Is bicycle leasing fiscally advantageous in 2025?

Yes, bicycle leasing will remain fiscally advantageous in 2025. Leasing a bicycle through your employer can be up to 40% cheaper than purchasing one yourself. How can that be? Because you do not pay benefit-in-kind (BIK) on your lease bicycle and you finance it with your gross salary. Keep scrolling to see the numbers and an example. 

Use our calculator to easily calculate the fiscal advantage of a lease bicycle.

You might also find these links interesting and useful:

• Should you buy or lease a bicycle?
• How much does a lease bicycle cost?
• The advantages of bicycle leasing
• How will leasing a bicycle impact my pension?

A brief summary of the fiscal advantages of bicycle leasing

• You can benefit from a tax advantage of up to 40%.
• The lease is paid from your gross salary before taxes are deducted.
• You do not pay benefit-in-kind (BIK) on a lease bicycle.
• Maintenance, accessories, breakdown assistance, and protection against damage and theft are included in this benefit.

Why is bicycle leasing more fiscally advantageous than purchasing one yourself? 

Why is a bicycle lease fiscally advantageous? A lease bicycle can be up to 40% cheaper than purchasing a bicycle yourself. The major fiscal advantage (also known as a tax benefit) is due to the two important factors that we explain below:

• Your bicycle lease is paid from your gross salary.
• You do not pay any tax on your lease bicycle.

Buying a speed pedelec yourself is an expensive financial outlay. Bicycle leasing is a more fiscally friendly option, which means you get a more expensive bicycle without feeling the pinch in your wallet. - Cedric

How much does bicycle leasing cost per month? You can easily calculate this using our handy calculator. 

Gross salary sacrifice: use money that would otherwise go towards taxes 

A big chunk of your gross salary goes towards taxes. With bicycle leasing, part of your gross salary is used to pay for a lease bicycle prior to your salary being taxed. This means that you're financing a high-quality bicycle with money that would otherwise go towards taxes.

Gross salary sacrifice for bicycle leasing can be done in various ways:

• Through bonuses
• Through monthly gross salary sacrifice
• Through the year-end bonus or allowance

Want to find out more about the impact of gross salary sacrifice? Continue scrolling and we'll explain it further in this article.

You do not pay any tax on your lease bicycle

For a lease car, you can often pay up to €1,000 in benefit-in-kind (BIK) per year. This amount is zero for a lease bicycle, even within the mobility budget or if you already have a company car. And this applies to any type of bicycle: cargo bikes, speed pedelecs, electric bikes, racing bikes, etc.

Please note: The BIK for your lease bicycle only ceases if you regularly use the bicycle for commuting. Consult your bicycle policy to find out how often this is.

During the last two years of my lease contract, I've earned money through cycling.”- Annick

What is the fiscal advantage of bicycle leasing?

With bicycle leasing, you can enjoy a tax benefit of up to 40%. This means that your total lease package is up to 40% cheaper than if you purchase it yourself. Shown below are three calculation examples demonstrating the advantage of bicycle leasing.

Want to check the benefit for your chosen bicycle? All it takes is a few clicks of our calculator.

Bike leasing tax benefits by price range

In the calculation example, the entire package price includes the lease bicycle and the following:

• A three-year lease
• Trade-in at 16% residual value
• Damage and theft warranty
• An annual maintenance budget of €175

Are you still unsure whether bicycle leasing is actually cheaper than buying your own? Then check out 'To buy or to lease a bicycle - which is cheaper?'

What are the other advantages of bicycle leasing?

• You get access to more expensive bicycles.
• You get a warranty against damage and theft.
• You can choose breakdown assistance and additional warranty insurance.

Want to learn more about the advantages of bicycle leasing? Then be sure to check out the six advantages of bicycle leasing. 

Is bicycle leasing fiscally advantageous for all employees?

Bicycle leasing is up to 40% more fiscally advantageous for most employees. You only benefit from the fiscal advantage with your lease bicycle if you finance it through gross salary sacrifice or your cafeteria plan.

This is the case in most instances. Consider the year-end bonus, monthly gross salary sacrifice, bonuses, etc. Your employer or the joint committee where you work determines how lease bicycles are financed.

When is a lease bicycle less fiscally advantageous?

• For certain employment statuses, the fiscal advantage is somewhat lower, at around 30%. But this is the exception rather than the norm.
• If you lease a bicycle through net salary sacrifice, because it is not permitted to make your salary or year-end bonus more flexible. The tax advantage of bicycle leasing then ceases. In that case, some employers compensate for this by contributing towards your lease bicycle.

And what about the fiscal advantage through the mobility budget?

Do you lease a bicycle through the Federal mobility budget? If so, you do not pay for it through gross salary sacrifice but instead finance your lease bicycle using funds made available by your employer for this purpose. In that case, there is no additional fiscal advantage. Your lease bicycle is then more of an alternative form of compensation from your employer, in addition to your gross salary.

 What's the most attractive option?

We believe it's the combination of bicycle leasing through gross salary sacrifice and your Federal mobility budget. This provides a nice tax advantage on your lease bicycle and you still retain your entire mobility budget to finance other things.

Please note: To combine both plans in this way, you must lease through gross salary sacrifice for at least three months before starting with the Federal mobility budget.

Could bicycle leasing have a negative impact on my pension or social security?

Bicycle leasing has minimal impact on your pension. We would be happy to provide you with a complete, expert explanation. So what exactly can you expect? Find out in our article ‘What impact will bicycle leasing have on my pension?’.

It is unlikely that bicycle leasing will affect your social security, for example. In case of illness of up to six months, your employer will often cover the lease price. Your bicycle policy will show your employer's agreements about this.

If you are ill for longer than six months, you will have the option to either take ownership of your bicycle at its current residual value or return it and pay a termination fee. [1] 

That might sound harsh, but we do it because o2o Bicycle Leasing advances the full value of the bicycle for you. We will always work with your employer to resolve such a situation as fairly and humanely as possible.

What makes leasing a bicycle so attractive for employees?

The fiscal advantage of up to 40% on your lease bicycle is obviously the biggest benefit of bicycle leasing. Yet there are many other advantages that make bicycle leasing attractive for employees.

That 40% fiscal advantage does not just apply to your lease bicycle. It also applies to:

• Your bicycle maintenance
• Your bicycle accessories such as pannier bags, rain gear or a GPS if you use it for commuting
• You can choose whether to add breakdown assistance and additional warranty insurance to the same fiscal advantage

And there's another big advantage: your lease bicycle is protected against damage and theft. There will be no tears after a fall because repairs are included in your lease package. Unless, of course, you've injured yourself. In which case, go ahead and have a cry.