Filling up with electricity at the employer's expense
January 2022 – Employees who are provided with a company car by their employer are taxed on a benefit in kind. This benefit is based on the catalogue value of the vehicle. The additional provision of a fuel card by the employer does not affect this benefit. But what if the employee "fills up" with electricity at the employer's expense?
Fossil fuel
In the case of a conventional diesel or petrol company car, the benefit in kind depends on the catalogue value, the CO2 emission and the age of the vehicle. Whether or not a fuel card is provided does not affect the amount of the benefit in kind. In view of the high fuel prices, this is an advantage that should not be underestimated.
However, there is a difference between a car "with" and "without" a fuel card: the deductible car expenses are limited for entrepreneurs. In the case of company cars, it is specifically provided that the employer is taxed on a "disallowed expense" of 17% of the benefit, but fuel costs for the personal use of a vehicle are in principle a disallowed expense of 40%.
In this respect, it must always be borne in mind that there is only a benefit - and therefore a limited deduction - insofar as the employee uses the vehicle for private purposes. You are obviously thinking primarily of genuine private journeys, such as driving the children to school or visiting the family at the weekend. But the employee's home-to-work journeys are not business for the employer either (although they are for the employee). So, even if the worker only travels to and from work, there is still a taxable benefit.
Electricity
The Minister was recently asked about the tax consequences of filling up at the employer's expense in the case of an electric company car.
The Minister distinguishes between different possibilities.
Filling up with electricity at the company's charging stations
A first possibility is to allow the employee to fill up at charging stations installed by the company itself. This solution does not provide any additional benefits, according to the minister. The law on green mobility currently in preparation also provides for significant incentives for the installation of such charging stations.
The "fuel card" for electricity refuelling
It is also possible to provide the worker with a card that allows him to recharge his vehicle at public charging points. There is no advantage to this solution either.
Filling up at home at a clean charging point
The worker who has a charging point at home charges his vehicle at his own expense. We can imagine that the employer reimburses these costs to the employee. However, this reimbursement is considered a benefit in kind and is in principle fully taxable.
The only exception to this principle is if the electric car is used exclusively for work-related travel, i.e. not for private travel or for travel between home and work.
A pro rata calculation may be considered: if the employee can prove the number of kilometres driven for business travel and the number of kilometres driven for other purposes, he or she may be entitled to an exemption for business travel.
Filling up at home at a charging point installed by the employer
Another possibility is that the charging point was installed by the employer. In this case, it is possible that charging does not provide any additional benefit. Two conditions must be met: the charging point must communicate with the employer about electricity consumption and the car policy must provide for reimbursement of recharges.
Disallowed expenses
Electricity is also a fuel, so that the electricity 'made available' to enable the employee to drive the vehicle gives rise, as with more conventional fuels, to disallowed expenses of up to 40% of the fuel costs.
The Minister also states that the aim is not to have the amount of the benefit assessed as a lump sum.
But this is not so stupid. Electricity consumption has a completely different dynamic than conventional fuel consumption. Smart charging stations allow the worker to charge the car when it suits him: for example when it is sunny. The recharged car battery can also be used as a battery to reduce household electricity consumption. This is not malice on the part of the worker, but charging stations and intelligent batteries that seek and find electricity where it is available.
The system proposed by the Minister therefore only seems possible if the charging point is not too smart.
