TL;DR
Paying for public EV charging from gross salary through Paua Solo cuts costs by 28–42% compared to paying after tax. It’s simpler, fairer and fully compliant for both drivers and employers.
Why Paying for EV Charging Before Tax Beats Paying After
The simple maths that makes your EV charging up to 62% cheaper
When it comes to driving an electric vehicle (EV), there are two ways to pay for your charging:
- With gross pay - before tax and National Insurance are deducted.
- Or with net pay - from what’s left in your bank account.
Most people are doing the second one. But the first one - the salary sacrifice way - is where the real savings live.
Let’s look at why paying for EV charging before tax with Paua Solo can save you up to 62% compared with paying at the charger from your take-home pay.
1. The difference between gross pay and net pay
Your gross pay is your salary before tax and National Insurance (NI) are deducted.
Your net pay is what lands in your bank account after those deductions.
Every pound you spend from your bank account has already been reduced by your tax rate.
So, if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer (40% tax + 2% NI), you only keep 58p of every £1 you earn.
That means:
- £100 of EV charging from your debit card actually costs £172 in gross pay.
- Or, put another way, you’re paying 72% more than you need to.
Salary sacrifice fixes that.
2. The power of salary sacrifice
Salary sacrifice lets you give up part of your gross pay in exchange for a benefit - like a company EV or, in this case, a Paua Solo public charging allowance.
Because the deduction happens before tax and NI, you pay less overall and get more value for the same gross salary.
In practice:
- You choose a monthly charging allowance (say £50 or £100).
- It’s taken from your gross salary.
- Paua loads that full value onto your charging card.
You still get £100 of charging, but it only costs you £58 in take-home pay if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer.
3. Side-by-side comparison
Let’s see how this looks for two drivers:
Scenario
Basic-rate taxpayer
Higher-rate taxpayer
Tax rate
20%
40%
NI rate
8%
2%
Total deduction
28%
42%
Take-home cost for £100 of charging
£72
£58
Saving
£28
£42
So, by using a pre-tax charging allowance through Paua Solo, you’re saving roughly a third to nearly half on your public charging costs - every single month.
4. Why most drivers are overpaying for charging
The vast majority of drivers still pay for public charging the old-fashioned way - directly at the charger with their bank card or via an app.
That means they’re using their net pay, not their gross pay.
For every £100 they spend, that’s £100 already taxed.
If they’re a higher-rate taxpayer, that £100 could have been worth £172 before tax. In other words, they’re effectively paying an extra 72% gross just to plug in.
It’s like buying electricity with one hand tied behind your back.
5. How Paua Solo changes the game
Paua Solo brings public EV charging into the salary sacrifice structure.
When you get your salary sacrifice car, you can add a Paua Solo public charging card with a fixed monthly allowance - typically £25, £50, £75 or £100
That allowance is deducted from your gross salary before tax and NI. Paua then applies that full amount to your card, giving you instant access to over 69,000 public chargepoints across 50+ UK networks.
You charge as normal, but you’re effectively doing it with pre-tax income.
6. The financial impact - in plain numbers
Let’s use a real-world example:
Alex, a higher-rate taxpayer, drives a company EV through salary sacrifice.
They add a £75 Paua Solo allowance for public charging.
Item
Gross Pay
Take-Home Cost
Saving
Paua Solo allowance
£75
£43.50
£31.50
Annual impact
£900
£522
£378 saved
Over a three-year lease, that’s £1,134 saved - just on charging.
And that’s before factoring in reduced admin, no expense claims, and no post-pay complexity.
7. The fairness factor
Public charging has long been the blind spot in salary sacrifice schemes.
Drivers with home chargers get cheap energy (around 6–10p/kWh), while those relying on public networks often pay 60–75p/kWh - ten times as much.
That’s unfair.
By letting all drivers pay for public charging through gross salary, Paua Solo levels the playing field.
Now, everyone gets access to affordable, tax-efficient energy - whether they have a driveway or not.
That’s not just good finance; it’s good ethics.
8. Why post-tax “pay and reclaim” doesn’t work
Some schemes try to solve charging costs by letting employees pay as they go and reclaim later.
It sounds fine in theory but creates three big problems:
- It’s post-tax - no actual salary sacrifice benefit.
- It’s complex - HR teams get swamped with claims and receipts.
- It’s uncertain - employees don’t know what they’ll be reimbursed.
By contrast, Paua Solo’s fixed pre-tax model gives everyone certainty:
- The amount is agreed upfront.
- Payroll deductions stay consistent.
- HMRC compliance is built in.
9. Employer benefits: savings and simplicity
Employers win too.
By offering Paua Solo, companies save 13.8% in employer National Insurance on every pound of sacrificed salary.
Plus, the admin is effortless:
- One payroll deduction per driver.
- One consolidated invoice per month.
- One dashboard for reporting, VAT and sustainability metrics.
Less time chasing receipts, more time running the business.
10. The compliance comfort
Paua Solo’s model is fully aligned with HMRC’s salary sacrifice guidance:
- The deduction and benefit are agreed before use.
- The benefit is clearly defined (public charging credit).
- Payroll and reporting are straightforward and auditable.
That’s why it’s preferred by leading salary sacrifice providers and HR teams - predictable, clean, and low-risk.
11. How to estimate your personal savings
Here’s a quick calculator-style table you can adapt for web use:
Your Tax Band
Monthly Allowance
Take-Home Cost
Monthly Saving
Annual Saving
Basic (20% tax + 8% NI)
£50
£36
£14
£168
Basic (20% tax + 8% NI)
£100
£72
£28
£336
Higher (40% tax + 2% NI)
£50
£29
£21
£252
Higher (40% tax + 2% NI)
£100
£58
£42
£504
Add in employer NI savings and the total benefit often hits 60–62%.
It’s one of the most effective ways to reduce your running costs - all within the existing tax system.
12. The bigger picture: smarter, fairer electrification
This isn’t just about saving money. It’s about building an EV ecosystem that works for everyone.
When public charging becomes tax-efficient, it encourages more employees to go electric - not just those with home chargers.
That helps:
- Employers hit their sustainability targets.
- The grid gets cleaner demand.
- The UK moves faster towards net zero.
Saving money is great. Saving the planet while you do it? Even better.
13. The bottom line
If you’re paying for public charging out of your bank account, you’re paying too much.
By adding Paua Solo to your salary sacrifice car, you can:
- Use gross pay instead of net pay.
- Save 28–42% on every public charging session.
- Keep everything compliant, predictable and easy.
It’s the smarter, simpler way to drive electric.
Pay before tax. Save every month. Charge anywhere.
Paua Solo - public charging made simple, fair and tax-efficient.
