, business mileage can be reimbursed accurately and fairly. The result, says lovelectric, is that employees are never left out of pocket for business trips while also enjoying heavily discounted charging for every personal journey.

The Charge Card is designed to slot into existing arrangements. It integrates with any EV salary sacrifice scheme or company car programme, whether employees drive electric vehicles from loveelectric, another provider, through a company car allowance, so there is no need to change the current provider or processes.