# Can I finance a work vehicle through my company? > Yes — an established NZ company can finance a ute or van in its own name via a chattel mortgage, so the business owns the asset and gets the tax treatment. Source: https://tradiefinance.co.nz/help/can-i-finance-a-vehicle-through-my-company Published: 2026-05-13T08:00:00.000Z Category: asset-finance Tags: faq, asset-finance Image: https://tradiefinance.co.nz/images/resources/generated/tradie/faq/can-i-finance-a-vehicle-through-my-company-primary.jpg Image alt: Work vehicles on a New Zealand build site for Can I finance a work vehicle through my company? --- Short version — yes, you can buy the ute or van in the company name and finance it that way. It's how a lot of trade businesses do it, and we set these up every week. The most common structure is a chattel mortgage: the company owns the vehicle from day one, and the lender registers a security interest over it on the PPSR (the public register of who has a claim over an asset) until it's paid off. ## How company-name finance works With a [chattel mortgage](/glossary/chattel-mortgage), the company is the borrower and the owner. The vehicle goes on the company's books as an asset, the loan goes on as a liability, and the lender holds a [security interest](/glossary/security-interest-ppsr) over the vehicle. Pay it off and that interest is discharged. We're a broker, not a lender, so we take your situation across our panel and place it with whichever lender suits a company-owned work vehicle best. The big reasons tradies go this route: - **The business owns the asset.** Cleaner books, and the vehicle sits on the company balance sheet where it belongs. - **GST.** If the company is GST-registered, it can generally claim the GST portion back — that's the 3/23 sitting inside a GST-inclusive price. As an illustration, on a $46,000 van that's about $6,000 claimable on the next GST return, subject to your usual business-use rules. Confirm the actual figure with your accountant or IRD. (See [do I need to be GST-registered](/help/do-i-need-to-be-gst-registered).) - **Depreciation.** The company can claim depreciation on the vehicle over time, separate from the loan repayments. Just know that if you sell it later for more than its book value, some of that depreciation gets clawed back — that's normal, but worth planning for. Always confirm the tax detail with your accountant or IRD. - **Interest is a business expense.** The interest portion of repayments is generally deductible for a genuine business vehicle. ## The newer-company caveat Here's the honest bit. An established company — 12-plus months trading, GST-registered, with financials a lender can see — can often finance 100% of a vehicle in the company name, no deposit needed. A brand-new company is a different story. If it's only been going a few months, there isn't much trading history for a lender to lean on. So in our experience you'll typically see one or both of these: - **A deposit** — often 10–20% — to give the lender some comfort. - **A director's guarantee** (a [personal guarantee](/glossary/personal-guarantee)) — you personally stand behind the loan if the company can't pay. For most owner-operators this is standard and not a dealbreaker, but read it and know what you're signing. | Company profile | Typical deposit | Director's guarantee? | |---|---|---| | Established, 12+ months, GST-registered | Often nil | Usually yes (standard) | | Newer company, some financials | 10–20% | Yes | | Brand-new, no financials yet | 15–20%+ | Yes, plus stronger checks | ## Company or sole trader? This isn't just a finance question — it's a structure question, and the two are tangled together. Owning the vehicle through a company affects your tax, your liability and how lenders read you. If you're weighing it up, our [sole trader vs company guide](/blog/sole-trader-vs-company-for-tradies) walks through it for tradies, and your accountant should have the final say on the structure that fits your business. Because it's genuine business-purpose finance, you'll sign a [business-purpose declaration](/glossary/business-purpose-declaration), which means the deal sits largely outside the consumer CCCFA affordability rules. That usually makes the process quicker than a personal car loan. If the vehicle is mainly for the business and your company's trading, financing it in the company name is usually the tidy option. If the company's brand-new, line up a deposit and expect to sign a director's guarantee. Want to know what your specific company qualifies for? Have a yarn with one of our brokers — we'll look at your trading history, GST and what you're buying, then tell you straight. [Book a call](/book-a-call) and we'll talk it through, no pressure. If you'd rather just ask a quick question first, [our help section](/help) is a good place to start.