Mobility budget 2027: start now, ride smoother later

What exactly is the mobility budget again?

The mobility budget is offered to employees who are entitled to a company car, based on a TCO budget. Employees who choose this option exchange their car, or their right to a car, for a budget based on the total employer cost of that car. They can then spend this budget within three pillars, depending on what the employer offers.

Pillar 1: an environmentally friendly car

Since 2026, only a company car with zero CO₂ emissions can be chosen within this pillar.

Pillar 2: sustainable mobility and housing

This includes bikes, public transport, shared mobility and certain housing costs. Bike leasing can also be financed through this pillar.

Pillar 3: cash

Any budget remaining after pillars 1 and 2 is paid out in cash. This amount is subject to a special employee contribution of 38.07%.

The employee chooses

According to the current preliminary draft, employers that have been offering company cars for more than 36 months would be required, from 2027, to offer the mobility budget to eligible employees. The employee then decides whether or not to accept it. Anyone who wants to keep their company car therefore does not have to switch automatically.

The timing also differs from one employer to another.
Any employer with at least 50 employees will be required to offer the mobility allowance to staff who have, or are entitled to, a company car, with effect from 1 January 2027.
For organisations with fewer than 50 employees, the draft bill provides for a transition period until January 2028. From January 2028, the requirement would therefore also apply to these organisations.
Employers with an average of fewer than 15 employees would remain exempt.

Precisely because it is a choice, good information is essential. The better employees understand their options today, the more consciously they will be able to choose later on.

The three-month rule makes all the difference

This is where things become interesting for bike leasing. If an employee has been combining their company car, or their right to a company car, with an exempt bike benefit such as a company bike for at least three months before applying for the mobility budget, that existing benefit may, under certain conditions, continue alongside the mobility budget while retaining its specific tax and social security treatment. In concrete terms: the lease bike does not necessarily have to be paid for from the mobility budget.

Why is that interesting?

A lease bike financed through pillar 2 uses part of the available mobility budget. If the lease costs, for example, €100 per month, that €100 is paid from the mobility budget, leaving less budget available for other mobility choices.

If the existing bike leasing arrangement can remain outside the mobility budget thanks to the three-month rule, more mobility budget remains available and the bike can continue under the existing arrangement.

That is why it is useful to inform employees who are considering bike leasing before a possible switch.

Starting now pays off later

Employees therefore do not have to wait until they actually choose the mobility budget to look into bike leasing. Anyone who already has access to bike leasing through salary exchange, a cafeteria plan, an end-of-year budget or another arrangement can already check which formula suits them best. For employers, this is a valuable opportunity: communicate about bike leasing and the mobility budget together. That way, employees know in advance which benefits they have and what a later switch could mean.

And what about the bike allowance?

The same three-month rule applies to the bike allowance as to bike leasing. If an employee received an exempt bike allowance alongside their company car, or their right to one, for at least three months immediately before applying for the mobility budget, that allowance can, under certain conditions, be retained alongside the mobility budget, just like the bike, while retaining its specific tax and social security exemption.

If the bike allowance only starts after the switch, it does not fall under this exception. The employee can, however, finance cycling costs through pillar 2 of the mobility budget within the possibilities of that pillar.

In short: it is best to map out bike leasing and the bike allowance before the switch.

Cyclis keeps things manageable for HR

Knowing the rules is one thing. Explaining them clearly to employees is at least as important. That is where Cyclis comes in.

We support employers with communication around bike leasing and help employees understand their options. In My.Cyclis, cyclists can easily find their information in one clear overview, while our experts are available for questions that need a little more explanation. This means HR does not have to figure out every scenario alone, and employees immediately know where to turn.

New employees can also be included in the story later on. This keeps the information available when it becomes relevant and gives bike leasing a fixed place within your mobility budget.

Ready for 2027

The 2027 mobility budget does not have to come as a surprise. The best preparation starts today: knowing which benefits already exist, which ones can be retained and how bike leasing relates to a future mobility budget. When this is clear in advance, employees can make a more informed choice later on.

For employers, this means: inform now, reduce the research work later. For employees, it means more control over how they may want to use their mobility budget in the future.

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Cyclis Bike Lease helps you get started

Do you want to offer bike leasing today while also preparing your employees properly for the mobility budget? We would be happy to look at the practical approach together.

Offer bike leasing alongside the mobility budget

Important

All the information above is based on the current legal framework. The final legislation still has to be published. We are following this closely and will keep you up to date.