Lately a lot of people in my environment have been thinking about buying a car on their company and I've seen each of them get stuck in the same debacle. As of right now, a van or a pickup truck with 5 seats is the most financially interesting company vehicle because not only is it a 100% tax deductible (aftrekbaar), it also doesn't require a sacrifice in your monthly wage (voordeel van alle aarde, VAA) (EDIT: apparently this is only in certain case). This is because they are considered 'light transport vehicles' (lichte vracht).

Despite that many people still go for EVs and hybrid cars because even though they do result in a VAA on your wage, they are much less bulky to ride and they fit in underground parking lots and stuff. Also vans are not considered beautiful by most people while pickups are only appealing for a select crown. The thing is after 2026 both EVs and hybrids will drop to 66% tax deductibility (aftrekbaarheid), which will decrease further each year.

This will massively widen the financial gap between pickups and vans on one hand, and 'normal cars' on the other. To put it bluntly, it will become a very stupid financial decision not to buy a pickup or van for your company (if we leave the physical dimensions out of it).

Even now the situation is incredibly absurd, say you'd buy a Toyota RAV4 Prime now, you'd only be able to deduct if for 60-70% on average over 5 years (the number dropping in the latter years). Yet if you lay down the back seats, you create a bigger volume than the trunk of a 5 seat Toyota Hilux, yet the latter is by far the cheapest in the long run. You do have the option to have the back seats of the RAV4 permanently removed so it can also be considered a light transport, but then you only have 2 front seats …

And that for me seems the most simple solution. If a 'small' pickup has 5 seats, then it should not be considered a light transport, as their trunks are rather short and they don't have the option to flatten seats to lengthen them. People that really do need a pickup truck will be willing to make the sacrifice to only have 2 or 3 seats in front, but right now the vast majority of pickup drivers are only LARPing on their way to the bank.

They're trying to get rid of company cars, but are blind to the elephant in the room.

EDIT: For people doubting the problem

No wonder, then, that this type of vehicle began to boom as a fiscally interesting alternative to the heavily taxed SUV. In 2021, for example, some 65,000 pickups were driving around our country, which is 63 percent more than a decade earlier. Pro capita, we had twice as many pickups in Belgium as in France and Germany, and in comparison to the Netherlands, there were even ten times as many driving around in our country.

https://www.autogids.be/autonieuws/markt/pick-up-particulier-kopen.html

by Captain_Fordo_ARC_77

17 comments

  1. Many people = the entrepreneurs that can afford it, for their job they are not using vans yet, and also don’t want to park underground?

    It seems like a small group to me.

  2. If your only car (no other personenwagen) there should still be a VAA, since you would still make use of it in your private life.
    Deductability in company tax is indeed correct, but you’re not getting away with no VAA if you have no other car in the company/privately owned.

    EDIT: after reading your post again: you’re getting more things mixed up which makes it you’re basicly comparing apples to pears.

  4. Meanwhile as normal private person… looking for 40K to buy a new car… Sigh :/ Fuck the company cars who keep the prices inflated.

  5. It´s no news that pickups are abused much of the time. They´re no all that useful for most owners whatever their claims.

    Cargo capacity + some off-road capacity, that´s where a pickup can be a good choice.

  6. Welcome to the Americanisation of Belgium it was the États-Unis de Belgique once upon a time after all I suppose.

  7. Why would anyone buy a pick up truck as primary/family car if you dont really need it for work? My wife would not be very amused as I would look like a fool. I would not be able to go on holiday. Or should I just throw the luggage in the back and strap it, and get it out using a ladder. Or go shopping in a city center with the Toyota hilux. Sounds like fun.

  8. So thatsss why I see so many of those big fat ugly gas guzzzling dodge RAMs driving around lately.

  9. I have noticed the increase. The American cosplaying is an utterly disappointing phenomena.

  10. There sure as hell is VAA to be paid on lichte vracht. In most situations it’s even more than normal VAA because it’s based on the true value and a ratio between private and work related mileage. No forfait like normal cars. And the kicker is that there is no officiel way to calculatie the true value. So it’s always food for discussion with the tax administration. It can be worth it if you do a ton of work related mileage, but more often than not private mileage exceeds work related (and commuting to your office is counted is private!)

    Only morons buy pickups thinking they found the ultimate loophole.

  11. Sorry it’s in french couldn’t find the English version. Here are some of the rules to be “utility van”:

    * le véhicule est conçu et destiné au transport de marchandises^(1) ;
    * la masse autorisée ne dépasse pas 3.500 kg ;
    * le rapport entre la longueur de l’espace de chargement et l’empattement (= distance entre les deux essieux) est au moins égal à 50 % sauf pour les pick-up ;
    * l’espace de chargement est pourvu, sur toute sa surface, d’un plancher horizontal fixe exempt de tout point d’attache pour des banquettes, sièges ou ceintures de sécurité ;
    * s’il s’agit d’une fourgonnette, des conditions supplémentaires sont en vigueur concernant la cabine et la cloison de séparation.

     

    Number 3 and 4 are supposed to block non utility cars like “Porsche cayenne” or other big luxury cars and to allow only “professional oriented” trucks/vans. The government tries to “help” professionals as these are supposed to be professional tools, but of course like all rules, there can be some abuse.

    I work as a professional in agricultural sector and drive a pickup truck on a daily base. I tow weekly trailers >3t and need 4×4. There is very few car offers for this usage.

    We also have a VW touran family car for my wife. I’m happy that I can pickup my kids at school once in a while when my wife does nightshifts ( pickup is 5seater with isofix) but truck this is absolutely not a great family car and parking is a nightmare. And 12l/100km is not the cheapest to drive….

    If the rule changes to 2/3 seats max I will have to buy a 3rd car.

  12. Am I the only one to think of a company car being small? You drive to work, alone. So Fiat 500 (the older ones, not the modern ones). Hyundai i20 is already more than enough. How on earth is anything bigger accepted??? It’s not a company car if you’re going to take your kids to school. Groceries I can see, again, Seat Leon or Ibiza is sufficient in size.

    Guess I’m out of touch with reality.

  13. Let’s ban these monster vehicles or require a special license for them.

  14. i assume most do have a brain and realise its not so much fun going in narrow streets with a very wide vehicle.

  15. I especially love those company trucks with custom extra loud exhausts. They sound like a lawnmower on meth.

    I frigging felt old when one of those actually startled me.

  16. OP, you’re wrong. Your post is based on hearsay and contains multiple fallacies. Just FYI, still time to delete it.

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