Company bike

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The terms Firmenrad or Dienstrad describe a bicycle , which the employer the employee provides. The model is similar to that of the company car . The Federal Ministry of Finance uses the term company bike for the tax treatment of a company bike .

principle

The company bikes are usually leased by the employer and made available to the employee for use in return for a waiver of remuneration (conversion of remuneration). In the case of first-time use after December 31, 2018 and before January 1, 2022, the value of private use is set at 0.5% of the domestic gross list price at the time of initial purchase. For bicycles handed over before January 1, 2019, the 1% rule remains the same as for company cars. If the employer pays the expenses for a company bike (up to 25 km / h) in addition to the wages owed anyway, the benefit in kind is tax-free from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2030 ( Section 3 No. 37 EStG ).

Arguments for the company bike

Companies benefit from a lower sickness rate, as more exercise tends to make the workforce healthier. In addition, the company's social prestige is increasing as a promoter of environmentally friendly modes of transport. In addition, bicycle parking spaces require significantly less space than car parking spaces. Taxation usually results in tax advantages for the employee. In some cases, insurance and maintenance contracts are also concluded through the employer, which is cheaper than the conclusion of individual contracts by the employee.

Tax advantage

In Germany, private use of company bikes was prohibited in most companies for tax reasons until the end of 2011. The decision of the supreme tax authorities of the federal and state governments on November 23, 2012 to bring the provision of a company bike to employees in line with the provision of motor vehicles for tax purposes brought about a boom in bicycle leasing. Since then, more and more companies have offered their employees a service bike, mostly as part of a salary conversion. The employee waives future salary claims in the amount of the leasing installments that the employer pays. Since March 13, 2019, the company bike has been given further benefits by a decree of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Tax Risks

The tax risks that exist for employers in drafting contracts with deferred compensation have long been underestimated. Critics have been pointing out for a long time that some of the contract arrangements offered by lessors violate tax rules. This applies in particular to the low purchase price at which the employees can purchase the company bike at the end of the leasing period. Such a contract can result in the employee - from an economic point of view - becoming the actual lessee (instead of the employer) or even the beneficial owner (instead of the lessor). In both cases, it is no longer a question of vehicle leasing, which is to be assessed for wage tax at 1% of the gross list price. Instead, the leasing installments paid by the employer to the leasing company are valued as the net wage inflow. The gross wage is to be determined on the basis of the net wage. The applicable taxes and duties are to be paid subsequently by the employer. The sales tax claimed as input tax is to be reimbursed.

In the meantime, the highest tax authorities of the federal states have reacted together with the Federal Ministry of Finance and set the current value of a company bike after 36 months at 40% of the original gross list price ( UPE ), provided that no appraisal is available. The lessors advise their customers not to have such an appraisal. With a fair value of 40% of the UPE and a contractual residual value of 10% of the UPE, the purchase price must be at least 17.5% of the UPE if the lessor sells the bicycle to the lessee's employee. The 7.5% correspond to 25% of the possible additional revenue of 30% (40% current value less 10% contractual residual value). If the lessor does not take advantage of this “opportunity to increase in value”, he is not recognized as the beneficial owner according to the leasing decree; instead, the employer or even the employee becomes the beneficial owner. Regardless of whether the lessor or the lessee is the beneficial owner, the price advantage (compared to the current value of 40% of the UPE) must in any case be taxed as an inflow of wages and included in the social security system. Not much remains of the “tax advantage”.

Company bike for the self-employed

Even self-employed , freelancers and traders can purchase with tax benefit companies wheels. Recently, they no longer have to pay tax on the private use of leased company bikes. However, sales tax must still be paid on private extraction. The leasing installments can be deducted as business expenses . The new regulation applies from January 1, 2019 for bicycles and pedelecs, i.e. e-bikes with electric motor support up to 25 km / h, which are allocated to the company assets and is initially limited to December 31, 2021 (see EStG § 6 Paragraph 1 No. . 4, new version).

Self-employed, freelancers and tradespeople who lease an S-Pedelec as a company bike will also benefit from tax benefits , because the assessment basis for taxing the pecuniary benefit has been halved since January 1, 2019 (see EStG § 6 Paragraph 1 No. 4, new version ). This applies to the entire lease term, provided the contract was concluded by December 31, 2021.

price

The General German Bicycle Club , the Regional Association Frankfurt / Rhein-Main and the Zweckverband Raum Kassel give an annual Bike and Business Award.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Decree of the FOM. March 13, 2019, accessed March 13, 2019 .
  2. ↑ www.deutschebahn.com: Press information on the introduction of a company bike model, dated September 12, 2016, accessed on October 7, 2016 ( memento of the original from October 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutschebahn.com
  3. ↑ www.spiegel.de: Fiskus now also sponsors bicycles, from December 11, 2012, accessed on October 7, 2016
  4. ↑ Decree of the BMF. March 13, 2019, accessed March 13, 2019 .
  5. ↑ The company bike as a tax trap. In: NWB database. NWB Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, September 12, 2016, accessed on October 29, 2016 .
  6. ^ OFD NRW : Wage tax treatment of the provision of (electric) bicycles to employees. In: NWB database. NWB Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, May 17, 2017, accessed on October 7, 2017 .
  7. ↑ News about the company bike: Company bike: A gold mine with pitfalls - computerwoche.de. Retrieved October 7, 2017 .
  8. ↑ https://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/055/1905595.pdf
  9. ↑ https://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/055/1905595.pdf
  10. ↑ www.faz.net: With the company bike to work, from May 24, 2014, accessed on October 7, 2016