#31 The Half Price EV

Below the Surface

Electric Vehicles are basically half price in Australia right now, thanks to some little-known government incentives. Gunnar and James decided it was the perfect time to talk… tax. Yes, tax. And you thought resource recovery was a boring subject, right?

But before you judge, listen to this episodes. Gunnar and James have brought in the big guns: chartered accountant Paul Mills (paulybmills at gmail.com).

It really sounds like the beginning of a bad joke: Two engineers and an accountant meet for a podcast ...

Somehow yet again they pull it off, though. This episode is full of genuinely valuable info. Paul explains what Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) actually is, who pays it, and whether your lease company or car dealers are lying to you with their 'tax advice' (spoiler: probably). They also unpack the confusing mess that is the difference between a car loan, a lease, and a novated lease.

And most importantly: The kicker is that EVs (full EVs, not wannabe EV hybrids) are FBT exempt in Australia. If you do it right, that knocks off around 50% off the prices of buying an EV. How? You gotta listen to find out.

But remember: while Paul is brilliant, this podcast is still mainly about contaminated sites and resource recovery (some call it dirt and rubbish). So don’t go making financial decisions based on what you heard here without getting your own advice.

Recorded on 11 June 2025 (just before EOFY!)

Link to the EPA announcement regarding NEMP 3:

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The necessary disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this Podcast are the speakers’ own. They do not necessarily represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of 4Pillars Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd or any Client, Supplier or other party related to 4Pillars or the speakers.
(c) Gunnar Haid and James Hammond

Chapters

1. Intro banter (00:00:00)

2. Paul Mills Introduction (00:05:32)

3. What is Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) (00:08:52)

4. How about FBT on laptops? (00:17:59)

5. Let's buy a car, what's deductible and what is deductible travel? (00:18:30)

6. Various ways of financing cars. Loans, leases? (00:23:22)

7. Gross-up value (00:31:42)

8. Fancy Tax Trick #1 - Offset accounts (00:33:39)

9. Fancy Tax Trick #2 - Superannuation (00:36:21)

10. Fancy Tax Trick #3 - 50% off on EVs (00:38:26)

11. Gunnar gets busted (watch out with your AMEX) (00:51:02)

12. The good byes (00:57:06)