Novated Lease with LeasePlan and Won't Allow Us to Claim Home Charging for Our EV

SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 15:31

I'm hoping you all can help me with advice, while I'm trying to get this sorted…I figured someone out there might know the answer or be able to help me with this…

My wife has a novated lease with LeasePlan through her employer for an EV.

We went to claim the home charging for the FBT year, however they won't accept it.

LeasePlan say that her name has to be on the electricity account as the account holder under ATO requirements.

I've spoken to the ATO and they said the account name doesn't matter as we are married and it's a shared financial obligation and she only needs to prove there's a financial cost for the electricity, which to them would be accepted since we are married, live at the same address etc…

We live in Perth and our electricity provider Synergy doesn't allow joint names on the account, so it's been in my name the whole time with my wife as an authorised person. I only found this out because of all this. The account name can't be changed to her. It would require my account to be closed and her to open an account in her name for our address, which doesn't help this current claim, and may incur account establishment fees according to Synergy. LeasePlan won't accept a confirmation letter from Synergy with her listed as an authorised person on the account.

I've contacted AFCA to make a complaint, however LeasePlan and the parent company SG Fleet don't come up on their system as registered companies with them. I've contacted them on [email protected] from the complaints page https://sgprdau-web-rndr2-a6h7hbe8cpdcdbbx.australiasoutheas… and waiting to hear back on what company name to list for the AFCA complaint. When I called LeasePlan to find out what company to use and asked to speak to a manager, all the managers were "in a meeting". AFCA said if the wrong company is listed on the complaint then I would have to start it again, so it may not be NLC Insurance, NLC Financial as I've also found associated with LeasePlan/SG Fleet.

I posted this EV charging claim question on the ATO community website and was advised to put in a Complex Tax Advice request, so hopefully I'll hear back soon from them with an answer too.

I don't what else to do or where else to go to get this sorted. My thoughts were if this isn't or can't be dealt with -

  • we'll just cop all the EV charging ourselves over the lease and not be able to claim charging at all
  • cop this FBT year of charging and do the account switch with Synergy for future claims
  • go get one of those EV loans and pay out the lease instead so we don't have to deal with that anymore, even though my wife will lose the tax benefits.

If my research or understanding of the ATO requirements is wrong, please let me know, I want to learn.

I'm still trying to get this resolved, however if anyone has any advice or tips, it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Financial Novated Lease

Comments

  • apple2016 on 13/05/2025 - 15:55
    +1

    we'll just cop all the EV charging ourselves over the lease and not be able to claim charging at all

    How much saving are you thinking about here? I mean if its about $100 for a year, is any of this worth the time you are going to spend on this?

    go get one of those EV loans and pay out the lease instead so we don't have to deal with that anymore, even though my wife will lose the tax benefits.

    there will be a lease breakage fee.

    cop this FBT year of charging and do the account switch with Synergy for future claims

    this is probably the easiest

    • fredz0r on 13/05/2025 - 16:09
      -1

      I know when i had an EV it was about $5 a day. it's probably worth claiming. Should be able to claim on your tax return anyway.

      • SlickMick on 14/05/2025 - 09:35

        So they perhaps should be entitled to save a portion of GST from the electricity bill, amounting to stuff all. OP has already wasted more effort on this than it is worth.

        Should be able to claim on your tax return anyway.

        Why would they be able to claim a deduction for power? I don't get a deduction for fuel.

        I claim all fuel and car washing, but it's hardly worth the effort. e.g. I pay $19.80 for a car wash on credit card and get a few reward points. I get that reimbursed by lease company, who deduct it (less GST) from my budget which is paid from pretax salary.
        So for keeping the receipt, scanning it, filling in a form and submitting to lease company, I end up less than $2.50 ahead.
        I reckon I'm ahead $20 a year doing all this stuffing around.

        I find it very hard to believe that trying to be reimbursed for electricity use is sensible.

        • changyang1230 on 14/05/2025 - 12:52

          I am not sure if you fully understand the calculation of saving.

          For example 19.80 car wash (presumably 1.80 being the GST).

          Let’s say your tax bracket is 37% + 2% Medicare levy.

