One of your employees chooses to surrender his (right to) a company car. In its place, you give a federal mobility budget. The amount of the budget corresponds to the annual gross cost of the company car to the employer (the so-called "Total Cost of Ownership" or "TCO"). But, that's the theory. In practice, there are some cases that cause the cost of granting a federal mobility budget to not match the annual gross cost if a regular company car had been provided.
1. Flat-rate TCO calculation: underestimation of actual costs
A first case has to do with how the federal mobility budget is calculated. Starting in 2024, employers have the option of using a lump-sum cost-based calculation formula. In this formula, annual fuel and/or electricity costs are calculated based on 200 times the commuting distance there and back (i.e. professional trips) and an additional 6,000km (i.e. private trips).
For most employees, this number of kilometers - and mainly the number of private kilometers - is a (large) underestimate of their actual kilometers traveled and consequently consumption costs. If you allocate a fixed federal mobility budget to these employees, your gross employer cost will probably be lower.
2. The CO2 contribution and (rejected expenses on) the SG&A increase every year, the mobility budget does not
The calculation of the federal mobility budget takes into account, among other things, the CO₂ contribution and rejected expenses on the VAA at the time of allocation of the mobility budget. These two costs are contained in the TCO of a company car.
Although the CO₂ contribution and (rejected expenses on) the SG&A would increase year after year if you provided an employee with a company car, the federal mobility budget remains unchanged once you have granted it. This is because the federal mobility budget legislation does not allow the amount of the mobility budget to change casually unless the employee is promoted to a higher category or indexed according to the rules of the employer's joint committee.
Cost savings are significant among employees who switch from a polluting company car to a federal mobility budget, as these cars result in higher CO₂ contributions and (rejected expenditures on) the SG&A year after year.
3. No more obligation to intervene in the employee's commuting trips
As soon as an employee opts for a federal mobility budget, any obligation to intervene in any costs related to the commuting of the employee is cancelled. This includes bicycle allowance, company bicycle and social subscription for public transport. In fact, as soon as an employee has a mobility budget, the exemption from social security contributions and taxes for these benefits expires.
Many employers have a policy that the provision of a company car and other commuting expenses cannot be cumulated. For those employers who do have such a cumulation - for example, a bicycle allowance granted to employees without and with a company car - the federal mobility budget will be cost-saving.
