What does your van cost you per hour as a carpenter?
The van goes to every job, but many forget it in their rate. Add up depreciation, diesel, insurance, vehicle tax, servicing and tyres and see what it costs per hour. UK prices, October 2026, in miles and mpg.
2026/27 tax year
A typical van for a carpenter costs £10 excl. VAT per billable hour once depreciation, interest, diesel, insurance, vehicle tax and servicing are counted.
Step 1 of 3 · The van
Including racking, roof bars and kit.
What you expect to get for it.
On the finance, or on your own money tied up in the van.
Your van costs per billable hour, excl. VAT
£10/hr
excl. VAT
- Per mile
- £0.87
- Per month
- £1,018
- Per year
- £12,221
What the van costs
- Depreciation38 %£3.41
- Interest12 %£1.06
- Diesel26 %£2.32
- Insurance11 %£1.04
- Vehicle tax3 %£0.27
- Servicing and repairs5 %£0.44
- Tyres2 %£0.22
- Parking, ULEZ and other3 %£0.30
Amounts per billable hour.
Guide figures only, errors excepted and without guarantee. The numbers show what a healthy, profitable business needs.
Bidmio for carpenters
From the first call to the paid invoice: quotes, timesheets, materials and invoices in one system, made for carpenters. See how it fits together in an ordinary week.
Your body is your most important tool, and you can't buy a new one
Being a tradesperson is hard physical work. Knees, back and shoulders do not last 50 years on ladders and scaffolding, and nobody pays you when they say stop. Your rate has to pay for that while you still can.
- 68Born after 5 April 1978? Under today's law your State Pension age is 68, and for those born in the year before it lies between 67 and 68, phased in from 2044. For people born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977 it is 67. The next review could move it again.
- 41,000construction workers in Great Britain suffer from a work-related musculoskeletal disorder: 53% of all work-related ill health in the sector, and 2.0% of its workers against 1.2% across all industries (HSE, average 2022/23 to 2024/25).
- £0Statutory Sick Pay (£123.25 a week from the first day off in 2026/27) is for employees only. Off sick as a sole trader, your income stops the same day unless you pay for income protection yourself.
- 0%No employer pays into your pension. An employee is auto-enrolled with at least 8% of qualifying earnings, 3% of it from the employer. You only get what you build into your own rate.
Do the maths: to stop at 63 instead of 68 you have to fund 5 years without pay. At £2,000 a month that is £120,000 before tax and inflation, and the State Pension, at most £241.30 a week, does not start until 68. That money only comes from one place: your rate in the years your body can still do the work.
Underpricing is not the way to a good life. Every hour you sell too cheaply, you pay for later with your body, your pension and your time off.
Where do the numbers come from?
Every number in the check is either an official UK rate or an estimate that we label as one. Open a field to see why, with an example from real life.
Purchase price excl. VAT
A VAT-registered business can normally reclaim the VAT on a van, so the real price is without VAT. Include racking, roof bars and signwriting. The van prices per trade are Bidmio's estimates for a medium panel van.
Real life: A £26,000 van with £1,500 of racking and signwriting is a £27,500 investment that has to be earned back over the years you keep it.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Value when you sell it
What you can realistically sell the van for when you change it. Bidmio's estimate: about a third of the price after 5 years.
Real life: A van with 60,000 miles and site dents is rarely worth more than the trade-in the dealer offers.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Years you keep it
How long you expect to keep the van. Bidmio's estimate is 5 years.
Real life: Keep it longer and depreciation falls, but servicing, repairs and days off the road go up.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Interest rate
Borrowed money costs interest, and cash in the van costs too: it could have paid off debt or sat in the bank. 7% is Bidmio's estimate for van finance in 2026, with Bank Rate at 3.75%.
Real life: £17,500 tied up in a van at 7% is about £1,200 a year, even if you paid cash.
Lease payment
The fixed monthly payment excl. VAT. If servicing is in the contract, set servicing to 0.
Real life: Remember the initial rental of three to nine months and the charges for extra miles or damage when the van goes back.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Show 9 more explanations
Miles a year
Driving to customers, the merchant, the tip and pricing visits. Bidmio's estimate per trade; check the mileage on your last MOT certificate.
