ULEZ Expansion 2023 - What it means for your business
To help clear London's air, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expanded across all London boroughs on 29 August 2023.
Poor air quality is impacting the health of Londoners, and it's mainly caused by polluting vehicles. The latest data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (LAEI, 2019) shows that, although improvements are being made, road transport is the single biggest contributor of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter emissions in Greater London.
Londoners are developing life-changing illnesses such as cancer, asthma and lung disease, and there is a higher risk of dementia in older people. Air pollution even contributes to the premature death of thousands of Londoners every year. It's not just a central London problem. In fact, the greatest number of deaths related to air pollution occur in outer London areas. That's why the ULEZ has expanded across all London boroughs.
9 out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London already meet the ULEZ emissions standards and around 8 out of 10 vans.
If you drive anywhere within the ULEZ, and your vehicle does not meet the emissions standards, you could face a daily charge of £12.50. Pay to drive by using the TfL website, or set up Auto Pay and your charges will be paid automatically.
This includes residents of the ULEZ. However, you don't need to pay the ULEZ charge on a particular day if your non-compliant vehicle is parked inside the zone and you don't drive.
Owners of non-UK registered vehicles also need to meet the ULEZ emissions standards or pay the daily charge to drive within the zone. Vehicles need to be registered with our partner EPC plc, even if they meet the emissions standards.
For owners of non-compliant vehicles, help is available through our scrappage scheme and ULEZ support offers.
Any money received from the scheme is reinvested into running and improving London's transport network, such as contributing to the proposed Superloop, made up of express bus routes to help connect more people in outer London.
Subsidies for vehicle replacement and ULEZ tax relief
Scrapping non-compliant cars and motorcycles can help Londoners switch from non-compliant vehicles and get £2,000 or £1,000 per motorcycle.
A grant increase of £6,000 to £11,500 is available to small businesses and charities. In addition to the £7,000 grant for scrapping non-compliant vans, there is also a £9,000 subsidy for buying electric vans.
A wheelchair accessible vehicle now receives a payment of up to £10,000, and vans retrofitted to ULEZ standards receive a grant of £6,000.
Businesses and charities can only apply for grants until 29 November 2023 for retrofits and 29 February 2024 for new vehicles. ULEZ charges incurred for business purposes can also be deducted from businesses' tax bills, according to HMRC. As it stated:
"Self-assessment customers are entitled to tax relief on travel expenses, including low emission zone charges, if they have been exclusively for the purposes of the trade.
"When a self-employed individual claims an allowable expense, the amount is deducted fully from their taxable profits."
Your options
Scrappage scheme
London residents with a vehicle that does not meet ULEZ emissions standards can apply to the Mayor of London's £160 million scrappage scheme. Successful applicants could receive a payment to scrap their vehicle or choose a lower payment plus one or two TfL Annual Bus & Tram passes worth more than the payment alone.
London-based sole traders, microbusinesses (10 or fewer employees), small businesses (under 50 employees) and registered charities can apply to scrap or retrofit up to 3 vans or minibuses and get an increased grant payment.
ULEZ support offers
To help make the switch to cleaner forms of transport, there are also exclusive ULEZ support offers for successful scrappage scheme applicants, as well as offers for all London residents to take advantage of, whether they apply to the scrappage scheme or not.
Discounts and exemptions
To help disabled Londoners and community transport providers prepare for the expansion, the existing ULEZ grace periods (temporary exemptions) have been extended, and there are short-term grace periods for retrofits and compliant vehicles on order that won't be ready until after the ULEZ expansion.
Talk to Zyla Accountants about preparing your tax and business expenses.