Fuel and fuel costs of vehicles (fuel premium)

Verified 10 September 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The employer may cover all or part of the fuel costs of a vehicle and the costs of powering an electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen vehicle incurred by its employees. This support is not mandatory. It takes the form of a fuel premium. When it is implemented, it can be exempt from social contributions. The fuel premium may be paid through mobility certificates.

A sheet on the payment of personal transport costs of employees during their commute via an alternative means of transport (sustainable mobility package) is available here. A sheet on the compulsory payment of employees' public transport costs is available here.

Affected employees

Until the end of 2024, the employer may pay a fuel premium to its employees in DTA: titleContent, CSD: titleContent, part-time, temporary workers, apprentices or trainees.

This premium may apply to all types of vehicle: thermal, electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen.

The fuel premium cannot benefit employees in the following situations :

  • Employees who benefit from a vehicle permanently provided by the employer, and whose employer bears the costs of fuel or electricity
  • Employees accommodated in such conditions that they pay no transport costs to get to their work
  • Employees whose transport is provided free of charge by the employer.

Part-time employees

When introduced, the fuel premium must also benefit part-time employees.

For part-time employees, care depends on the duration of their work:

  • If the duration is greater than 50% the legal duration of weekly or conventional work, shall apply as for a full-time employee.
  • If the duration is less than 50% of the legal duration of weekly or conventional work, the employer must be proportional to the number of hours worked in relation to half the duration of full-time work.

Example :

In a company where full-time work is 35 hours, an employee works 7 hours a week.

He works 20% full-time working time (7 hours), or 40% hours worked in relation to half (here, 17.5 hours) of full-time work.

The employee must therefore benefit from 40% the amount of the fuel premium that he would have received had he been on a full-time basis.

Implementation

The fuel premium is not mandatory. She has no maximum or minimum amount.

It can be put in place by company agreement or by inter-company agreement. In the absence of a company or inter-company agreement, it may be implemented by branch agreement. The agreement may also include the implementation of a sustainable mobility package.

In the absence of a collective agreement, it may be implemented by unilateral decision of the employer, after consultation with the Social and Economic Committee (ESC), if it exists.

It can take the form of mobility certificates.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Collective Agreement

The company or branch agreement shall define the upright and award criteria the fuel premium paid by the employer to its employees.

Lack of collective agreement

The employer shall define the upright and support modes travel costs by fuel premium. He must consult the Social and Economic Committee (ESC).

FYI  

In the event of a change in the reimbursement of fuel or electrical costs, the employer shall notify employees at least one month before the date set for the change.

Equivalent implementation obligation

If implemented, the employer must make the fuel premium available in an equivalent manner all employees of the company who can benefit from it.

The employer must have at his disposal the evidence justifying this assumption of responsibility, collected from the beneficiary employees.

Warning  

In the absence of an equivalent set-up, the employer risks a penalty. It's a fine of €750 (natural person) or €3,750 (legal person).

Formality

The amount of reimbursement of transport costs must be mentioned on the pay slip.

Principle

Mobility vouchers are a payment solution dematerialized and prepaid.

Mobility certificates are issued by a specialized business who transfers them to the employer for a payment. This corresponds to the value of the securities, to which a commission may be added.

Example :

A specialized business issuing mobility certificates shall charge a commission of 1% on the issue of these securities.

The employer wishing to obtain €200 of mobility vouchers for its payee employees €202 to the specialized business, either €200 + €2 of commission.

The fuel premium and the sustainable mobility package may be paid to employees through mobility certificates. It's not an obligation : this support may be paid to employees by other means (e.g. by a payment at the time of pay).

The mobility voucher shall include the following:

  • Name and address of issuing company of the mobility certificate
  • Employee Name

Use of the Mobility Title

Mobility vouchers may be used for certain payments related to the transport costs of the holder of such vouchers.

Warning  

Mobility certificates can be used only from approved companies by the State. The employee holding the securities must ensure that the company with which he wishes to use his securities is approved.

Mobility certificates may be used to pay for :

  • Purchase of cycles (bicycles) and cycles with pedaling assistance (electric bicycles)
  • Purchase of equipment for cycles and cycles with pedaling assistance
  • Servicing and repair of cycles and cycles with pedaling assistance
  • Purchase of tickets for secure bicycle parking
  • Insurance for cycles and cycles with pedaling assistance
  • Rental, whatever the duration, and self-service provision of cycles, pedal-assisted cycles, personal transport equipment, mopeds and motorcycles
  • Purchase of motorized personal transport equipment (e.g. scooters and electric skates, gyropods, monoroues, hoverboards, etc.)
  • Carpooling services
  • Rental of electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen vehicles in self-service and accessible on public roads
  • Purchase of transit passes
  • Purchase of fuel
  • Power or charging for electric, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen vehicles

At any time and free of charge, the holder of a mobility certificate may view your personal mobility security account balance via a smartphone, computer or any other connected device, on the website or application of the issuer of the mobility certificate.

If any part of the balance is to be used within a period of less than one month, this shall be indicated to him.

Please note

In the event of a judicial safeguard, reorganization or liquidation of the issuer of the mobility certificates, employees holding unused but still valid and exchangeable certificates may be reimbursed immediately for the amount of the mobility certificates they hold.

Period of validity

Mobility vouchers have a validity date corresponding at the earliest to the last day of the calendar year in which they were issued. For example, a mobility ticket issued on February 12, 2024 is valid until at least December 31, 2024.

Mobility certificates are definitely out of date when they are not used at the end of 2e months after expiry their period of use.

Example :

Mobility permits expiring on June 15, 2024 will expire permanently on June 1er September 2024.

The fuel premium shall be exempt from social contributions in the limit of €200 per year per employee.

Where the fuel premium is cumulated with the sustainable mobility package, the latter is exempt from social contributions in the limits following:

  • Either €500 per year per employee, including maximum €200 of fuel premium
  • Either €800 per year and per employee in total, for employees also benefiting from the payment of their ticket for public transport or bicycle rental. This amount shall be applied to all reimbursements granted to the employee in the framework of the sustainable mobility package and his/her transport subscription. The maximum of €200 fuel premium applies.

Example :

An employee shall be provided with 50% the amount of his public transport subscription for €610 and the sustainable mobility package up to €330, of which €80 fuel premium.

Sound management public transport subscription (€610) is fully exempt from social contributions.

The sustainable mobility package shall be exempt from social security contributions up to €190 (because €800 - €610 = €190).

The employer will have to pay social security contributions on the €140 the non-exempt long-term mobility package (€330 - €190 = €140).

FYI  

If support for public transport subscriptions exceeds €800 per year per employee, the long-term mobility package and the fuel premium do not benefit from any exemption from social contributions.

For the employee who benefits, the long-term mobility package and the fuel premium may also be exempt from income tax.

The fuel premium is cumulable with the sustainable mobility package and the payment for tickets for public transport or bicycle rental for the years 2022 to 2024.

The exemption from social contributions is then limited to €800 per year per employee, of which not more than €200 fuel premium.

From 2025 onwards, the payment of tickets for public transport or bicycle rental will no longer be cumulable with the fuel premium. The long-term mobility package will continue to be combined with the fuel premium.

Please note

This applies, for example, to employees who have to take a personal vehicle every day to reach a stop served by public transport, which they then use to get to their place of work.

Who can help me?

The public service accompanying companies

Do you have a project, a difficulty, a question of daily life?
Simple and free - you will be called back within 5 days by THE advisor who can help you.

Get a phone call with an advisor