Employer's PC or smartphone:
the taxman's attitude to accessories
August 2021 – If you make equipment available to your employees so that they can work, there are two possibilities. Either the tax authorities consider it as an employer's own expense (in which case it is not taxable in the context of the work), or they consider it as a benefit in kind (in which case it is obviously taxable). PCs and smartphones fall into the latter category. But what about accessories?
Office equipment
At the beginning of 2021, the tax authorities published a detailed circular on the provision of office equipment to teleworking employees. During the coronavirus crisis, many employers made it possible for compulsory teleworking to take place under the best possible conditions. Monitors, ergonomic chairs and printers were purchased for employees.
The tax authorities have agreed that many of these expenses are indeed considered to be the employer's own expenses, so that they are not taxable for the employees.
However, the issue of laptops and mobile phones/smartphones remains a sensitive one.
Advantage... but not so much
PCs and smartphones are standard equipment for almost all employees. However, the tax authorities consider that if, as an employer, you make this equipment available to your employees, you are also giving them a benefit in kind.
The reason for this is, of course, that employees can easily use these devices for private purposes. The tax authorities will only agree not to consider the provision of such equipment as a benefit if it is actually established that private use is prohibited or impossible.
It should also be noted that the taxable basis of the benefit is rather small. The employee is not taxed on the actual value of the equipment, but on a lump sum. The tax authorities assess the benefit from private use as follows
for the free provision of a PC (or laptop): 72 euros/year per device;
for the free provision of a tablet or mobile phone: 36 euros/year per device.
What about accessories?
In two rulings of 30 March 2021 (on cafeteria plans), the Ruling Commission considers that a large number of accessories are included in the package and therefore do not provide a separate benefit.
With regard to laptops, the committee specifies that the following are included in the package: a printer, an additional monitor, an additional charging cable, a keyboard and a mouse, for exclusive use with the chosen PC or laptop. Also included in the package are the laptop bag and a USB stick.
For the smartphone, there is no separate benefit to be charged for standard accessories of limited value in relation to the device. The commission cites as examples: the protective cover, an additional charging cable, but also a portable battery.
All of these items are peripheral equipment of the PC or smartphone and therefore do not give rise to an additional benefit in kind.
They are, of course, deductible as a business expense for the employer.
At the end of the provision
The Ruling Commission adds, however, that at the end of the provision of ICT equipment, there may be a benefit in kind up to the real residual value of the device when "the end of the provision is accompanied by the transfer of ownership of the ICT equipment to the private assets of the beneficiary employee".
In concrete terms: if the employee can keep his smartphone or laptop at the end of his employment contract, this may result in a taxable benefit for him. In this case, the tax authorities will base themselves on the actual value of the equipment. The peripheral equipment will then be taken into account. This is also the reason why most employers either take the equipment back or demand a contribution from the former employee.
