In the case of purchasing, the tax authority imposes 36 months as the shortest period allowed for straight-line depreciation until 0%. For operational leasing, the standard duration is 36 months.

A bike plan is generally initially cost-neutral for the employer, whether in the purchasing option or the leasing option. In this case, a gross salary exchange, a flexible remuneration plan (cafeteria plan), or the federal mobility budget are used to offset the external costs of acquiring the bike. As an employer, you also benefit from all the secondary advantages of increased bike usage. The space you save by having fewer cars in the parking lot, employees in better shape and happier without costing you a dime, the greening of the commuting without significant investments—these are all benefits that the employer gets for free.

One of the remuneration elements that can be used to offer a lease bike is a so-called "cafeteria plan". This name is purely the use of the 13th month, the gross end-of-year bonus, or the employee's holiday pay to start a bike lease. Due to the gross-net difference, this arrangement is more advantageous than a private purchase. The formula is especially popular with, among others, federal civil servants and education staff. Read more about the formula for schools and education staff HERE!

As an employer in Belgium, you can grant a legal bicycle allowance of max. 35 cents per kilometer, up to a maximum of 3.500 EUR per year. Because a lease bicycle is not considered a benefit in kind, the employee is not taxed on it. In order to enjoy this benefit, the employee must use the bicycle for travel between the place of residence and the place of employment. Feel free to contact us to check which bicycle allowance applies at sector level, or click HERE for more information.

The bicycles are all covered by a damage and theft insurance. This insurance covers damages and theft during the duration of the contract (typically 36 months) with a deductible of only €25 per claim. In case of theft, your bicycle is replaced with another bike of the same type, within the framework of the same leasing contract. With few logical exclusions, practically all damages are covered. For example, it is necessary to lock your bike to an anchor point to be eligible for theft coverage, and intentionally caused damages will not be covered. If you adhere to these conditions, you can be completely worry-free. For a speed pedelec, we additionally offer liability insurance. Although this is not legally required, it is strongly recommended as it covers damages you might cause to other road users. Finally, there is also an optional "e-bike warranty" insurance that takes over from the manufacturer's warranty in the third year of use since the factory warranty usually only provides protection for 2 years.

The local B2Bike shops in your neighborhood or wider area will not only deliver the new bike; these prefessional dealers are also responsible for its proper maintenance and repairs. Maintenance can be included in your leasing offer or purchase price, with a choice of 3 packages based on the intensity of bike usage and the personal advice of the store. To keep track of this, employees receive a B2Bike service card with a unique identification number along with the bike. After each maintenance session, the merchant will scan that card to settle the service. The remaining balance can be checked online 24h/24h using B2Bike's convenient tools.

The answer is simple: you determine this entirely yourself because, from B2Bike's perspective, there is essentially no restriction. You can offer any bike brand and type that is available within our extensive network of more than 800 professional dealers. Virtually every quality bike brand distributed in our country can be found in our dealer network. You decide, for example, whether incorporating a speed pedelec fits into your bike plan and whether additional conditions need to be met (such as a mandatory helmet or a defensive driving course).

After the end of the leasing period, B2Bike will resell the bike in the second-hand market. Companies that lease bikes from B2Bike can offer their employees the opportunity to be the first to purchase the bike. When the leasing contract is approaching its end, you will receive a message from B2Bike asking if you or any of your colleagues are interested in buying the bike. If you are interested, you can respond positively to this request, indicating the recipient of the invoice. During the last month of the lease, B2Bike will then issue a purchase invoice, which can be easily paid online. If you or a colleague do not buy the bike, you will need to return it to the nearest B2Bike bike shop on the lease end date. Depending on your employer's policy, you may have the option to lease a new bike once the first contract is over.

From a parafiscal perspective, it is not excluded to have two bikes in service at the same time, for example, if you sometimes need a folding bike and sometimes an electric bike. However, these conditions are often not present. Most employers simply do not allow having two bikes on lease simultaneously. Their bike policy states that an existing contract must be completed before a new bike can be taken into service. To smoothly overlap your two leases, it is best to place a new order in advance. After approval, the nearest pick-up date is communicated to the bike shop, ensuring there is no overlap between the two leasing contracts. On average, employees start searching for their dream bike three months before the end of the lease.

Each of these two options has its advantages and disadvantages. From a tax perspective, they are completely equivalent. From the user and management perspective, there are also no significant differences. For example, in the case of a purchase, it is also possible to immediately arrange services such as maintenance, breakdown assistance, and insurance, which allows a purchased bike to benefit from a similar peace of mind as in a leasing arrangement. The choice largely depends on your company. Generally, if a company is accustomed to buying cars and machinery, it makes sense for bikes to be used under a purchasing scheme. By buying the bikes, you can achieve considerable cost savings compared to leasing. On the other hand, leasing allows your company not to include the bikes in its balance sheet and avoid tying up capital in a bike fleet.