9 burning questions about the mobility budget

Companies are looking for the right employee benefits for 2024, and many are considering a flexible mobility budget. There are many good reasons for this. Nevertheless, in order to successfully introduce the mobility budget for employees in the company, it is important for managers and HR managers to clear up uncertainties and ambiguities in advance.

We have therefore compiled nine of the most pressing questions from our customers when it comes to introducing a mobility budget to make things easier for you and your company.

What forms of mobility can be used with the mobility budget?

The mobility options available depend on your company and the needs of your employees. In principle, all forms of mobility can be used via the NAVIT platform.

The mobility card gives your employees flexible access to all types of mobility - anytime, anywhere. There is also a discounted Deutschlandticket, company bike leasing, fuel & charging and car subscriptions to choose from. You can decide for your company which mobility modules should be available.

What does Shared Mobility include?

Shared mobility is based on the principle of providing everyone with many individual means of transport that can be used flexibly. These vehicles are used by several users at the same time or at different times. Mobility options include, for example, shared cars, scooters, bicycles, electric scooters and much more.

A distinction is made between two forms of shared mobility:

  • Mobility service with a driver: ride-hailing services such as Uber, Lyft and similar operate in principle like taxis and can be used by several people (also known as ride-hailing). Another form of shared mobility, where several people can book the same vehicle independently of each other, is ride pooling or on-demand services.
  • Vehicle rental: These vehicles - whether cars, e-scooters or bikes - are booked via an app and shared independently by different users. Well-known examples are free-floating car sharing and bike sharing.

Can different user groups be created?

That is possible. First of all, there are various modules to choose from on the NAVIT mobility budget platform:

  • Mobility budget card
  • Deutschlandticket
  • Bike leasing
  • Fuel & charge
  • Car subscription

Different user groups can look like this, for example:

Group 1 - Only Deutschlandticket as a job ticket

Group 2 - All modules, e.g. mobility budget card with budget, fuel & charging, car subscription, etc.

Your company has full flexibility when it comes to organising mobility. Do you only want access to shared mobility? Do you only want Shared Mobility and Deutschlandticket? Do you only want Shared Mobility and Fuel & Charge? You really can choose the modules and configure them yourself.

How do employees use the mobility budget? Do employees pay for their trips directly with the budget via the app or do they book the trips themselves and submit the receipts?

Very important. With us, everything is without receipts. Employees receive the mobility budget at the beginning of the month and then choose which of the available mobility options they want to use by allocating the budget to the relevant cards. They can use these cards to conveniently pay directly in their favourite mobility app or, if possible, use the integration in the NAVIT app directly. Employees no longer need to submit receipts for their bookings or journeys for reimbursement.

As an employer, how do I ensure that the Mobility Card is not used for purposes other than mobility?

First of all, employees can use the mobility budget for all types of mobility. The advantage of the Mobility Card is that employees can also use the card worldwide. So really anything that is public transport, for example BVG, HVV, Wiener Linien, Trenitalia, ÖBB or Deutsche Bahn. But also providers of sharing services and other mobility services such as Uber, Dance, Nextbike and Flixbus. This means that everything to do with mobility is covered, including small regional providers. The Merchandise Category Code and Visa are used to check whether the booking and payment are for mobility. If the employee tries to get lunch using the Mobility Card, the payment would be rejected.

Can employees receive different amounts of budget?

Yes, that is possible. You can allocate different amounts of budget to individual user groups or even individual employees. This can simply be done via a CSV upload, which employees receive which budget, so this is permanently stored. However, you can also easily adjust the budget via the dashboard, for example if an employee is promoted.

Can employees take the budget into the next month?

That's up to you. As an employer, you can define the rules that suit you in advance. Three options are possible:

1. the mobility budget is reset every month. The remaining amount expires.

2. the unused mobility budget can be carried over to the next month and thus saved up for a certain period of time, e.g. for the whole year, or three months, or indefinitely, but with a fixed maximum limit.

3. the remaining mobility budget is paid out with the salary, after deduction of tax and social security contributions.

Of course, for each option you choose as a company, there are different billing and tax modalities that need to be considered.

How are the individual modes of transport or types of mobility taxed?

It is important to first determine what the scope actually is, i.e. which mobility is to be used. Travelling by public transport, for example with a job ticket or Germany ticket, is generally tax-free. There are tax concessions for employees and companies for company bike leasing. Shared mobility, i.e. sharing services, and hire cars used with the mobility card can be taxed under Section 37b EStG. Income tax issues and questions of doubt regarding the income tax deduction procedure can be clarified by calling the tax office.

What is needed to introduce the mobility budget for employees?

There are no requirements for the introduction of the NAVIT mobility budget. The NAVIT platform can also be seamlessly integrated into leading internal systems such as DATEV, Personio, SAP, Workday and others.

