Company cars in Belgium: benefit in kind (ATN), CO2 contribution, tax deduction and VAT in 2026

How do you calculate the benefit in kind (ATN) on a company car in 2026?

The annual ATN on a company car equals list price × age coefficient × 6/7 × CO2 percentage (Article 36, § 2, of the 1992 Income Tax Code, CIR 92). It cannot fall below €1,690 a year for 2026 income; any contribution paid by the employee is then deducted from that amount.

• List price: the price of the new vehicle sold to a private buyer, including options and the VAT actually paid, before discounts.
• CO2 percentage: 5.5% at the reference CO2 level, plus or minus 0.1% per gram of difference, between 4% and 18%. For benefits granted since 1 January 2026, the reference is 70 g/km (petrol, LPG, natural gas) and 58 g/km (diesel).

For the diesel car, the percentage is 5.5% + (120 - 58) × 0.1% = 11.7%. If the employee pays €50 a month for private use, the taxable ATN falls to 4,011.43 - 600 = €3,411.43 a year.

A plug-in hybrid bought, rented or leased since 2018 whose battery holds less than 0.5 kWh per 100 kg, or which emits more than 50 g/km (75 g/km under Euro 6e-bis or later standards since 2025), is a 'fake hybrid': its ATN is calculated with the emissions of the equivalent model running on the same fuel or, failing that, with its own emissions multiplied by 2.5. The ATN is declared to the ONSS (Office national de sécurité sociale, the National Social Security Office) in the quarterly return (DmfA) under pay code 10.

CO2 solidarity contribution: how much does the employer pay the ONSS?

The employer pays the ONSS a monthly solidarity contribution for each vehicle used for anything other than strictly business purposes, including the home-to-work journey alone (the same place reached on at least 40 days a year). The amount does not depend on the employee's contribution. A vehicle registered in the employer's name or leased by it is presumed to be used privately, unless there is a consistent ban that is actually monitored and enforced.

In 2026, the result is multiplied by 185.85 / 114.08, then, for a vehicle ordered since 1 July 2023 (date of the order form or lease contract), by 4.00 (2.75 in 2025, 5.50 in 2027). The 2026 monthly minimum is €42.34 for these vehicles and €33.93 for those ordered before 1 July 2023; the coefficient does not apply to the minimum.

Example: a diesel at 120 g/km ordered in 2026. [(120 × 9) - 600] / 12 = €40; × 185.85 / 114.08 = €65.16; × 4.00 = €260.66 a month.

An undeclared vehicle or a false declaration triggers a flat-rate penalty equal to twice the contribution, plus a 10% surcharge and 7% interest if the inspectorate steps in.

What tax deduction for a company car in 2026?

For corporate income tax, the costs of a CO2-emitting car ordered since 1 January 2026 are no longer deductible. A zero-emission car ordered in 2026 is 100% deductible, and the rate for the year of order applies for as long as the car is used.

For a car made available to an employee, the share of costs equal to the taxed ATN and the employee's contribution is not caught by this restriction (Article 66, § 3, 3°, CIR 92); however, 17% of the ATN remains a disallowed expense, or 40% if the company pays for fuel for private use (Article 198, § 1, 9° and 9°bis, CIR 92).

The more favourable timetable for plug-in hybrids applies only to personal income tax, not to companies (circular 2026/C/11). Charging points remain 100% deductible (75% for those acquired from 1 January 2030).

VAT on private use of a company car: when is it due?

As a rule, VAT on private use of a company car is only due if the employee pays a contribution, and it is calculated on that contribution: this is the rule in circular No 36/2015 of 23 November 2015, applicable since 1 January 2016. The ATN is not the VAT base, and the mere fact that private use is taxed as an ATN does not turn the provision of the car into a supply for consideration. Exception: a purchased car that was not put to mixed use at the outset (for example, used strictly for business) and whose free private use later exceeds 50% is taxed on that excess (circular 36/2015, Nos 29 and 43).

On the deduction side, VAT on buying or leasing the car, on fuel and on maintenance is deductible up to 50% (Article 45, § 2, of the VAT Code), and only in line with business use if that is lower; commuting between home and work is private use. Business use is measured in three ways:

1. a log of journeys kept daily (logbook or GPS);
2. the semi-flat-rate method: % private = (home-to-work distance × 2 × 200 + 6,000) / kilometres driven in the year × 100, without reducing the factor of 200 for telework, part-time work, holidays or sickness;
3. a flat 35% business use, applied for at least 4 calendar years to all mixed-use vehicles (one per user, genuinely used as a work tool).

Providing the car becomes a supply for consideration, and therefore a rental subject to VAT, when the employee pays a sum, when their cash salary is reduced accordingly or when their director's current account is debited (circular 36/2015); in a cross-border context, the administration adds choosing the car instead of other benefits (cafeteria plan, circular 2023/C/72). A one-off contribution at the outset for optional extras leaves the provision free of charge. VAT is then charged on the contribution, with the normal value as a minimum: (lease + costs) × (50% - % business use) for a leased car, ((purchase price / 5) + costs) × (50% - % business use) for a purchased car, unless business use reaches 50%.

