Automobile
An automobile is a motor vehicle that is designed or adapted mainly to carry individuals on highways and streets, and has a seating capacity of not more than the driver and eight passengers.
If the vehicle you provide to your employee is not included in the definition of automobile as described, see Benefit for motor vehicles not defined as an automobile.
Note
Zero-emission passenger vehicles (ZEPVs) are automobiles. For more information about ZEPVs, see What kind of vehicle do you own?.
An automobile does not include:
- an ambulance
- clearly marked police or fire emergency response vehicles
- clearly marked emergency medical response vehicles that you use to carry emergency medical equipment and one or more emergency medical attendants or paramedics
- a motor vehicle you bought to use primarily (more than 50% of the distance driven) as a taxi, a bus used in a business of transporting passengers, or a hearse in a funeral business
- a motor vehicle you bought to sell, rent, or lease in a motor vehicle sales, rental, or leasing business, except for benefits arising from personal use of an automobile
- a motor vehicle (other than a hearse) you bought to use in a funeral business to transport passengers, except for benefits arising from personal use of an automobile
- a van, pickup truck, or similar vehicle that meets either of the following criteria:
- can seat no more than the driver and two passengers, and in the year it is acquired or leased is used (50% or more of the distance driven) to transport goods or equipment in the course of business
- in the year it is acquired or leased, it is used (90% or more of the distance driven) to transport goods, equipment, or passengers in the course of business
or
- pickup trucks that you bought or leased in the tax year that meet both of the following criteria:
- are used (50% or more of the distance driven) to transport goods, equipment, or passengers in the course of earning or producing income
- are used at a remote work location or at a special work site that is at least 30 kilometres away from any community having a population of at least 40,000
NoteĀ
If the back part or trunk of a van, pickup truck, or similar vehicle has been permanently altered and can no longer be used as a passenger vehicle, it is no longer considered an automobile as long as it is used primarily for business.
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