Since 1 February 2025 the benefit in kind for a company car in France is valued at markedly higher rates. The legal basis is article 3 of the arrêté du 25 février 2025. Any business with several company cars sees the difference in the first payroll run.
What changed
The principle is unchanged: the valuation depends on whether the car was bought or leased, and on whether the employer pays for fuel. What moved are the rates, and they moved a long way.
| Case | Until 31 January 2025 | From 1 February 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Purchased car | 9 per cent of purchase cost | 15 per cent of purchase cost |
| Purchased, more than five years old | 6 per cent | 10 per cent |
| Purchased, employer pays fuel | 12 per cent | 20 per cent |
| Purchased, over five years, employer pays fuel | 9 per cent | 15 per cent |
| Leased or lease-purchase | 30 per cent of total annual cost | 50 per cent of total annual cost |
| Leased, employer pays fuel | 40 per cent | 67 per cent |
The total annual cost of a lease covers the rental, maintenance and insurance. The widest gap is the leased car with fuel: 40 per cent before, 67 per cent after.
The electric advantage stays, and it grows
A car running purely on electricity attracts a reduction on the valuation.
| Made available | Reduction | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2020 to 31 January 2025 | 50 per cent | 2,000.30 euros |
| 1 February 2025 to 31 December 2027 | 70 per cent | 4,582 euros |
In both cases the electricity the employer pays for charging stays out of the calculation.
What to check
The date that counts is when the car was made available, not when payroll runs. A fleet built up before February 2025 therefore stays on the old rates, and the two regimes sit side by side in the same company for years.
In practice this needs a schedule per vehicle: date made available, how it was acquired, its age, whether fuel is covered, and the drivetrain. Without that schedule the valuation is guesswork, and the difference ends up in the contribution base. See payroll and HR
Source: article 3 of the arrêté du 25 février 2025 on the valuation of benefits in kind.