Company car vs mobility budget vs keeping my own car — what would you do?
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Hello,
I've seen a few posts about the Belgian mobility budget and company cars, and I'd like to get some opinions on my situation.
My situation:
- Net salary: ~€2,800/month
- Married, no kids
- I live about 90 km from my workplace
- I drive about 185 km each way, 3 days a week
Currently, my employer offers me a company car, but it would cost me around €650 gross/month in salary sacrifice.
From what I've calculated, my net salary would decrease by roughly €370–400/month. I'm also taking into account the impact of the lower gross salary on my yearly bonus.
If I keep my current car, my approximate monthly costs are:
- Diesel: €250–300/month
- Insurance: €55/month
- Maintenance/repairs: ~€500/year (~€42/month)
So I'm spending roughly €350–400/month on the car, excluding depreciation, tyres, etc.
Because of that, the company car doesn't actually look like a bad deal. The reduction in my net salary is roughly comparable to what I'm already spending on my car, while presumably giving me a newer/reliable car and avoiding some maintenance costs.
However, there's one big problem: I'm planning to buy a house.
As I understand it, the bank will look at my gross salary/income when determining how much I can borrow. Taking the company car would reduce my gross salary, so it could potentially reduce my borrowing capacity.
That makes the company car less attractive to me, even if the monthly financial calculation isn't necessarily bad.
Then there's the mobility budget.
My company is introducing a mobility budget this year. From what I understand, I could potentially choose between a company car, sustainable mobility options, or receiving the unused amount in cash.
I've seen that the mobility budget is based on the TCO of the company car, and I've heard that in my case it could be around €1,050/month (€12,600/year).
If I understand the rules correctly, money left over for Pillar 3 is paid in cash but subject to a 38.07% special social-security contribution, which would leave roughly €7,800/year (~€650/month) if the full €12,600 went into Pillar 3.
However, I initially thought I might also be able to use the mobility budget to pay rent or a mortgage. Since I live ~90 km from work, I assume that probably doesn't apply to me, because of the 10 km housing-distance requirement.
So my questions are:
Am I understanding the mobility budget correctly?
Given my situation, would you take the company car, keep your own car, or go for the mobility budget/cash option?
How much weight would you give to the impact on gross salary and therefore mortgage borrowing capacity?
Am I missing any important costs in my comparison (depreciation, tyres, taxes, etc.)?
I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who have been in a similar situation in Belgium, especially when trying to get a mortgage.