An employee uses several company vehicles: when does a multiple benefit in kind arise?
If employees can also use an employer-owned vehicle for private journeys (including journeys between home and work), a benefit in kind must generally be taken into account. However, things get tricky when not just one vehicle, but several company cars, for example from a pool, can be used privately. In practice, the question arises as to whether the benefit in kind should be recognised once or separately for each vehicle.
Assessment of the tax office
In a recent case, the tax office assumed that a separate non-cash benefit value should be recognised for each company car that employees can also use privately. The authorities rejected a reduction to half the non-cash benefit: No evidence could be provided that the private journeys with the individual vehicles were less than 500 km per month or less than 6,000 km per year.
The Federal Fiscal Court (BFG) confirmed this view in full (BFG of 6 October 2025, RV/7106417/2016). The decisive factor is that each vehicle available for private use triggers a separate benefit in kind. Due to the far-reaching significance for payroll accounting, the BFG allowed an ordinary appeal to the Administrative Court. However, the decision of the Administrative Court is still pending.
What companies should consider
If employers allow the private use of several company vehicles, this can lead to a separate benefit in kind being calculated for each car. If you want to avoid this risk, you should
- clearly restrict private use to a specific vehicle and
- ensure a continuously maintained, informative logbook.
In this way, it is possible to avoid unexpectedly having to take several non-cash remuneration values into account in payroll accounting.
Status: 03/03/2026
Source: Lindeverlag
Photo: GMB Visuals
