Electric company car: why you should order before 31 December 2026

In short: an electric car ordered by a company no later than 31 December 2026 remains 100% deductible for as long as it is held. Ordered in 2027, it is only 95% deductible, then less and less each year. For a single car, one year's difference is modest: around €400 over 4 years for a BMW iX1. The real issue lies elsewhere. A combustion car or plug-in hybrid ordered in 2026 is no longer deductible at all, and costs the same company around €13,000 more over 4 years.

What the rule says#

Deductibility applies to corporate income tax, on all the car's costs: depreciation or lease payments, charging, maintenance, insurance. For a fully electric car, the rate depends on the year of order, and is then frozen for as long as the car is held:

For other powertrains, the timetable is much harsher:

• Petrol, diesel, hybrid or plug-in hybrid ordered on or after 1 January 2026: 0% deductibility for a company.
• Ordered between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2025: 50% in 2026, 25% in 2027, then 0% from 2028.
• Ordered before 1 July 2023: the old CO2-based table continues to apply.

These regimes are explained in detail in our guide to vehicle deductibility in 2026.

What matters: the order date, not delivery#

A car ordered on 15 December 2026 and delivered in March 2027 keeps its 100%. It is the date of the contract that counts: the signed order form for a purchase, or the signed contract for a lease or rental. With delivery times of several months on some models, this detail matters.

Three things to do before the end of the year:

1. Sign a dated order form: a quote or a non-binding online reservation is not enough.
2. Keep it in the vehicle file: it is the document your accountant must be able to produce.
3. Enter the order date in your calculation: it determines the correct rate for each year the car is held.

What you gain: 5% of deductibility, in figures#

Take a BMW iX1 eDrive20 (€51,200 list price), bought outright by an SRL (private limited company), kept for 4 years and 20,000 km a year, with 80% business use. Only the order date changes:

Ordering in December rather than January saves €385 over 4 years at the 20% SME rate, and €480 at the 25% rate. For a Skoda Enyaq 85 (€58,180), the difference is €410 at 20%. The effect is softened by the resale: when deductibility falls, the taxable share of the capital gain made on resale falls too. It is not a fortune for a single car. But it is a gain with no downside, which multiplies with the number of vehicles in a fleet, and grows with every year you wait.

The real issue: electric versus combustion#

The question many company directors ask is not "December or January?", but "electric or not?". Same basis of calculation, with the same car in two powertrains, both ordered in December 2026:

The electric car costs €10,200 more to buy, but works out €13,001 cheaper over 4 years, or €271 a month. Three effects add up: the company deducts its costs instead of only recovering the VAT, energy and maintenance cost less, and the director's benefit in kind is less than half as high.

The consolidated cost adds together the cost to the company after tax and the tax the director pays on the benefit in kind: it is the only figure that allows an honest comparison between two company cars.

And self-employed people without a company?#

The logic is similar, with personal income tax instead of corporate income tax. One big difference: a plug-in hybrid ordered in 2026 remains deductible for a self-employed person, up to 100% if it emits no more than 50 g of CO2/km (95% for a 2027 order), whereas it is no longer deductible at all for a company. For an electric car, ordering in 2026 remains the best option. Have your accountant confirm your situation before signing.

Our assumptions#

• Use: 4 years, 20,000 km a year, 80% business use, cash purchase at list price with no discount, Brussels, comprehensive insurance.
• Energy: charging half at home (€0.30/kWh), half at public charging points (€0.65/kWh), petrol at €1.80/l, rising by 3% a year.
• Tax: SRL at the 20% SME rate (25% shown separately), director taxed at 45% on the benefit in kind. All tax amounts are calculated from the official Belgian rates, checked on 17 September 2026.
• Resale value: estimated by our used-car valuation engine, which takes into account age, mileage, powertrain, body style, gearbox, brand and engine reliability, and is calibrated on more than 5,000 real used-car listings published in Belgium.

Your figures will be different: that is exactly what the calculator lets you check, car by car.

Tax rules change: check the legislation in force before making any decision.