Providing a director or employee with a company car generates a taxable benefit: the benefit in kind (BIK). Calculated or reported incorrectly, it can be costly — both in tax and in corrections down the line.
How the car BIK is calculated
The calculation mainly relies on three elements:
- Catalogue value of the vehicle (list price when new, including options and VAT).
- CO2 emission rate, which determines a percentage applied to the catalogue value — the more a vehicle emits, the higher the BIK.
- Vehicle age, via a depreciation coefficient that gradually reduces the calculation base over the years.
The resulting amount is taxable income for the beneficiary, and part of the BIK is also subject to a CO2 solidarity contribution charged to the employer.
The most common mistakes
- Forgetting to recalculate the BIK every year: depreciation linked to vehicle age changes, so the amount to declare changes too.
- Confusing catalogue value with the price actually paid: it's the catalogue value (before discount) that serves as the base, not the negotiated price.
- Not distinguishing the deductible share for the company: deductibility of car expenses for the company follows its own rules (also linked to CO2), separate from the BIK calculation for the beneficiary.
Electric cars: a real tax benefit, but a temporary one
Fully electric vehicles benefit from a more favourable BIK and better deductibility for the company — one of the most commonly used optimisation levers among Belgian SMEs in recent years. This regime evolves regularly: what's true this year won't necessarily hold in two or three years.
Tracking it properly, without spending hours on it
In Odoo, the HR/fleet module lets you centralise each vehicle's characteristics (catalogue value, CO2, registration date) and generate the elements needed for the BIK calculation without manual re-entry. A good habit to avoid year-end corrections — something we handle as part of AgiFid's payroll & HR support.