Are double cab pickups cars or vans for tax?

Are double cab pickups cars or vans for tax? Since 6 April 2025, HMRC treats most double cab pickups as cars for Income Tax, even with a payload of 1 tonne or more. That changes capital allowances, hire costs and benefit in kind, but not the 55p mileage rate. Not for spending from 6 April 2025, unless the transitional rule applies: a contract made before that date, with the cost incurred before 1 October 2025. HMRC no longer treats a payload of 1 tonne or more as making a double cab a goods vehicle, and expects most, if not all, double cabs to be cars. Not for capital allowances. Spending incurred before 6 April 2025 keeps the old treatment, so a double cab with a payload of 1 tonne or more is not treated as a car. Hire and lease costs are different: HMRC treats those incurred from 1 October 2025 as car hire, whenever the contract was signed. Yes. GOV.UK's flat rates cover cars and goods vehicles alike: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026-27 and 25p after that. You cannot use them for a vehicle you have already claimed capital allowances on or included as an expense, and once you use them for a vehicle you keep using them while it is in your business. Read the full answer, with every source, at rightotax.co.uk.