When you use an electric vehicle from your company and recharge it at home, you may wonder whether the reimbursement of charging costs by your company results in a benefit in kind (ATN) in addition to the one associated with the use of the vehicle itself. Similarly to using traditional cars, reimbursing fuel costs for a company car (petrol, diesel, or hybrid) does not generate an additional ATN for the worker. This is because the ATN of the car is assumed to include the corresponding benefit of free fuel.
Regarding electric cars, the principle is generally the same: there is no additional taxable ATN if your company covers the charging costs, whether through a charging card or a proprietary charging station.
If the electric vehicle is charged at home, it is also possible to avoid an additional ATN, provided that you can establish the actual cost of the recharge. This is where the use of a smart charging station becomes crucial, as it only records the consumption related to the vehicle’s recharge, allowing your company to pay or reimburse the actual cost per kWh of electricity, without generating an additional ATN for the worker.
In the absence of a smart charging station, you will need to establish the consumption related to the recharge in another way, such as using an intermediate meter to specifically measure the consumption related to the vehicle’s recharge.
If your charging station is partly powered by solar panels installed on your personal residence, the question of billing this green electricity to your company at a market-conforming price arises. Unfortunately, the Minister of Finance has sidestepped this question, advising to seek a ruling to obtain legal certainty in this case.
Finally, a ruling commission decision indicates that reimbursing charging expenses to employees is not tax-exempt for those who have solar panels.
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