For a company car, the debate is settled: 100% deductibility for an electric car ordered up to 31 December 2026, versus 0% for a combustion car ordered from 1 January 2026. On the employee side, the benefit in kind on an electric car falls to the 4% floor, often reduced to the legal minimum of €1,690 a year. For a private buyer without a company, however, the advantage has narrowed: the tax reduction for a charging point has gone, and Flanders ended its road tax exemption on 1 January 2026.
The 2026 tax turning point
Since the reform that took effect in July 2023, tax deductibility for company cars has followed a downward path for anything emitting CO2. 2026 is the pivotal year: the moment the door closes on new combustion orders.
| Order / acquisition date | Car with CO2 emissions | Zero-emission car |
|---|---|---|
| Between 1/07/2023 and 31/12/2025 | 50% in 2026 → 25% in 2027 → 0% from 2028 | 100% |
| From 1/01/2026 | 0% — no deduction at all | 100% |
| Up to 31/12/2026 | — | 100% locked in for the whole holding period |
| From 1/01/2027 | 0% | 95% (2027) → 90% (2028) → 82.5% (2029) → 75% (2030) → 67.5% (2031) |
Two practical consequences that are often misunderstood:
- The 0% is not just about depreciation. For a combustion car ordered in 2026, all vehicle-related costs become non-deductible — fuel, maintenance, insurance, tyres. The car becomes an expense borne entirely by the company.
- End of 2026 is a key date for electric too. Ordering a zero-emission car before 31 December 2026 locks deductibility at 100% for the whole holding period. A year later, the same car starts at 95% and follows a declining curve. Over a 4 or 5 year lease, that gap is not trivial.
The reform also raises the "false hybrid" threshold from 50 to 75 g CO2/km — a technical adjustment that changes nothing about the broader conclusion: plug-in hybrids no longer enjoy any favourable regime for new orders.
The electric benefit in kind: the 4% floor and the €1,690 minimum
If you receive a company car, what costs you is not the deductibility (that is the employer's problem) but the benefit in kind: an amount added to your taxable income and then taxed at your marginal rate.
The formula is unchanged in 2026:
Annual benefit = catalogue value × depreciation coefficient × 6/7 × CO2 percentage
The depreciation coefficient reduces the catalogue value by 6% per year started from the second year onwards, with a floor of 70%.
The CO2 percentage equals 5.5 + (vehicle CO2 − reference CO2) × 0.1, capped between 4% and 18%. The 2026 reference rates, set by Royal Decree of 17 December 2025, are 70 g/km for petrol, LPG and natural gas and 58 g/km for diesel.
For an electric car, emissions are zero: the calculation returns a negative result, so the 4% floor applies. But there is a second floor, often forgotten: the minimum benefit in kind, set at €1,690 per year for 2026 income, regardless of powertrain.
Because catalogue value × 6/7 × 4% equals €1,690 at a catalogue value of roughly €49,300, every new electric car below that list price is taxed on the €1,690 minimum. In other words: between an electric car at €32,000 and one at €48,000, your benefit in kind is identical. Above the threshold, it becomes proportional to catalogue value again.
The gap in euros: electric versus petrol
Take two new cars with a catalogue value of €40,000, first year on the road (depreciation at 100%), for a beneficiary on a 50% marginal tax rate.
| Electric (0 g CO2) | Petrol (130 g CO2) | |
|---|---|---|
| CO2 percentage applied | 4% (floor) | 11.5% |
| Calculated benefit | €1,371/year | €3,943/year |
| Benefit retained (€1,690 minimum) | €1,690/year | €3,943/year |
| Real cost to you (at 50%) | ±€845/year | ±€1,971/year |
Gap: roughly €1,130 net per year in favour of electric, for a car at the same price. And that is a floor: the more the combustion car emits, the wider the gap — up to the 18% maximum, which a petrol car reaches at 195 g CO2/km.
One detail for the employer: part of the benefit in kind (17%, or 40% if the company pays for the fuel or electricity) is added back to its taxable base. That cost exists for electric cars too.
The CO2 solidarity contribution: the rising cost
On the employer's side, every company car with private use generates a monthly CO2 solidarity contribution to the national social security office. Two changes in 2026:
- The multiplier rises to 4.00 (from 2.75 in 2025) for vehicles ordered, rented or leased since 1 July 2023;
- The indexation coefficient rises to 1.6291 (September 2025 health index of 185.85 divided by the September 2004 index of 114.08).
Electric cars emit nothing, so they pay the minimum contribution, and the multiplier does not apply to that minimum. In 2026 it stands at €42.34 per month for vehicles ordered since 1 July 2023 (versus €33.93 per month for those ordered before that date), or roughly €508 a year.
It is a floor, not an exemption: electric remains the cheapest option on the social security side, but it is not free — and the minimum itself rises every year with indexation.
