Amendment to the Ordinance on Non-Cash Remuneration for Electric Vehicles

Central points in the draft amendment to the Ordinance on Non-Cash Remuneration are the charging of zero-emission vehicles, the purchase of charging equipment and cost subsidies for the purchase of charging equipment.

When charging electric vehicles, the following shall apply:

1. employer provides their employee with a motor vehicle for private journeys, including journeys between home and place of work.

• For the free charging of this motor vehicle at the employer's premises, a non-cash benefit value of zero shall be applied.

• If the employer reimburses or bears the costs for charging the vehicle, e.g. at external e-charging stations or at the employee's home, no income is to be recognized for the employee. The prerequisite for this is that the reimbursement of costs or the bearing of costs relates exclusively to the costs for charging the employer's own motor vehicle. The costs for charging non-employer-owned vehicles are therefore not covered by the benefit and - if they are reimbursed - must be recognized as income. If a charging device is used for charging both the employer-owned vehicle and any non-employer-owned vehicles, the costs for charging the employer-owned vehicle must therefore be recorded exactly.

2. employee's own vehicle

If the employee has the option of charging his/her own vehicle free of charge at the employer's premises, a non-monetary remuneration value of zero is to be applied.

Charging stations

For the acquisition of the necessary charging equipment for an employer-owned electric vehicle, an allowance of € 2,000 is to be provided for, which applies both to the provision of charging equipment by the employer and to the reimbursement of costs in the case of own acquisition by the employee. For charging stations up to an amount of € 2,000, no remuneration in kind is to be recognized.

If the acquisition costs (including any necessary additional investments, e.g. for power lines) exceed the amount of € 2,000, only the part exceeding this amount is to be recognized as remuneration in kind or income. In any case, the prerequisite is that an employer-owned vehicle is provided at the time of purchase.

Employers may therefore, in the case of acquisition by the employee, reimburse the acquisition costs for the charging device in full or in part, or acquire the charging device themselves and make it available to the employee. This should not only include permanently installed charging devices ("wallbox").
These amendments to the Ordinance on Non-Cash Remuneration are to apply for the first time to salary payment periods starting on January 1, 2023. The announcement remains to be seen.