THE BIKE ALLOWANCE IS ON TRACK

1.Until now, the employer was only obliged to contribute to the transport costs incurred by his employee travelling to work by bicycle if this was provided for in a sectoral or company collective labour agreement, in the work regulations or by custom.

Otherwise, the employer was under no obligation to pay for this type of transport.

This will change from 1 January 2010.^er This will be the case from May 2023 onwards, as private sector workers who were not already receiving a bicycle allowance will be able to receive it from that date.

Indeed, the social partners want to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport such as cycling for commuting.

On 24 January 2023, the National Labour Council adopted a new collective labour agreement no. 164 concerning the employer's intervention for the worker's bicycle trips between home and work.

The purpose of this CLA is to regulate the conditions of granting, the amount and the modalities of the employer's intervention for journeys made by bicycle by the worker between his home and his place of work.

It is suppletive and will therefore not apply to sectors and companies that have concluded or are concluding a collective labour agreement providing for the granting of a specific allowance for journeys between home and the workplace made by bicycle.

2.CLA No. 164 provides for an allowance to be paid to workers who regularly cycle to and from work.

By "bicycle", it means an electrically propelled cycle, motorised cycle or speed pedelec, as defined in the General Traffic Police Regulations.

This means that cycling to and from work must be regular and not occasional.

For example, a regular trip is one made at least once a week or during the summer months.

If the employee uses several modes of transport, including cycling, he may receive an allowance from his employer for each mode of transport, provided that the different allowances relate either to different parts of the home-work journey or to the same journey (or the same section) made at different times of the year.

Thus, he is entitled to the allowance for the part of the journey made by bicycle or the period of the year during which he makes the journey by bicycle.

On the other hand, the same distance travelled at the same time may not be the subject of more than one compensation payment by the employer.

The worker cannot receive two different allowances for the same journey.

A person with a full-time annual rail pass cannot receive an allowance for occasional cycling from home to work.

The employee must choose the subscription formula available in his or her company that is most suitable and best meets his or her mobility needs, taking into account the frequency of travel between home and work.

3.The allowance is limited to a maximum distance of 20 kilometres per single journey.

4.The basic amount of the allowance is EUR 0.145 per kilometre travelled by bicycle. This amount is indexed annually.

The amount of the bicycle allowance may not exceed the maximum tax-exempt amount.

For the year 2023, this amount will be 0.27 euros per kilometre cycled.

5.In order to determine the amount of the employer's contribution, the employee must complete and sign a declaration on honour in which he or she indicates the number of kilometres travelled by bicycle between home and work and the number of days concerned during the month.

The employer determines how often the worker must complete this declaration of honour and how he checks the information given by the worker

The allowance is paid at the time of the payment period that is customary in the company.

6.According to Article 19, § 2 16° of the Royal Decree of 28 November 1969, the bicycle allowance is not subject to social security contributions under the same conditions as those laid down for tax purposes.

The employer's contribution paid to people who travel to work by bicycle is tax exempt, provided that the amount corresponds to a maximum of EUR 0.27 per km, without any other limit (CIR 92, art. 38, § 1^erpara. 1^er, 14°, a).

The exemption is granted regardless of whether the person chooses to deduct the flat-rate business expenses or to justify the actual expenses in his tax return.

7.Finally, it should also be remembered that the provision of a company bicycle constitutes a benefit in kind which is, in principle, taxable and subject to social security contributions, if the employee can also use the bicycle for private purposes.

The provision of a company bicycle is a social benefit exempt from social security contributions and taxes if the employee uses it for travel between home and the workplace and/or for professional purposes.

This exemption applies not only to the benefit resulting from the use of a company bicycle but also to the accessories of the bicycle (maintenance costs, garage costs, etc.).