          When you claim this via NL, it would be akin to a 39% “discount” when you account for the fact that you are paying pretax money, ie it’s equivalent to your having spent 18*(1-0.39) =10.98 dollars.

          So you went from spending 19.80 down to 10.98, that’s a good 45% saving overall.

          Obviously on one single car wash or a single week’s electricity it amounts to very little, but when you add everything up it is still hundreds to thousands.

          (The home charging has slightly different calculation but the central idea is the same)

          • SlickMick on 14/05/2025 - 13:00

            @changyang1230: Yeah hundred of dollars per year, for hours of admin work. I do it coz it's in my nature, but it isn't a good use of my time.

            For a fully electric vehicle, if the financier is willing to reimburse at a fixed rate rather than providing evidence of power consumption, would be similarly okay for people who value their time very lowly. But in OP's case, absolutely not worth while.

      • Darayus on 14/05/2025 - 10:38
        +1

        Are you sure, EV charge plans are 8 cents/KW between 12 to 6 am, if you drive daily 350 km then you need 40KW to charge that will cost you around $ 3.2.
        Is it worth the effort on your side to claim pretax salary? You will save more by giving up your daily coffee dose from the cafe.

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:18
      +1

      we got the car end of July and to end of March it was nearly $300, so nothing to sneeze at and would help with our bill.

      Yes, changing the account would be the easiest, however if the company is wrong, they need to know and I don't like to give up easily.

      • voo123 on 13/05/2025 - 20:33

        I am not sure why your leasing company is being so difficult on this when its not their money at stake. In the running costs, things like electricity charging, rego, insurance, service/maintainance, tyres should all be budgeted for. It is deducted from your pay, and stored in the allowances 'piggy bank' for you to claim whenever needed. It is YOUR money to utilise to cover YOUR running costs. The leasing company charges their own admin fees and finance for the lease.

        They are essentially holding YOUR money hostage in YOUR piggy back for god knows what- possibly to claim interest on that money to benefit THEMSELVES.

        I am with LeaseLab and they are seamless to deal with. Upload screenshot of kilometers (or any running costs) and it is calculated by 4.2c/km. No electricity bill needed. Money into bank account in a few business days.

        • SlickMick on 14/05/2025 - 09:47

          That is a better approach.
          But you're being a bit dramatic. Yes, the budget is paid from pretax income, and tax is paid on any budget surplus at end of lease, but it's pretty insignificant compared to the rest of the costs of a novated lease.

    • trapper on 13/05/2025 - 20:30

      How much saving are you thinking about here? I mean if its about $100 for a year, is any of this worth the time you are going to spend on this?

      Mine is about $50 a week!

  • chuq on 13/05/2025 - 16:07
    +2

    I did a similar thing with my first EV - this was back in 2016 and before most leasing companies knew what EVs were.

    I opted to not include charging costs. The amount of electricity was so small and the cost was very low. I was using a 15A outlet at the time - the cost of the hardware required to track and record the usage wouldn't have been worth it.

    As an extra complication - if I was charging, while my solar was generating, how much was it actually costing me? My off-peak rate? My solar export rate? A mix of both? If I estimate and the ATO thinks I'm wrong, am I in trouble?

    Different issues, but the same outcome - the cost is negligible enough to not stress about it.

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:36
      +1

      Does solar generation matter? I thought we just claimed the 4c per km regardless?

  • rambutann on 13/05/2025 - 16:21
    +4

    Why you don't just claim 4.2c/km like everyone else?

    https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/pdf/cog/pcg2024-002.pdf
    Page 5.

    I'm with Car-Bon and that's how I claim..

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:17

      that's what i was going to do, however they want proof with the electricity bill and their forms make you declare that the electricity account is in the name of the leasing person.

      I even linked to that page in my many emails to show that the ATO accepts a shared household obligation for the bill, regardless of account name and they wont budge.

      • changyang1230 on 13/05/2025 - 21:25

        Your leasing company is being difficult to be honest.

        When I claim the 4.2c/km my leasing company does not even ask me for electricity bill in my name.

        Would they accept your wife doing bank transfer to you with the exact amount of electric bill with the label "electricity", as the proof that "she" incurred the expense? Surely that's enough proof of "her" incurring the expense if you show them both the electricity bill of your name and her transferring to you - if they are being pedantic about who's paying what.

