Type of vehicle

The kind of vehicle you own can affect the expenses you deduct. For income tax purposes, you should know the definitions of these four types of vehicles:

• motor vehicles
• passenger vehicles
• zero-emission passenger vehicle (ZEPV)
• zero-emission vehicle (ZEV)

A motor vehicle is an automotive vehicle designed or adapted for use on highways and streets. A motor vehicle does not include a trolley bus or a vehicle designed or adapted to be operated only on rails.

A passenger vehicle is a motor vehicle that is owned by the taxpayer (other than a zero-emission vehicle) or that is leased, and is designed or adapted primarily to carry people on highways and streets. It seats a driver and no more than eight passengers. Most cars, station wagons, vans and some pick-up trucks are passenger vehicles.

Passenger vehicles and zero-emission passenger vehicles are subject to limits on the amount of capital cost allowance (CCA), interest and leasing costs that may be deducted. They do not include:

• an ambulance
• a clearly marked police or fire emergency response vehicle
• a motor vehicle you bought to use more than 50% as a taxi, a bus used in the business of transporting passengers or a hearse used in a funeral business
• a motor vehicle you bought to sell, rent or lease in a motor vehicle sales, rental or leasing business
• a motor vehicle (except a hearse) you bought to use in a funeral business to transport passengers
• a van, pick-up truck or similar vehicle that seats no more than the driver and two passengers and that, in the tax year you bought or leased it, was used more than 50% to transport goods and equipment to earn income
• a van, pick-up truck or similar vehicle that, in the tax year you bought or leased it, was used 90% or more to transport goods, equipment or passengers to earn income
• a pick-up truck that, in the tax year you bought or leased it, was used more than 50% to transport goods, equipment or passengers to earn or produce income at a remote work location or at a special work site that is at least 30 kilometres from the nearest community with a population of at least 40,000
• a clearly marked emergency medical service vehicle used to carry paramedics and their emergency medical equipment

A zero-emission passenger vehicle (ZEPV) means an automobile that is owned by the taxpayer and is included in Class 54 (but would otherwise be included in Class 10 or 10.1). The rules that apply to the definition of passenger vehicles apply to ZEPVs. A ZEPV does not include a leased passenger vehicle, but other vehicles that would otherwise qualify as a ZEPV if owned by the taxpayer are subject to the same leasing deduction restrictions as passenger vehicles.

A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a motor vehicle that is owned by the taxpayer where all of the following conditions are met:

• is a plug-in hybrid with a battery capacity of at least 7kWh or is either fully:
  
  • electric
  • powered by hydrogen
• is acquired, and becomes available for use, after March 18, 2019, and before 2028
• has not been used or acquired for use for any purpose before it was acquired by the taxpayer
• is a vehicle in respect of which an amount has not been deducted as CCA and a terminal loss has not been claimed by another person or partnership

• is a vehicle for which:
  • an election has not been made to forgo the Class 54 or 55 treatment
  • assistance has not been provided by the Government of Canada under the new incentive announced on March 19, 2019

Vehicle definitions

If you own a passenger vehicle or a ZEPV, or you lease a passenger vehicle or a vehicle that would otherwise qualify as a ZEPV, there may be a limit on the amounts you can deduct for CCA, interest and leasing costs.

The following chart will help you to determine if you have a motor vehicle or a passenger vehicle. The chart does not cover every situation, but it gives some of the main definitions for vehicles bought or leased and used to earn self-employment income. For details about depreciable properties, go to Claiming capital cost allowance (CCA).

Forms and publications

• Guide T4002, Self-employed Business, Professional, Commission, Farming, and Fishing Income

Related links

• Claiming capital cost allowance (CCA)
• Motor vehicle – Interest
• Motor vehicle – Leasing costs