Real life: A 25-mile round trip a day for 220 days is 5,500 miles before a single run to the merchant.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Miles per gallon
A loaded van with racking and a roof rack does fewer miles to the gallon than the brochure says. Bidmio's estimate per trade, in UK gallons (4.546 litres).
Real life: The brochure says 45 mpg. With half a tonne of kit and town driving, 32 to 38 mpg is more realistic.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Diesel per litre excl. VAT
Diesel averaged 200.04p a litre incl. VAT across the UK in the week of 12 October 2026 (DESNZ). Without the 20% VAT that is about £1.67.
Real life: Using 1,400 litres a year, every 10p more per litre costs you £140 a year.
Billable hours a year
The van's cost is spread over the hours the customer pays for, not every hour you drive. Find your figure in the rate calculator.
Real life: A van costing £10,000 a year spread over 1,350 billable hours is £7.41 an hour.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Insurance
Van insurance for business use, excl. any VAT. Bidmio's estimate; price and excess vary a lot with your postcode and claims history. Insurance premiums carry Insurance Premium Tax, not VAT, so you cannot reclaim it.
Real life: Leave tools in the van overnight? Check that your tools cover includes theft from a locked van overnight; many people find out after the break-in that it does not.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Vehicle tax
Vehicle tax for a light goods vehicle (up to 3,500 kg) registered from March 2001 is £360 a year in 2026. If an employee or director uses the van privately, the van benefit charge of £4,170 a year applies as well.
Real life: A director who takes the company van home at weekends pays income tax on £4,170 a year, and the company pays Class 1A National Insurance on it.
Servicing, MOT and repairs
Servicing, brakes, clutches, the MOT from year three and the repairs that always come. Bidmio's estimate.
Real life: A van off the road for a day at the garage is also a day you cannot work.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Tyres
Tyres, fitting and tracking. Bidmio's estimate.
Real life: Van tyres wear faster than car tyres when the van is always loaded.
Bidmio's estimate from typical figures. Change it to your own.
Parking, ULEZ, tolls and other
Parking at customers, permits, tolls, the Dartford Crossing, cleaning, fines and small items. Bidmio's estimate. Older diesel vans pay £12.50 a day in London's ULEZ, and several cities run Clean Air Zones.
Real life: Pay-and-display at £3 an hour, 4 hours a day for 50 days a year is £600, before a single parking ticket.
All sources
- Bank of England: Bank Rate 3.75% (unchanged since 18 December 2025)
- DESNZ: Weekly road fuel prices (diesel 200.04p a litre, 12 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Vehicle tax rate tables (light goods vehicles £360 a year)
- HMRC: Van benefit charge 2026 to 2027 (£4,170) and van fuel benefit (£798)
- Transport for London: Ultra Low Emission Zone (£12.50 a day for non-compliant vans)
2026/27 tax year
Rates change every tax year on 6 April, and some at the Budget. We update the figures once the new rates are published, but always check your own numbers with your accountant.
Why does the van belong in the hourly rate?
The van goes to every job. If it is not in your rate or charged as travel on the invoice, you pay for it out of your own pay.
Is leasing cheaper than buying?
It depends on the price, the interest rate and how long you keep the van. Switch between Bought and Leased in the calculator and compare the two figures.
Why are the prices excl. VAT?
A VAT-registered business can usually reclaim the VAT on a van and its fuel for business use, so the real cost is the price without VAT. If you are not VAT-registered, enter the prices incl. VAT.
Does the van count as a taxable benefit?
Only if an employee or a company director can use it privately beyond commuting. Then the van benefit charge applies (£4,170 a year in 2026/27, £798 more if the company pays private fuel). A sole trader simply takes out the private share of the costs.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. The share link only contains how you have the van, its price, the miles and what you add to your rate.
Disclaimer
All calculations are a guide only and may contain errors. Bidmio gives no guarantee for the result, and the calculation is not tax, accounting or legal advice. The figures show what it takes to run a healthy, profitable business on the assumptions you entered and typical UK rates for 2026/27. Your own situation may differ, so always check the figures with your accountant before making decisions.