        • SupermanPrime on 14/05/2025 - 13:33

          no, they won't, already tried that as she pays the electricity herself from her account and they won't accept that.

      • rambutann on 14/05/2025 - 09:50

        That's real dumb.

        I send a photo of my odometer every quarter and get money deposited into my bank account and have never proven anything to do with my electricity account.

    • bemybubble on 13/05/2025 - 19:07

      You can’t as you don’t own the vehicle

  • brendanm on 13/05/2025 - 16:35
    +1

    Just start a new energy account in your wife's name, would have taken way less time than anything else you've been doing.

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:32

      Can't always shut up and put up. Got to stand up for what's right… and I'm hoping that I am, cos if not, then so be it and I'll make alternate options.

      That's why I'm posting here, to see if I am in the right or not and hope that someone with FBT/Leasing or ATO experience can help.

      • brendanm on 13/05/2025 - 20:19

        You must be bored, good luck to you in your fight though.

      • p1 ama on 13/05/2025 - 20:46

        Can't always shut up and put up. Got to stand up for what's right… and I'm hoping that I am, cos if not, then so be it and I'll make alternate options.

        Either you have too much time, or you must feel emasculated with your wife's name on the electricity bill instead of yours. Not sure which is worse.

      • JIMB0 on 13/05/2025 - 20:58

        You have to pick your battles. Open a new account in your wife's name and pick up a nice cashback and sign on bonus as well.

  • nicktork on 13/05/2025 - 17:04

    I found it too difficult to claim home electricity with SG Fleet for my Mitsubishi PHEV. They wanted a dedicated metered power circuit and exports from the car which match the bills, which I'm not able to provide. It costs me about $1.60 per night to charge anyway, no great loss. I just claim for a bi-weekly carwash with the "fuel" budget included in my lease instead.

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:40

      Since LeasePlan are owned by SG Fleet, they probably purposely making it difficult across the board.

      The car app shows the % of home and public charging and we only charged at home so far and the app is supposed to be enough.

      You can claim for a carwash? Might have to do that lol

      • nicktork on 14/05/2025 - 09:29

        You can claim for anything maintenence-related. Just scan the receipt and lodge the refund claim via their portal. As long as you've built up enough credit in the lease pot, they'll pay it out after a few days. They really don't care whether it's fuel/maintenance/rego etc as long as there's money available in your pot.

  • MS Paint on 13/05/2025 - 17:10
    +3

    ADAEVHS

  • wannagrababargain on 13/05/2025 - 17:41

    I think your LeasePlan consultant is confused. You can claim it as a "Cash Claim" with reason "FBT Home Charging Claim." It will be usually deducted out of your "maintenance" budget reserves. Make sure there's enough in there to begin with. You need to keep records of start and end kms for the claim.

    Can put in reimbursement claims at any time, don't need to wait for the "FBT year."

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:22

      Not just one person, it's every person I've spoken to and emailed. They all say the same thing.

      All their forms say they need proof that the electricity bill is in her name, since she is the leasing person and their forms make you declare it too, and they said they won't accept her as an authorised person. That's even when putting in the "cash claim" as that's what I was going to do. There's plenty in the maintenance budget too.

  • jv on 13/05/2025 - 17:42
    -3

    I just use a Shell Fleet card.

    • SupermanPrime on 13/05/2025 - 18:19
      +1

      you don't get a "fuel card" when you have an EV

      • jv on 13/05/2025 - 19:03
        -4

        I don't have an EV.

      • ColtNoir on 14/05/2025 - 14:21

        I thought they were rolling them out now for charging stations. Is that not the case?

  • bemybubble on 13/05/2025 - 19:13

    https://community.ato.gov.au/s/question/a0JRF000001OJXS/p002…

    From what I can read, is your response similar to this?

    I wonder if they already factor this into your package based on what you estimate to be yearly kms.

  • Gotchas on 13/05/2025 - 20:06
    +1

    PDF editor ?

  • Choc0 on 14/05/2025 - 16:45

    Mine didn't even ask. Just needed to give them a declaration with kilometres. They paid it in two days

    Maybe ask if you could do a stat Dec?

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