Home charging reimbursement: how the money reaches employees via payroll

The easiest way to get home charging reimbursements to employees is through regular payroll. For company EVs in Germany, the reimbursement is a tax-free expense allowance if the charged energy is measured separately and valued at the actual electricity price or the flat rate. What matters is a fixed process: measure, check, approve, pay.

This article is written for HR, payroll and fleet teams. It shows who owns which step, when employees are paid and which records you need.

Is home charging reimbursement tax-free?

For company electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles that employees may also use privately, yes. According to the BMF circular of 11 November 2025, reimbursing electricity the employee paid for is a tax-free expense allowance under section 3 no. 50 EStG. This does not apply to employees' private cars, where reimbursement is taxable salary.

In every case you need separately measured energy, for example via the wall charger or the vehicle. It is valued either at the individual contract price or at the flat rate, which is 34 cents per kWh in 2026. See our article on the 2026 electricity flat rate.

Who does what in the reimbursement process?

Each step needs a clear owner so that reimbursements are paid on time and correctly. This split works well:

How does reimbursement work step by step?

1. Measure and assign sessions

The basis is kWh that are clearly assigned to one company car. If a private car charges at the same wall charger, sessions must be recorded separately. Our article on a company car and a private car sharing one charger explains how.

2. Set a monthly cut-off date

Define a fixed billing period, such as the calendar month, and a cut-off date for handover to payroll. This prevents sessions being billed twice or not at all. Sessions received after the cut-off move to the following month.

3. Check and approve

The fleet team checks the monthly overview for anomalies: missing days, unusually high amounts or sessions after a vehicle change. An anomaly is only a prompt to check. If data is missing, a documented correction process helps – see correcting missing home charging data.

4. Pay through payroll

Payroll records the approved amount as a tax-free expense allowance and pays it with the next salary. Employees see the reimbursement on their payslip, and you do not need a second payment channel. A separate bank transfer is also possible if your company prefers it.

5. Keep the records

Keep the basis for each reimbursement traceable: energy, period, vehicle, method and price. This lets you show how an amount was calculated during a payroll tax audit. Agree the exact filing with your payroll team.

Monthly or annual reimbursement?

The BMF circular does not set a payment frequency. However, the method – actual costs or flat rate – must be applied consistently for the whole calendar year. Monthly reimbursement works well in practice: employees do not pre-finance electricity for long, and errors show up early.

• Monthly: little pre-financing for employees, more payroll runs

• Quarterly: fewer runs, but larger amounts and later error detection

• Annually: little effort, but high pre-financing and harder corrections

What about public charging on the road?

According to the BMF, costs for electricity from third parties, such as a public charge point, can be reimbursed in addition based on receipts. It is simpler if public charging does not run through private cards at all: with a company charging card, sessions go straight onto the company invoice. Read more in ad hoc charging or fleet charging card.

Checklist for HR and payroll

• Method for the calendar year decided and documented

• Separate metering per company car ensured

• Cut-off date and responsibilities for monthly approval defined

• Payroll code for tax-free expense allowance set up

• Rule for corrections and back payments agreed

• Leavers and vehicle changes covered

• Record filing agreed with payroll

Which special cases should you settle in advance?

Most questions do not arise in normal cases but in exceptions. Agree with payroll in advance how to handle these situations:

• Vehicle change during the month: sessions are assigned to each vehicle and shown separately.

• Leavers: the final reimbursement is paid with the final payslip; sessions after the cut-off are checked afterwards.

• Employee tariff change: with actual costs, the new price applies from the change and updated proof is provided.

• Parental leave or longer absence: no sessions means no reimbursement, while the setup remains in place.

The clearer these rules are documented, the fewer one-off decisions you need during the year.

How StromNow takes work off payroll

StromNow Home Charging records home charging sessions via a supported vehicle or suitable wall charger, applies the stored electricity tariff and provides records by email and in the dashboard. You download them in bulk and pass them to accounting. Your company pays the reimbursement and decides on payment method and timing.

Show us your current process and we will discuss in a demo how the records fit into your payroll.

Book a demo for HR and payroll

Sources and further information

As of 20 October 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The cover image is an AI-generated illustrative image.

BMF circular of 11 November 2025 (German)

Section 3 EStG on gesetze-im-internet.de (German)

StromNow: home charging for company cars

StromNow Magazine: company car home charging reimbursement in Germany 2026