Germany: what it costs and how it is taxed
What you pay per bike, and why offering it on top of salary makes it completely tax-free for your employees.
This article applies to Germany.
What you pay per bike
| Bike | Per month (excl. VAT) | Per month (incl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe 7 | €20.08 | €23.90 |
| Power 1 | €58.74 | €69.90 |
| Power 7 | €62.94 | €74.90 |
We invoice you for the full amount, whatever you decide to contribute.
Two routes, taxed very differently
This is the decision that matters most in Germany.
On top of salary (Gehaltsextra). Under §3 Nr. 37 EStG, a bike provided in addition to normal wages is completely tax-free for your employee. No geldwerter Vorteil, nothing on the payslip, gross salary untouched. It runs until at least the end of 2030 and needs to be documented in writing.
Through salary conversion (Gehaltsumwandlung). The bike isn't on top of wages, so the exemption doesn't apply. Your employee pays 0.25% of the list price a month as a geldwerter Vorteil, and funds the subscription from gross salary.
You can also combine them: contribute a fixed amount and let your employee convert the rest.
What each route costs you
| You pay | You save on social contributions | |
|---|---|---|
| No contribution | €0 | Yes, on the converted amount |
| Monthly subsidy | Whatever you choose | Yes, on the converted amount |
| On top of salary | The full subscription | No |
With salary conversion, your employee's gross salary drops, so your social contributions drop with it. Offer it with no contribution at all and the scheme actively saves you money every month.
Most employers pass that saving straight back as a subsidy, which costs nothing beyond what they were already saving and makes the bike cheaper for the employee. In Germany around 90% of companies contribute something.
How the 0.25% rule works
The tax office takes the manufacturer's recommended price, quarters it, rounds down to the nearest €100, then charges 1% of that per month.
| Bike | List price | Quartered, rounded | Monthly taxable benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deluxe 7 | €450 | €100 | €1.00 |
| Power 1 | €1,500 | €300 | €3.00 |
| Power 7 | €2,000 | €500 | €5.00 |
It's settled automatically through payroll, so there's nothing for your employee to do and nothing to declare on their tax return.
No extra tax for commuting. With a company car, the 0.03% rule adds tax for every kilometre of commuting distance. With a bike, the 0.25% covers everything: work, private riding and the commute.
What your employees save
Converting gross salary reduces income tax and social contributions, so the bike costs considerably less than the monthly rate suggests. Someone in tax class I earning between €3,000 and €6,000 typically saves 25% to 35% against buying the same bike privately.
Worth mentioning to your team: lower gross salary slightly reduces anything calculated from it, including pension, health and unemployment entitlements. The effect is small, but better said upfront.
Watch the minimum wage. Salary conversion can't take remaining gross pay below the statutory minimum, which is €13.90 an hour in 2026. If it would, the conversion isn't allowed.
Those employees can still have a bike. Offer it on top of salary instead, which is tax-free anyway and avoids the problem entirely.
The commuting allowance
Your employees claim the Entfernungspauschale whatever transport they use: €0.30 per kilometre, rising to €0.38 beyond 21km. Riding a Swapfiets doesn't change that.
What happens at the end?
Nothing to settle. The subscription is monthly, the bike stays ours, and there's no buyout.
German bike leases usually run 36 months and end with your employee buying the bike at its residual value or handing it back, which creates another taxable benefit to deal with. With us there's no end date to plan for and no decision to make.