The mobility budget and your lease car
If an employee swaps their company car for a mobility budget, the lease contract on that car does not stop with it. It carries on, and the car stands still. Here is what changes and what you can do with such a contract.
What the mobility budget is
The mobility budget lets an employee who is entitled to a company car convert that entitlement into a budget. They can spend it on a more environmentally friendly car, on other means of transport such as public transport or a bicycle, on housing costs close to work, or have it paid out.
For the employer, the main change is this: it is no longer a favour you may offer, but a choice you must offer.
From when, and for whom
Employers with fifty or more employees will have to offer it by 1 January 2027 at the latest. For employers with fifteen to fifty employees, the date is 1 January 2028 at the latest. Below fifteen employees the obligation does not apply.
It applies only to employers who already provide company cars, and there is a condition about duration: the measure targets employers who have been doing so for at least thirty-six months.
Important: the legislation is not final at this point. The agreement has been sent to the Council of State for advice and still has to pass through parliament. The outlines above are known, the details are not. Anyone building a plan on this should bear that in mind.
The problem nobody names
An employee who opts for the budget hands the car back. Their lease contract carries on: it is an agreement between the company and the leasing company, and an employee's choice does not end it.
The average contract term in Belgium has moreover risen from forty-two months five years ago to fifty-one months today, according to figures from Renta. Contracts are getting longer, precisely as companies can see less far ahead.
The result: a car nobody uses any more, with a monthly payment calculated for a car that drives. Every idle month is money going nowhere, and the final mileage settlement only softens part of that.
Three things you can do with such a contract
Run it out. You pay the remaining months and return the car on the end date. That is exactly calculable: the monthly payment times the number of months left.
Terminate. You ask the leasing company to stop early and pay an early termination fee. There is no statutory rate and no Belgian leasing company publishes its formula. Ask for the amount in writing, with the calculation and a validity date.
Transfer. Another company takes over the contract on the same terms. You then usually pay only administration fees. The leasing company decides whether it accepts the incoming party, and that is not a formality: it assesses that company as it would a new customer.
What you can already do now
List which contracts will still be running in 2027 and how many months will be left at that point. That list determines how large this becomes for you.
Ask each leasing company whether a transfer is possible and on what terms. That information is nowhere public, so you have to ask for it yourself, and the answer differs per company and sometimes per file.
And put it to your accountant before you decide anything. Company car taxation changes step by step over the coming years, and yours depends on when and how the contract was signed.
Frequently asked questions
Does the lease contract end if the employee chooses the budget?
No. The contract is between the company and the leasing company; an employee's choice does not end it. The obligation to pay remains until the end of the term, or until a transfer or termination has been agreed with the leasing company.
Is the mobility budget already legally mandatory?
Not yet. The agreement is with the Council of State for advice and then has to pass through parliament. The announced dates are 1 January 2027 for employers with fifty or more employees and 1 January 2028 for fifteen to fifty. While the text is not final, details may still change.
Does it apply to small companies as well?
For employers with fewer than fifteen employees the obligation does not apply. That does not mean it is not allowed: offering a mobility budget remains possible at any time, it simply is not required.
What if the leasing company does not allow a transfer?
Then running it out or terminating are what remain. In that case also ask what terminating costs exactly and how that amount is made up, so you can put the two side by side. A transfer is usually the cheapest, but not every leasing company cooperates.
Can another company take over my contract without the leasing company?
No. An arrangement between two companies has no value without the express permission of the leasing company. It owns the car and it signs the addendum with the new contracting party.