Belgium: Tax Authorities Issue FAQ on Company Car Benefit
Belgium’s tax authorities recently released a new “frequently asked questions” (FAQ) about the calculation of the benefit-in-kind of a company car.1
New rules governing the calculation of the benefit-in-kind resulting from the personal use of a company vehicle made available free-of-charge by the employer / company entered into force on 1 January 2012. (For prior coverage, see Flash International Executive Alert 2012-016, 13 January 2012.) Since then, the benefit is calculated as a function of the catalogue value and the CO2 emission of the vehicle. Questions have been raised about the impact of option packs and promotions on the determination of the catalogue value. The tax authorities have now provided some clarification in this FAQ.
The FAQ provides several examples (under a variety of scenarios) that illustrate how one would determine the benefit and its tax implications to the employee.
It is interesting to note, the FAQ indicates that where an employer puts a company car and a fuel card at the disposal of its employees, only one benefit-in-kind, the lump-sum benefit of the company car, is taxable. If the employer asks the employee for a contribution for the use of fuel, this contribution can be deducted from the taxable benefit-in-kind.
For the complete article, “New FAQ from Tax Administration about Company Cars: New Guidelines about Option Packs, Promotions, and Fuel Cards“ published by the KPMG International member firm in Belgium, click here.
Source: KPMG