Workplace EV charging: the grant, costs and what it does to your energy bill

The grant in brief

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is a government grant that helps businesses, charities and public sector bodies pay for EV chargepoints for staff and fleet use. According to GOV.UK, the grant is up to £500 per socket for chargepoints installed on or after 1 April 2026 (installations completed before that were capped at £350). It covers up to 75% of purchase and installation costs including VAT, subject to that per-socket cap, and you can claim for up to 40 sockets across all your sites. The scheme's closing date is listed as 11:59pm on 31 March 2027.

Who can apply

The current GOV.UK Find a grant page lists businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses (state-funded schools have a separate scheme). Key conditions include:

• You own the site or have your landlord's consent.
• The site has dedicated off-road parking linked to the premises.
• You use an authorised installer.
• You can give a Companies House number, a VAT number or a business rates bill.
• You have not already claimed under this scheme or its predecessors for the site.
• The installation was not mandatory, such as one required by building regulations or a planning condition.
• You stay within the minimal financial assistance limit of £315,000 over three financial years.

An earlier version of the guidance (withdrawn in February 2024) also asked for a dedicated staff or fleet car park, OZEV-approved chargepoints, installation by an authorised installer, and a three-year maintenance commitment. Check the current guidance for the up-to-date technical rules before you buy equipment.

How the process works

1. Apply through the online WCS portal.
2. If successful, you receive a voucher by email, normally within 5 working days. Vouchers last 180 days.
3. Your installer completes the work and claims the grant.

Do not order or start installation before you have a voucher. The current Find a grant listing says you apply first, after an installer has surveyed the site, then hand the voucher to an authorised installer; the installation and claim must both be completed within the voucher's 180 days.

Worked example: why the cap matters

A garage wants four sockets for staff and two vans. The quote is £10,000 including VAT (an invented figure).

• 75% of cost: £10,000 × 0.75 = £7,500.
• Per-socket cap: 4 × £500 = £2,000.
• Grant: the lower of the two = £2,000, or 20% of the cost.

The cap, not the 75%, usually decides the grant. So treat the grant as a modest contribution, not a way to fund the project. Installation costs vary widely between sites, and we do not publish price ranges we cannot verify, so get itemised quotes.

Electricity: what changes on your bill

Chargers add load, and that affects your energy contract:

• More kWh. A car that charges 20 kWh a day for 250 days adds 20 × 250 = 5,000 kWh a year. At 24.51p/kWh (the DESNZ Q2 2026 non-domestic average including CCL) that is 5,000 × £0.2451 = about £1,226 a year per car, before VAT.
• Peak demand. Many chargers working at once can raise your maximum demand and could affect capacity charges. See supply capacity and kVA charges.
• Supply upgrade. A bigger installation may need extra capacity or a new connection from your network operator. Ask early.
• Time of use. Charging overnight or on a day-night tariff may cost less; see day and night rates.

VAT rules on EV charging differ from standard business energy. HMRC VAT Notice 701/19: fuel and power states that the reduced-rate de minimis does not apply to EV charging at public or workplace chargers, so charging is not covered by the reduced 5% rate. See VAT and Climate Change Levy.

Should you charge staff?

If staff charge personal cars, you decide whether to offer it free, charge a rate, or reimburse. HMRC's Employment Income Manual says that since 6 April 2018 there is no taxable benefit when employees charge a vehicle at or near their workplace, provided charging is available to your employees generally and is not part of a salary sacrifice or similar arrangement. Paying back staff for charging elsewhere is not covered by that exemption, so ask your accountant about mileage and reimbursement rules.

Other grants

GOV.UK's April 2026 changes page covers other chargepoint grants for staff and fleets, landlords and others, each with its own closing dates. Read it if you are a landlord, or look at efficiency grants and loans and the question is there a grant for workplace EV charging?.

Practical points before you install

Charger numbers and sizing

Count the cars you actually need to charge now, not the most you might ever have. A common mistake is fitting too many sockets and paying for supply capacity that sits idle. Smart chargers that share the available power between cars can keep your peak demand down. The earlier WCS guidance required each socket to have at least a 3kW supply that is not reduced by simultaneous charging, so ask the installer how your design meets the current rules.

Who pays and who uses it

Decide in advance whether the chargers are for staff, fleet vehicles, visitors or customers. The WCS is for dedicated off-street parking linked to your premises. A chargepoint open to the public is a different business model, with its own VAT and licensing questions, so seek advice before offering paid public charging.

Tenants and landlords

If you rent, you need your landlord's consent and, often, a clear plan for who owns the equipment at the end of the lease. If you are a landlord with several tenants, see the landlord energy guide and the separate GOV.UK landlord grants mentioned above. Separate metering is helpful so that charging costs do not get mixed into a shared bill.

Pairing with solar

Daytime charging can use solar power directly, which is cheaper than importing. A site with panels and a fleet of vans that park at work all day can fit well. See commercial solar panels.

Next steps

• Check you meet the site and parking rules.
• Get at least two quotes from authorised installers with a clear split of equipment, installation and any network upgrade.
• Apply for the voucher before you order.
• Ask your electricity supplier or broker whether more demand will change your pricing.