Worked example: leased car, with or without a contribution

Lease of €9,000 excluding VAT (VAT €1,890) and running costs of €3,000 excluding VAT (VAT €630), so €2,520 of VAT a year; home 25 km away; 30,000 km a year. Semi-flat-rate method: (25 × 2 × 200 + 6,000) / 30,000 = 53.33% private use, so 46.67% business use.

With the contribution, the employer recovers €124.26 less VAT, but the employee's taxable ATN falls by €1,200 a year.

Beyond 30 days, this rental is taxable where the employee lives: a Belgian employer of a French or Luxembourg resident owes that country's VAT (the OSS one-stop shop can be used), and a Luxembourg employer of a Belgian resident owes Belgian VAT (circular 2023/C/72). See also company cars in Luxembourg.

Home charging and mobility budget: what are the rules in 2026?

Refunding the electricity used to charge an electric company car at home creates no extra ATN if the car policy provides for it, if a charging point or sub-meter reports the car's consumption to the employer (an accuracy class B meter for systems acquired since 1 January 2025), and if the refund covers only that car's actual costs.

Actual costs can be calculated with a fixed amount per kWh capped at the quarterly rate for the employee's home region, often called the 'CREG rate'; an employer that does not take the region into account applies the lowest of the three rates each quarter, and that choice holds for the whole calendar year. This tolerance has become permanent (circular 2024/C/77 and its addenda).

Example: 250 kWh charged in November 2026 at the home of an employee living in Brussels gives a maximum refund of €92.20 (250 × €0.3688).

The mobility budget lets an employee who has a company car, or is entitled to one, give it up in exchange for a budget equal to the car's total cost, between €3,233 and €17,244 in 2026 (and no more than one fifth of gross annual pay), provided the employer has offered company cars for 36 months without interruption (unless it is a new employer). A preliminary draft law would make offering it mandatory (opinion No. 2.485 of the National Labour Council and the Central Economic Council, 29 April 2026).

Identifying the driver and fines: what the employer must organise

When the authorities ask, the company holding the registration, or its legal representative, must give the identity of the driver or of the person responsible for the vehicle within 15 days of the request being sent, except in cases of theft, fraud or force majeure; a regular driver registered with the Vehicle Crossroads Bank (Banque-Carrefour des Véhicules) is treated as the registration holder. Failing that, since the new Criminal Code took effect on 1 September 2026: a level 1 penalty with a fine of €1,600 to €32,000, doubled for a repeat offence within 3 years (Road Traffic Police Act, Articles 29ter and 67ter).

Set out in the car policy how fines are handled; they are not tax-deductible (Article 53, 6°, CIR 92). For employees' own cars, see the mileage allowance on our page on expense claims in Belgium.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the 2025 CO2 reference values (71 and 59 g/km) in 2026 payroll, or forgetting the €1,690 minimum for a car with a low list price.
• Calculating VAT on the ATN: without a contribution there is, as a rule, no output VAT; with a contribution, VAT is charged on the contribution.
• Reducing the factor of 200 in the semi-flat-rate method for a teleworker: it stays; to reflect telework, keep an actual log of journeys.
• Extending a lease outside a planned option, or transferring it to another group company: the ONSS treats it as a new contract, under the rules for orders placed since 1 July 2023.
• Promising a company the favourable plug-in hybrid regime: it is reserved for personal income tax.
• Refunding home charging without reliable readings or above the quarterly rate: the excess becomes a taxable benefit.

Your checklist

• Keep a record for each vehicle: list price (options and VAT included), fuel, CO2, first registration date, order date, registration plate.
• Calculate the ATN with the 2026 CO2 reference and update the age coefficient on each anniversary of first registration.
• Declare the CO2 contribution in the DmfA every quarter, with registration plates.
• Keep the dated order form or lease contract for each vehicle.
• Choose the business-use method for VAT and, for a purchased car, correct the deduction no later than the return due on 20 April of the following year.
• Charge VAT on any employee contribution and check the minimum base.
• Cover home charging in the car policy: class B meter, quarterly rate and home region.
• Register the regular driver and answer driver identification requests within 15 days.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• SPF Finances, Article 36 of the CIR 92, 2026 income (company car ATN, in French)
• SPF Finances, Article 18 of the AR/CIR 92 (CO2 reference values, in French)
• SPF Finances, automatic indexation, 2026 income (minimum ATN, in French)
• ONSS, administrative instructions 2026/3, company vehicles (CO2 contribution, in French)
• SPF Finances, FAQ on the greening of mobility taxation (in French)
• SPF Finances, AGFisc circular No 36/2015 of 23 November 2015 (VAT on business vehicles, in French)
• SPF Finances, circular 2023/C/72 (VAT on business vehicles across borders, in French)
• SPF Finances, circular 2026/C/86 (home charging, fourth quarter of 2026, in French)
• ONSS, administrative instructions 2026/3, mobility budget (in French)
• Justel, Road Traffic Police Act (Articles 29ter and 67ter, in French)

This guide sets out the general rules in force on 5 October 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation (collective agreement, sector, employee status).