Company car taxable benefit calculator

Two benefits, not one

Putting a car in your corporation creates two separate taxable benefits. The standby charge is 2% of the vehicle's original cost (including GST and PST) for every month it is available to you — it exists simply because the car sits there for your use, whether you drive it or not. The operating benefit is 34¢ per personal kilometre for 2026, covering fuel, insurance, maintenance and repairs the company paid.

The reduced standby charge is the whole game

If business use is at least 50% of total kilometres and personal driving stays under 1,667 km per month (20,004 a year), the standby charge is prorated down by your actual personal use. Both conditions must hold. Miss either one — by a single kilometre — and the full 2% per month applies, which is why the benefit on a company car is so often larger than owners expect.

Before you buy the car

Run the number first. On an expensive vehicle with meaningful personal use, the taxable benefit frequently exceeds what you would have received as a per-kilometre allowance for using your own car — 73¢ for the first 5,000 km and 67¢ after that, paid tax-free to you and deductible to the company. That comparison, not the purchase price, is the real decision. The full guide to company cars →