Bicycle leasing for civil servants. Is that possible?
Many companies in the private sector have already worked out a bicycle leasing programme. Thanks to its great success, the demand for bicycle leasing has also been rising in the public sector for some time. Until recently, civil servants were unable to lease a bike advantageously due to the stipulated pay scales.
Fortunately, there is a solution! Since recently, employees of the Flemish local authorities can lease a bicycle in a fiscally advantageous way. This applies to more than 150,000 staff members working at municipalities, OCMWs, welfare associations, provinces,...
How does government bicycle leasing work?
There are three possibilities:
- Employees exchange some or all of their gross year-end bonus for a leased bicycle.
- They exchange their vacation days that exceed 28 legal for cycling. Local boards decide how many days to convert and how to do so specifically.
- Or they exchange their bicycle allowance in for a leased bicycle. Note: Only the net amount of the bicycle allowance can be exchanged. The exchange therefore does not provide a tax benefit, unlike e.g. when exchanging the end-of-year bonus. Finally, these must be personal bicycle allowances granted on the basis of actual bicycle kilometers ridden. They must not be lump sums.
Employees thus flexibly deploy part of their pay for cycling and related services. Cyclis offers an operating lease formula that includes a flexible maintenance budget, comprehensive insurance and roadside assistance. You can also lease all kinds of accessories such as a bike helmet, a GPS, a bike bag,… This way you can hit the track fully equipped and carefree ! Discover here all about Cyclis’ all-in lease package.
Can any employee now lease a bicycle for tax purposes?
Local boards decide whether to offer their staff a bicycle leasing plan, and each employee may decide individually whether or not to use it.
Bart Somers, the Flemish Minister of Home Affairs, says: “I am convinced that many people will respond to this. Local staff often have a connection with the city or municipality for which they work and thus often live in the region. For those people, the bicycle is often an ideal means of transportation to work.”
Unfortunately, there is still no advantageous solution for all Belgian workers. For example, hospital employees or employees of Walloon local governments cannot yet take advantage of this scheme. Even in the private sector, there are gaps in policy, specifically for workers who are paid at scale such as cleaning assistants. Here the demand is huge, but unfortunately there is no ready-made answer yet.
Cyclis only offers bicycle leasing to companies and their employees. Thus, the company must first join before employees can lease a bicycle. Are you an HR person in charge and would like to hear about the different possibilities? Then book here for a no-obligation online demo.
Do you have questions about the new regulation? You might find the answer in Flanders’ FAQ.
