A BMW 330e run as a company car is taxed at a Benefit-in-Kind rate of 10% for the 2026/27 tax year. On a typical P11D value of £50,070, that produces a taxable benefit of £5,007 a year. A basic-rate taxpayer pays roughly £83 a month in BMW 330e company car tax; a higher-rate taxpayer pays about £167; an additional-rate taxpayer, around £188. The 330e’s 63-mile electric range and sub-50 g/km CO2 emissions are what earn it that low band, which no petrol or diesel 3 Series can reach.
How the Monthly Figure Is Calculated
Three numbers drive the bill: the car’s P11D value, the BIK percentage, and your marginal income tax rate. Multiply the P11D value by the BIK percentage to get the annual taxable benefit, then multiply that by your tax rate.
Using a 330e M Sport with a P11D value of £50,070 and the 10% band for 2026/27:
- Taxable benefit: £50,070 × 10% = £5,007 a year
- Basic-rate taxpayer (20%): £1,001 a year, about £83 a month
- Higher-rate taxpayer (40%): £2,003 a year, about £167 a month
- Additional-rate taxpayer (45%): £2,253 a year, about £188 a month
Those rates are the standard income tax bands for England, Northern Ireland, and Wales: 20% on taxable income up to £37,700 above the personal allowance, 40% from £37,701 to £125,140, and 45% above that.1GOV.UK. Income Tax Rates and Personal Allowances Scottish taxpayers use different rates and bands and should check their own bracket.
You never receive a separate bill. HMRC adjusts your PAYE tax code so the tax is spread across your monthly salary payments.2GOV.UK. Tax on Company Cars If you change car or hand it back mid-year, the code is updated to reflect the months you actually had it.
One thing worth checking before you sign for a car: the P11D value is the published list price on the day before first registration, including VAT, delivery, and any factory-fit options added when the car was first made available to you. The new car registration fee is excluded.3GOV.UK. How to Work Out the Benefit of a Company Car (480: Chapter 12) A technology pack or upgraded wheels added at order raise the P11D value and therefore raise your tax every year you drive the car.
Why the 330e Sits in the 10% Band
The current BMW 330e emits between 19 and 23 g/km of CO2 under WLTP testing and has an official electric-only range of 63 miles. That combination puts it in the 1–50 g/km band with 40–69 miles of electric range, which carries a 10% BIK rate for 2026/27.4GOV.UK. Work Out the Appropriate Percentage for Company Car Benefits (480: Appendix 2)
Electric range is doing most of the work. If the 330e’s range were under 30 miles, it would sit at 16%. Between 30 and 39 miles, 14%. At 63 miles, it lands in the lowest band available to any car that still has a combustion engine.4GOV.UK. Work Out the Appropriate Percentage for Company Car Benefits (480: Appendix 2)
For scale, a conventionally powered BMW 320i emitting around 150 g/km attracts a 36% BIK rate. On the same P11D value, the taxable benefit would be more than three and a half times larger. A fully electric car with zero tailpipe emissions pays just 4% in 2026/27, which is worth weighing if you’re choosing between the 330e and a battery-electric option like the i4.
How the Rate Changes Through 2029/30
Published rates for the 330e’s band climb steadily and then jump:
- 2025/26: 9%
- 2026/27: 10%
- 2027/28: 11%
- 2028/29: 18%
- 2029/30: 19%
The step from 11% to 18% in 2028/29 is the one to plan around. From that year, every plug-in hybrid emitting 1–50 g/km is taxed at the same rate regardless of electric range, so the tiered system that currently rewards long ranges disappears. A 330e with 63 miles of range and one with 25 miles pay the same.4GOV.UK. Work Out the Appropriate Percentage for Company Car Benefits (480: Appendix 2)
For a basic-rate taxpayer in a £50,070 330e, the annual bill rises from around £1,001 in 2026/27 to about £1,803 in 2028/29. A higher-rate taxpayer goes from £2,003 to £3,605. If you’re signing a three- or four-year lease, model both years before committing. Over the same period a pure electric car climbs only from 4% to 7%, which pulls the maths further toward battery electric on longer contracts.
If Your Employer Pays for Private Fuel
Employer-paid private fuel triggers a separate fuel benefit charge on top of the car BIK. For 2026/27, multiply the flat fuel benefit multiplier of £29,200 by the car’s BIK percentage. At 10%, that adds a taxable benefit of £2,920. A basic-rate taxpayer owes an extra £584 a year; a higher-rate taxpayer, £1,168.
The charge applies in full even if you only draw a small amount of private fuel. You avoid it entirely only by reimbursing your employer for every drop of private fuel, or by charging the battery yourself at home. For a plug-in hybrid that can cover most daily commutes on electricity, declining the fuel card and charging at home is often the cheaper move overall.
Salary Sacrifice as an Alternative
Some employers offer salary sacrifice: you give up part of your pre-tax salary in exchange for a leased company car. The sacrificed salary escapes income tax and employee National Insurance, which can make the net cost of the car meaningfully lower than paying for one from after-tax income.
There is a catch built into the rules. HMRC taxes the benefit at whichever figure is higher: the salary you sacrificed, or the BIK value calculated the normal way. For a low-emission car like the 330e with a 10% BIK rate, the BIK value is almost always well below the lease cost, so the arrangement works strongly in the driver’s favour. That advantage narrows as BIK rates climb, and disappears for high-emission cars.
The trade-offs are real. If you leave the employer, the car goes with the job. Your reduced headline salary can affect mortgage affordability assessments, statutory maternity pay, and any pension contribution based on actual salary. Your post-sacrifice pay must stay at or above the national minimum wage. For a higher-rate taxpayer in a 330e, however, the annual saving against funding a car privately can still run to several thousand pounds.