Have a car policy drawn up: costs and process

Having a company car policy drafted means having a legal expert write the regulations for the company car, tailored to your fleet, your job roles, and the tax strategy you choose. This is particularly worthwhile if you want to avoid taxable benefit with a comprehensive mileage log, if you wish to pass on damage or traffic fines, if there is a works council, or if you want to amend an existing policy for people who already drive the car. For a simple situation involving a single car, a template is often sufficient. Below are the costs, the process, and the considerations.

The short answer

• What: a legal expert drafts a tailor-made car policy and aligns it with your fleet and employment conditions.
• Costs: typically €450 to €1,250 for a comprehensive scheme for SMEs.
• Turnaround time: usually one to two weeks, depending on the intake and the number of correction rounds.
• Additional work: implementation for existing directors and the Works Council process require extra time.
• When to outsource: trip registration, claims recovery, multiple job groups, Works Council, or amendment of an existing arrangement.
• When self-employed: one car, only the director-major shareholder, private use permitted and taxable benefit accepted.

Have a car policy drawn up: what do you get?

A tailor-made car policy is more than just a completed template. The legal expert first determines the regime with you: is private use permitted, restricted, or prohibited? That is the pivotal decision, as it dictates whether you need a comprehensive mileage log, how you arrange the fuel or charging card, and how you handle damage during private trips.

Next, the arrangement is structured: granting and withdrawal, taxable benefit and any personal contribution, costs and card usage, damage and insurance, traffic fines, rules of conduct, and surrender in the event of illness, suspension, or termination of employment. Usually, the legal expert provides two additional items: the clause in the employment contract declaring the arrangement applicable, and a brief usage agreement that the driver signs upon key handover.

The process step by step

1. Intake: fleet, ownership or lease, job groups, current agreements, and the tax route you wish to follow.
2. Record choices: private use regime, mileage log, cost pass-through, personal contribution.
3. Concept: the lawyer drafts the regulations, the user agreement, and the contractual clause.
4. Discussion: one correction round in which practical cases are tested, such as a passenger or a pass used abroad.
5. Implementation: issue, have signed, and, for existing directors, properly implement the change under employment law.

How much does it cost?

• Tailored standard scheme: €450 to €850 for one regime and one job group.
• Comprehensive scheme: €850 to €1,250 for multiple job categories, delivery vans in addition to passenger cars, or a ban on private use with mileage registration.
• Amendment to lease regulations: €250 to €550, when the leasing company already handles the contractual part.
• Assessment of your own draft: €200 to €450, including a written response to the high-risk provisions.
• Implementation for existing directors: extra time for substantiating the change and communication, often €250 to €600.

Amounts are indicative and exclusive of VAT. Weigh them against the risk: an additional tax assessment for company car use can quickly run into thousands of euros per driver per year, and this can be imposed over several years. For a fleet of five or more cars, the scheme is usually recouped within a single avoided dispute.

When outsourcing pays off

• You are aiming for the 500-kilometer limit. To avoid taxable benefit, the driver must demonstrably stay below 500 private kilometers per calendar year. The trip log must be conclusive: for each trip, the date, start and end odometer readings, departure and arrival addresses, any deviating routes, and the nature of the trip. A regulation that only partially describes this will not hold up during an inspection.
• You want to pass on damages. Article 7:661 of the Dutch Civil Code stipulates that an employee is not liable for damage caused in the performance of his work, unless intent or conscious recklessness is involved. Deviation is only possible in writing and only to the extent that he is insured. Consequently, a standard deductible for all damage often does not work; the distinction between work and private use does.
• You want to collect fines. Traffic fines are received by the company as the registered owner. Passing on the costs is permitted, but offsetting them against wages is only allowed within the limits of Article 7:632 of the Dutch Civil Code.
• There is a Works Council. Upon the introduction of a track-and-trace system as an employee tracking system, the Works Council has the right of consent (Art. 27 Works Councils Act), and you process personal data for which you have a legal basis and an obligation to inform.
• You are amending an existing arrangement. The company car is a condition of employment. Without consent, you require a written unilateral amendment clause and a substantial interest (Art. 7:613 BW).

Have a car policy or lease regulations drawn up?

Pay attention to exactly what is being delivered in the quotation. Lease regulations concern the lease contract: standard amount per position, car category, permitted mileage, and the settlement of excess or deficit mileage. This part is often already provided by the leasing company. The car policy covers usage and employment law implications: private use, taxable benefit, mileage logging, fuel and charging cards, damage, fines, and return. If you own the cars, you do not need lease regulations, but you do need a car policy. Therefore, explicitly ask whether both topics are covered, so that you do not discover later that the subject of damage is not regulated anywhere.

Practical example

A service company with twelve delivery vans wants to avoid company car tax. The vans are taken home, and private use is prohibited. During the intake, it becomes apparent that while there is a written prohibition, no one checks the trip logs and the fuel card is also used on weekends. The legal expert tightens the regulations, links the card transactions to the logs, arranges for reporting damage, and has all drivers re-sign. The costs remain below €1,000; the risk covered is a retroactive assessment for twelve vans.

Honest recommendation

You by no means always need a lawyer for this. If only the director-major shareholder drives the sole company car, private use is permitted, and the taxable benefit is accepted, a brief internal documentation suffices. The same applies to a single lease car for which the leasing company already provides the regulations: in that case, an addendum of one or two pages regarding private use, deductible, and return is enough. You also do not need to have an existing arrangement that has worked well for years rewritten just because you can; a brief review of the damage and penalty provisions is sufficient. Outsourcing is worthwhile as soon as there are multiple directors, as soon as you are approaching the 500-kilometer limit, as soon as you wish to recover costs or damages, or as soon as you want to amend an existing arrangement. In those cases, the cost of an error is greater than the cost of the advice.

Arrange it or read on: car policy, background on what is a car policy and write one yourself via drafting a car policy.

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