An employee who has been provided with an electric car by an employer for use in performing his or her employment duties, and a charging station for this car is installed at the employee’s residence. Would the installation of the charging station be a benefit outside the automobile benefit provisions? CRA responded:
Where an employer provides an employee with an electric vehicle for use in performing employment duties and installs a charging station at the home of that employee, it is our view that in many cases the employer would likely be the primary beneficiary, provided that ownership of the charging station is not transferred to the employee, and that its cost (including installation) is reasonable in the circumstances.
However, this would not be the case if the charging station is owned by the employee.
As the charging station draws on the employee’s electricity, the employee is reimbursing the employer for a portion of the operating costs. CRA stated in this regard:
[I]f an employer reimburses an employee for reasonable employment-related electricity costs paid by the employee, the reimbursement will not generally give rise to a taxable benefit.