Does the CREG reimbursement also apply to company directors and the self-employed?

Yes. Circular 2024/C/77 from the Belgian tax authorities (FOD Financien / SPF Finances) applies to both employees and company directors who charge a company vehicle at home.

Charging cost reimbursement for company directors and the self-employed

Do you drive an electric company car as a director, manager or self-employed professional, and charge it at home? Here's how to apply the CREG rate correctly and build a solid file for your accountant.

Company directors Self-employed

This is not tax advice. This guide explains how the CREG reimbursement works in practice, based on the official circular and public sources from recognised Belgian accounting firms (see the Sources section below). Every situation differs — always have your specific case reviewed by your accountant.

Who is this guide for?

This guide applies to you if you're in one of the following situations:

Company director / manager with your own company — you drive an electric or plug-in hybrid company car owned by (or leased through) your company, and you charge it at home.
Self-employed professional — you run your activity as a self-employed person (with or without a company) and use a company car that you charge at home.

In both cases, unlike a regular employee, you're often both the person incurring the cost and (co-)responsible for processing it correctly. That calls for extra care when documenting and booking the reimbursement.

How does the reimbursement work when you're both employer and beneficiary?

Since circular 2024/C/77 from the Belgian tax authorities (FOD Financiën / SPF Finances, published 5 December 2024), employers may reimburse the electricity cost of home-charging a company car at a flat, tax-free rate based on the CREG rate. This rule is explicitly not limited to employees: it also applies to company directors who charge a car owned by their own company at home.

In practice: your company ("the employer") reimburses you ("the director") for every kWh charged at home, at the official quarterly rate for your region. Because you sit on both sides of this transaction, it's even more important to calculate the amount correctly, be able to demonstrate consumption, and have the reimbursement booked cleanly as a company cost — not as an additional benefit-in-kind on top of what is already taxed as a flat-rate benefit for private use of the car.

Self-employed without a company (sole trader)? In that case there is no separate legal entity that "reimburses" you — the electricity cost of business use of your vehicle is then processed directly as a business expense in your own tax return. Whether and how you can use the CREG rate as a flat-rate basis in that situation depends on your specific status. Discuss this explicitly with your accountant — it varies case by case.

What do you need?

A measurable charging point. Your consumption must be demonstrable through "a communicating system or another verifiable system". A charger or wallbox with its own kWh meter is the most practical solution. Charging systems purchased or leased since 1 January 2025 must also meet minimum metering accuracy requirements.
A regular export of your charging sessions. Each month or quarter, export the charging data (date + kWh) from your charger's app or portal. See our guide to exporting charging data for the process per brand (Wallbox, Alfen, Easee, Smappee, Zaptec, Tesla, …).
The correct quarterly rate. The CREG rate differs per region (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia) and is set anew every quarter. The current rate is on our live rate table.

Step by step: from charger export to bookkeeping

Export your charging sessions

Log in to your charger's app or portal and export the sessions for the past month or quarter as CSV or Excel. Precise steps per brand are in the export guide.

Paste the data into the calculator

Paste the date and kWh of each session into the free charging cost calculator. Pick your region and the calculator automatically matches each session to the correct quarterly rate.

Download the PDF report

The calculator generates a clear PDF report per quarter with every session, the applied rate, and the total amount. See an example of this PDF report.

Hand the report to your accountant

Give the PDF report to your accountant, together with any meter readings or screenshots from the charger's app, as supporting evidence for the cost note.

Booking as a cost by the company

Your accountant books the amount as a business expense of the company and pays it out to the director (for example through the director's current account), or the company pays the cost directly. As long as consumption is demonstrable and the amount doesn't exceed the regional maximum, this reimbursement is tax-free for you as the director.

Tips for your records

Keep each quarterly report (PDF) together with the raw CSV export from your charger.
Keep photos or screenshots of meter readings as extra supporting evidence.
Consistently use the same address/region so the applied rate matches your residence.
Submit your report regularly — monthly or quarterly — rather than once a year in arrears.
Keep the contract or purchase invoice of your charger as proof of the metering installation.

What isn't (yet) clearly settled?

A few points depend heavily on your specific situation and deserve discussion with your accountant:

VAT deduction on the electricity cost of home charging — the sources we consulted don't explicitly address this.
Tax deductibility of the charger itself (purchase, installation) — this falls under the normal rules for business investments, but the details vary by situation.
Sole trader versus company — the "reimbursement" mechanism is essentially built for the employer–employee (or company–director) relationship. How to correctly process this cost as a sole trader without a company is not clearly settled in the sources we found.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Circular 2024/C/77 from the Belgian tax authorities applies to both employees and company directors who charge a company vehicle at home.

Your consumption must be demonstrable through a communicating system or another verifiable system. Since 1 January 2025, newly purchased or leased charging systems must meet minimum metering accuracy requirements.

Typically via a quarterly cost note (kWh × rate), repaid to the director through their current account or paid directly by the company, and recorded as a business expense.

Yes, provided consumption is demonstrable, the amount does not exceed the published regional maximum, and the reimbursement is correctly booked as a company cost.

Without a separate company there is no distinct "employer" — the reimbursement logic differs. Discuss with your accountant how to process this cost in your own tax return, since it depends on your specific situation.

Sources

All sources accessed on 2 October 2026.

This page is informational and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Regulations and rates change regularly — consult your accountant and the official sources above for your specific situation.

Calculate your reimbursement now

Paste your charging data into the free calculator and download a PDF report for your accountant right away.

Go to the calculator Export charging data

Related guides

CREG rate explained

How is the CREG rate calculated each quarter and per region?

Export your charging data

Export sessions from Wallbox, Alfen, Easee, Smappee, Zaptec, Tesla and more.

How to claim EV charging costs as a self-employed person in Belgium

What self-employed individuals in Belgium need to know about claiming charging costs.

As a self-employed professional in Belgium you are entitled to a refund for the electricity you use to charge your company car at home. Using the official quarterly CREG rates, this calculator works out the exact amount from your recorded charging sessions. You can export the result to PDF and forward it to your accountant.

Which CREG tariffs apply in my region?

Find out which CREG rate applies to your region: Brussels, Flanders, or Wallonia.

The CREG publishes maximum reimbursement rates per quarter for charging sessions. These rates vary depending on your region: Flanders, Brussels or Wallonia. Our calculator applies the correct rate automatically to ensure accurate results.

Example EV charging cost invoice (PDF)

Download an an PDF invoice based on your load data.

This tool lets you easily export an overview in PDF format, including date, kWh charged, rate and refund per charging session. Enter your name, address and vehicle details to generate a ready-to-use report for your accountant or tax filing.