E-Bike Leasing

E-bikes are becoming increasingly popular, including among employers for use as 'company bicycles. Are you also interested in an e-bike, but don't want to invest a lot of money all at once? Or are you an employer who is looking for an attractive benefit to offer your employees? If so, bicycle leasing might be an option worth looking at. Learn more here.

What is e-bike leasing?

For an employee who wants to get on a new e-bike without having to pay the full purchase price up front, an e-bike can be an affordable alternative. Just like with a company car, under this plan you can use your new e-bike over a predefined period of time for a fixed monthly payment. The advantages should be clear: Because you pay in instalments, the impact of the expense is spread out over time, but you can still get on a new e-bike right now. Note that the bicycle leasing plan can also be used for bicycles without an electric motor.

How does e-bike leasing work?

Bicycle dealers and manufacturers offer e-bike leasing for their clients. As a self-employed person, you must look for an offer that is right for you, like the Kalkhoff lease plan, and then enter into a lease for a bicycle. If you are an employee in a company, your boss will take care of the contractual side, and all you have to do is pick the right business bicycle.

Who could benefit from e-bike leasing?

E-bike leasing was originally intended primarily as an environmentally friendly alternative to the company car scheme. This means it works just like a company car plan, but instead of a company car, your employer provides you with an e-bike that you can use for your commute. This not only helps save the environment but has a direct positive financial impact on you: either your employer will pay some or all of the payment instalments, or you obtain a tax benefit by having the payment instalments deducted from your gross salary. One aspect to note is that from a tax perspective, you generally cannot own the bicycle because it must belong to your employer. That is different for the following occupational groups:

freelancers
tradespeople
independent contractors

E-bike leasing: employer vs. employee

As already described, e-bike leasing offers several advantages for employees and employers:

Employer	Employee
lower costs (as compared to company car) employee retention tax advantages Improvement of carbon footprint promotes employee health & fitness	high-quality bicycle without high up-front cost can be an important part of your own personal health and fitness most private uses allowed improves personal environmental impact instalment financing from gross salary or through employer

What does e-bike leasing cost?

What e-bike leasing will cost depends on the 'leasing factor', which is generally the purchase price of a new company bicycle plus three percent. The payment instalment can be calculated roughly as follows:

price of new bicycle: €1,000
3% = €31.00 per month
plus costs for insurance and inspections, generally: €15-30

As an employee, you have two options:

Either you are given the work bicycle as a salary bonus from your boss, in which case the company pays the lease payments for you. Or the payment instalments are deducted from your gross salary as deferred compensation. This then becomes a 'benefit in kind' or non-monetary compensation on which you are taxed monthly at a rate of 0.25% of the gross list price.

E-Bike Leasing – FAQs

What happens after the leasing period?

What happens to the e-bikes that are returned after lease?

Is there an e-bike leasing scheme available to private individuals?