Stefan Wendering
Stefan is a freelance writer and editor at NAVIT. Previously, he worked for startups and in the mobility cosmos. He is an expert in urban and sustainable mobility, employee benefits and new work. Besides blog content, he also creates marketing materials, taglines and content for websites and case studies.

Companies are looking for the right employee benefits for 2024, and many are considering a flexible mobility budget. There are many good reasons for this. Nevertheless, in order to successfully introduce the mobility budget for employees in the company, it is important for managers and HR managers to clear up uncertainties and ambiguities in advance.

We have therefore compiled nine of the most pressing questions from our customers when it comes to introducing a mobility budget to make things easier for you and your company.

What forms of mobility can be used with the mobility budget?

The mobility options available depend on your company and the needs of your employees. In principle, all forms of mobility can be used via the NAVIT platform.

The mobility card gives your employees flexible access to all types of mobility - anytime, anywhere. There is also a discounted Deutschlandticket, company bike leasing, fuel & charging and car subscriptions to choose from. You can decide for your company which mobility modules should be available.

What does Shared Mobility include?

Shared mobility is based on the principle of providing everyone with many individual means of transport that can be used flexibly. These vehicles are used by several users at the same time or at different times. Mobility options include, for example, shared cars, scooters, bicycles, electric scooters and much more.

A distinction is made between two forms of shared mobility:

  • Mobility service with a driver: ride-hailing services such as Uber, Lyft and similar operate in principle like taxis and can be used by several people (also known as ride-hailing). Another form of shared mobility, where several people can book the same vehicle independently of each other, is ride pooling or on-demand services.
  • Vehicle rental: These vehicles - whether cars, e-scooters or bikes - are booked via an app and shared independently by different users. Well-known examples are free-floating car sharing and bike sharing.

Can different user groups be created?

That is possible. First of all, there are various modules to choose from on the NAVIT mobility budget platform:

  • Mobility budget card
  • Deutschlandticket
  • Bike leasing
  • Fuel & charge
  • Car subscription

Different user groups can look like this, for example:

Group 1 - Only Deutschlandticket as a job ticket

Group 2 - All modules, e.g. mobility budget card with budget, fuel & charging, car subscription, etc.

Your company has full flexibility when it comes to organising mobility. Do you only want access to shared mobility? Do you only want Shared Mobility and Deutschlandticket? Do you only want Shared Mobility and Fuel & Charge? You really can choose the modules and configure them yourself.

How do employees use the mobility budget? Do employees pay for their trips directly with the budget via the app or do they book the trips themselves and submit the receipts?

Very important. With us, everything is without receipts. Employees receive the mobility budget at the beginning of the month and then choose which of the available mobility options they want to use by allocating the budget to the relevant cards. They can use these cards to conveniently pay directly in their favourite mobility app or, if possible, use the integration in the NAVIT app directly. Employees no longer need to submit receipts for their bookings or journeys for reimbursement.

As an employer, how do I ensure that the Mobility Card is not used for purposes other than mobility?

First of all, employees can use the mobility budget for all types of mobility. The advantage of the Mobility Card is that employees can also use the card worldwide. So really anything that is public transport, for example BVG, HVV, Wiener Linien, Trenitalia, ÖBB or Deutsche Bahn. But also providers of sharing services and other mobility services such as Uber, Dance, Nextbike and Flixbus. This means that everything to do with mobility is covered, including small regional providers. The Merchandise Category Code and Visa are used to check whether the booking and payment are for mobility. If the employee tries to get lunch using the Mobility Card, the payment would be rejected.

Can employees receive different amounts of budget?

Yes, that is possible. You can allocate different amounts of budget to individual user groups or even individual employees. This can simply be done via a CSV upload, which employees receive which budget, so this is permanently stored. However, you can also easily adjust the budget via the dashboard, for example if an employee is promoted.

Can employees take the budget into the next month?

That's up to you. As an employer, you can define the rules that suit you in advance. Three options are possible:

1. the mobility budget is reset every month. The remaining amount expires.

2. the unused mobility budget can be carried over to the next month and thus saved up for a certain period of time, e.g. for the whole year, or three months, or indefinitely, but with a fixed maximum limit.

3. the remaining mobility budget is paid out with the salary, after deduction of tax and social security contributions.

Of course, for each option you choose as a company, there are different billing and tax modalities that need to be considered.

How are the individual modes of transport or types of mobility taxed?

It is important to first determine what the scope actually is, i.e. which mobility is to be used. Travelling by public transport, for example with a job ticket or Germany ticket, is generally tax-free. There are tax concessions for employees and companies for company bike leasing. Shared mobility, i.e. sharing services, and hire cars used with the mobility card can be taxed under Section 37b EStG. Income tax issues and questions of doubt regarding the income tax deduction procedure can be clarified by calling the tax office.

What is needed to introduce the mobility budget for employees?

There are no requirements for the introduction of the NAVIT mobility budget. The NAVIT platform can also be seamlessly integrated into leading internal systems such as DATEV, Personio, SAP, Workday and others.