IS BICYCLE REIMBURSEMENT BECOMING THE NORM IN THE CORPORATE WORLD?
Laurence Philippe, Legal Expert at Partena Professional, tells us more about this trend that could well become the norm.
Attractive tax and social treatment
Reimbursing employees who come to work by bike is very interesting for both the employee and the employer. Both fiscally and socially, the allowance is exempt from social security contributions and withholding taxes. This means that the bicycle allowance is a net amount.
However, two conditions must be met:
- First, the amount of the bicycle allowance cannot exceed 0.25€ per kilometer (amount 2022).
- Second, employees may only receive this allowance for the kilometers they actually travel by bicycle. If an employee travels part of the way by bicycle and part by train, he or she will receive the allowance only for the kilometers traveled by bicycle. No bicycle allowance is granted for home working days either.
A phenomenon expanding to numerous sectors
“Currently, there are only 26 sectors that do not impose any obligation to grant a bicycle allowance,” notes Laurence Philippe. Some sectors grant the maximum bicycle allowance (0.25€/km), while others stick to a lower amount.
“To know what allowance to grant, you can consult your company’s sector information. Things change regularly in this area, with many sectors introducing or increasing the mandatory allowance. For example, the Supplementary Joint Committee for white-collar workers (PC 200) has granted a bicycle allowance of 10 cents per kilometer since July 1, 2020. From July 1, 2022, the amount was doubled to 0.20€ per kilometer traveled,” added Laurence Philippe, Legal Expert at Partena Professional. However, this joint committee, the largest in Belgium, limits the intervention to €4 per day (€8 since July 1, 2022).
Still some other sectors increased the bicycle allowance as of July 1, 2022. This is the case in the supplementary PC for blue-collar workers (PC 100), in the garage business (PC 112), in upholstery and woodworking (PC 126), in the metal trade (PC 149.04) and for the liberal professions (PC 336).
Do you establish a bonus plan focused on mobility?
“If you want to introduce a bonus plan within your company (CLA 90 – non-recurring result-related bonus) whose objectives are related to mobility, you should grant a bicycle allowance to your employees. This does not have to be the maximum allowance. You can grant a lower amount if your sector allows it,” clarifies Laurence Philippe, Legal Expert at Partena Professional.
And in the future?
In addition to the many sectors, which are committing more and more in this area, the federal government decided to release a budget of 80 million euros (initially foreseen for a reduction of VAT to 6% on the sale of bicycles) for the generalization of the bicycle allowance.
This discussion is currently being held by the social partners. The National Labor Council and the Central Business Council have just issued an interim report on the promotion of bicycles for commuting, mainly taking stock of the situation. To be continued, therefore.