Regional taxes: Flanders ends the free ride
This is the most visible 2026 change for a private buyer. Until now Flanders was the most generous region: full exemption from registration tax and annual road tax for 100% electric cars. That is over for new registrations.
Two important caveats:
- In Flanders the registration date is what counts. An electric car registered before 1 January 2026 keeps the exemption. Check this point with the Flemish tax administration if you buy a used Flemish electric car: the regime attached to the vehicle is part of its value.
- The Brussels and Walloon amounts are indexed annually and secondary sources often differ by a few euros. Use the official regional tax simulators rather than a figure found in an article — including this one.
Even after this change the gap remains large: under €100 a year for an electric car, versus several hundred euros for a comparable combustion car.
What if you buy as a private individual?
This is the big blind spot in the Belgian debate: almost all of the tax advantage of electric is attached to company car status. A private buyer paying with net income gets neither the deductibility nor the benefit-in-kind regime. Three levers remain.
1. Running costs — the only real structural advantage
An electric car consumes roughly 16 to 20 kWh/100 km depending on the model, the season and the type of journey. The cost then depends almost entirely on where you charge:
| Scenario (calculation assumptions) | Unit price | Cost / 100 km |
|---|---|---|
| Home charging (18 kWh/100 km) | €0.30/kWh | ±€5.40 |
| Home + solar panels | marginal | ±€2 to 3 |
| Public fast charger | €0.65/kWh | ±€11.70 |
| Comparable petrol car (6.5 l/100 km) | €1.70/l | ±€11.05 |
This table is a model, not a price list. Electricity, public charging and fuel tariffs vary widely depending on your contract, your charging operator and the moment. Reuse the structure of the calculation with your figures. The conclusion, though, is robust: electric is only clearly cheaper to run if you charge mostly at home. On public fast charging alone, the fuel advantage all but disappears.
2. The charging point: the tax incentive is gone
The federal tax reduction for installing a home charging point has ended. It only covered expenses paid between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2024, at a declining rate: 45% until 31 December 2022, 30% in 2023, then 15% from 1 January to 31 August 2024. The Belgian tax administration confirms its abolition as of assessment year 2026.
What remains:
- the reduced 6% VAT rate where the installation relates to a dwelling more than ten years old, under the conditions of the reduced renovation rate;
- for companies and the self-employed, the investment deduction, whose thematic strand covers carbon-emission-free mobility investments among others — have your accountant confirm it, the conditions are specific;
- occasional regional or municipal grants, to be checked case by case; note also that the electricity the charger consumes is still billed at your contract rate, with the usual levies and surcharges.
3. The LEZ factor, often decisive in cities
It is not a tax advantage, but it is a cost avoided. An electric car has unconditional access to every Belgian low emission zone, today and across the whole announced trajectory — while Brussels is planning the end of diesel around 2030 and of petrol around 2035. If you live or work in the capital, that immunity is worth several years of residual value. We break down the rules region by region in our article on which car can still drive in Belgium.
The blind spots in the calculation
Residual value
This is the heaviest item in total cost of ownership, and the most uncertain for electric. The technology moves fast, used supply is growing quickly, and battery condition is becoming a pricing criterion in its own right. Conversely, the value of older combustion cars is being squeezed by LEZ restrictions. Nobody can pin this item down with certainty — be wary of any comparison that presents it as settled.
Insurance and maintenance
Maintaining an electric car is structurally lighter: no oil changes, no timing belt, no clutch, and regenerative braking that spares the pads. Against that, insurance premiums are often higher (vehicle value and repair costs), and replacing an out-of-warranty battery remains a major financial risk. Look closely at the length and scope of the battery warranty — that is the real contract.
The case of the sole trader
If you are self-employed as a sole trader, you deduct car costs in proportion to actual business use, within the same deductibility limits as above. Electric is therefore clearly favoured there too. If you operate through a company, the trade-off is rather between a company car, a mobility budget and mileage allowances: our guide on a limited company versus sole proprietorship sets out the general framework for that kind of decision.
Verdict: who does electric pay off for in 2026?
Company car: the question no longer arises. With 100% deductibility versus 0% for a new combustion car, a benefit in kind at the floor and a minimum social security contribution, there is no longer a scenario in which a combustion car ordered in 2026 is defensible on tax grounds. The only remaining trade-off is timing: ordering a zero-emission car before 31 December 2026 locks the 100% rate for the whole holding period.
Private buyer with home charging: yes, but over time. The running-cost gap (in our model, around €5–6 versus €11 per 100 km) and the minimum road tax gradually offset a higher purchase price. It takes mileage and time to break even — and the charging-point incentive no longer exists.
Private buyer without home charging: be careful. On public fast charging alone, the running-cost advantage almost entirely melts away. What remains is guaranteed LEZ access and minimum road tax — often not enough on their own to justify the purchase premium.
Flemish resident buying a used electric car: check the date of first registration. Before 1 January 2026, the road tax exemption is part of what you are buying.