For most employees, company bike leasing is significantly more financially advantageous. Thanks to salary sacrifice and the 0.25% rule, you typically save 20 to 40 percent compared to direct purchase. The prerequisite is that your employer offers leasing and that you use the bike regularly. Different rules apply to self-employed individuals, where the savings are smaller.
What is company bike leasing?
With company bike leasing, your employer leases a bicycle or electric cargo bike like the Simply.Lift EP6 and makes it available to you for private use. The monthly leasing rate is deducted directly from your gross salary through what is known as salary sacrifice. This reduces your taxable income, and this is where the majority of the savings come from.
The model works similarly to a company car, but for a bicycle. After the leasing period (usually 36 months), you can usually purchase the bike at a favorable residual value.
Why is company bike leasing financially worthwhile?
The financial advantage arises from two interacting effects:
1. Salary sacrifice reduces your tax burden. Because the leasing rate is deducted from your gross salary, you do not pay income tax or social security contributions on this amount. Your net salary therefore decreases less significantly than the actual cost of the leasing rate.
2. The 0.25% rule keeps the non-cash benefit low. Private use of the company bike is considered a non-cash benefit that you must pay taxes on. Since 2020, only 0.25 percent of the gross list price per month is applied for this. For an electric cargo bike costing 3,890 Euros, this amounts to around 9.73 Euros per month that you additionally pay taxes on. This is very little in proportion to the savings.
Ultimately, for most employees, this results in savings of 20 to 40 percent compared to purchasing the same bike from their already taxed net income.
A Concrete Calculation Example
Let's take an electric cargo bike with a gross list price of 3,890 Euros and a term of 36 months:
- For a direct purchase, you pay 3,890 Euros from your net salary. To have this amount left over, you would have to earn significantly more gross.
- With company bike leasing, the rate is converted gross, you save taxes and social security contributions, and only pay taxes on the small non-cash benefit.
Depending on your personal tax rate, you often end up several hundred to over a thousand Euros cheaper at the end of the term than with a direct purchase. How high your specific savings will be depends on your income and tax rate.
Who particularly benefits from company bike leasing?
Company bike leasing is particularly worthwhile if:
- your employer offers the model (this is the basic prerequisite),
- you want a higher-value bike, where the percentage savings are more significant,
- you regularly use the bike in everyday life, for example for commuting or family transport,
- you have a medium to high tax rate, because then the tax advantage is greater.
Especially with an electric cargo bike, which can partially replace a car, the leasing advantage and saved car costs add up to a significant plus.
Is company bike leasing also worthwhile for self-employed individuals?
For the self-employed, the calculation is different. They cannot convert salary, but leasing can be deducted as a business expense, and under certain conditions, input tax deduction is also possible. The financial advantage is usually smaller than for employees, but can still be worthwhile depending on the tax situation. Here, it's worth consulting with a tax advisor.
When is company bike leasing rather not worthwhile?
Honestly, there are cases where direct purchase makes more sense:
- if your employer does not offer leasing,
- if you rarely use the bike,
- if you want to buy a very inexpensive bike, where the absolute savings remain small,
- if you want to return the bike after a short period.
In these cases, a straightforward direct purchase may be the better choice.
Conclusion: Is company bike leasing worthwhile?
For most employees, the answer is clearly yes. The combination of salary sacrifice and the 0.25% rule makes high-quality bikes significantly cheaper than purchasing them from net income. Those looking for an electric cargo bike for daily family use or commuting benefit twice: from the leasing advantage and from saved car costs.
Note: This article provides general guidance and does not replace individual tax advice. Your specific savings depend on your personal tax situation.
Do you want to lease your electric cargo bike? The Simply.Lift EP6 is available through more than 13 leasing partners, including JobRad, BusinessBike, and Bikeleasing. Learn more about cargo bike leasing →


