Which home charging reimbursement solution is the most cost-effective?
To reimburse home charging for your company cars, there are three solutions: a smart charging station, a smart cable, or Voltaback (software, no hardware). This comparator calculates which one costs the least per year for your fleet.
1Your fleet
Trois chiffres simples sur vos véhicules. C'est tout ce dont on a besoin pour commencer.
2What should Voltaback be compared with?
Choisissez la solution avec matériel à mettre en face. Le résultat et les réglages s'adaptent tout seuls.
Advanced assumptionsDéjà pré-rempli avec des moyennes de marché sourcées. Modifiable si vous souhaitez affiner avec vos chiffres.modifiable
Installation IRVE au juste besoin (prise renforcée ou borne non connectée)iFace à une borne connectée, Voltaback s'appuie sur une installation IRVE au juste besoin : borne non connectée, prise renforcée, ou rien quand l'installation existe déjà. Amortie sur 4 ans, uniquement dans cette comparaison.
Coût IRVE moyen : CHF 540/véh
soit 3.1 fois moins cher, et CHF 599/an économisés par véhicule
Voltaback, the leading software for tracking and reimbursing home charging.
Used by Sodexo · ENGIE · BNP Paribas · Veolia · Lyreco and 200 more…
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Charging reimbursed via a vehicle and home connection. No box at all.
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Works in every situation (socket, charging station, condominium, no smart meter, solar panels, EV, PHEV…)
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Each charging session is linked to a vehicle, for reliable tracking, with no errors or double reimbursement.
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One dashboard for the whole fleet: charging at home, at the office, on the road, and ROI…
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Flexible reimbursement via expense claims or a fully automated payroll integration.
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Compliance to the highest standard: salary certificate, nFADP, GDPR, ISO 27001, accuracy audit.
And try Voltaback free for 1 month · no commitment
Questions & answers
Understanding the comparison
The purchase price is a one-off, but the real cost of a solution runs over several years. You have to add management, consumption tracking and the reimbursement method. A smart charging station costs around CHF 3'000 installed in the best case, a smart cable is still a hardware purchase per vehicle, and software is paid as an annual subscription with no hardware. The right benchmark is the total cost per year.
Reimbursement at real cost, documented kWh by kWh, is a reimbursement of actual expenses: not salary, and no AHV/AVS contributions. A flat rate is accepted up to CHF 60 a month (item 13.2.3 of the salary certificate, Lohnausweis); above that, the excess becomes salary. For home charging, real cost means measuring the vehicle's kWh and keeping supporting documentation.
An installed smart charging station costs around CHF 3'000 in the best case, more depending on power, grid connection and the work required. These amounts are benchmarks, to be confirmed by a quote.
Reimbursement is calculated on the kWh actually consumed by the vehicle, valued at the employee's electricity tariff. A monthly statement is needed to stay within actual expenses, with no income tax or AHV/AVS contributions. The measurement can come from a charging station, a smart cable or software.
The employer. The 0.9 % monthly private-use share assumes that the employer pays for the energy: home charging electricity is reimbursed either as a flat rate (at most CHF 60 a month) or at real cost (documented actual expenses, no income tax or AHV/AVS contributions).
No, it is not mandatory. A T23 or CEE socket or an existing charging station can be enough: for reimbursement, what matters is measuring the kWh linked to the vehicle. If the employer provides a charging station that becomes the employee's property, it is generally a taxable benefit to be declared on the salary certificate.
Generally yes, if it becomes the employee's property: practice treats it as a benefit in money's worth, to be declared on the salary certificate. If it remains the employer's property (lent and recovered when the employee leaves), it is often treated as a work tool, although no official text confirms this: check with the tax administration of the canton where the company has its registered office.
How do you reimburse home charging for a company car?
The employer reimburses the electricity the employee uses to charge the vehicle. Two approaches: a flat rate (at most CHF 60 a month, item 13.2.3 of the salary certificate) or real cost (the kWh actually consumed, valued at the employee's electricity tariff). When documented, real cost is a reimbursement of actual expenses, with no income tax or AHV/AVS contributions.
Method & sources
Hardware depreciated over 4 years. Hourly cost of an FTE = annual cost ÷ hours worked per year. Charging station price benchmarks: Treuhand|Suisse and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). Reimbursement framework: model expense regulations of the Swiss Tax Conference (SSK/CSI) and the 2026 guidelines for completing the salary certificate (Federal Tax Administration). Ballpark figures, to be confirmed by a quote.
The three reimbursement methods compared
Home charging for a company car can be reimbursed in three ways, with very different levels of compliance and workload.
Method | Salary certificate compliance | Hardware | Burden of proof |
|---|---|---|---|
Monthly flat rate (CHF 60 max.) | Accepted up to CHF 60, above = salary | None | Low, but must be reduced for absences of more than 4 weeks |
Actual electricity bills | Correct but laborious | None | High, to be rebuilt every month |
Smart charging station | Correct | Charging station to install and maintain | Automatic but costly |
Real-cost software (Voltaback) | Compliant, monthly statement | None | Automatic, no hardware |
What Swiss rules say in 2026
Reimbursing the real cost of the electricity consumed by the vehicle is a reimbursement of actual expenses, with no income tax or AHV/AVS contributions, provided it can be documented. The flat rate is capped at CHF 60 a month; above that, the excess is treated as salary.
To secure your practice, include a “charging at measured real cost” clause in your expense regulations and have them approved by the tax administration of the canton where the company has its registered office.
The safest and least burdensome solution remains real measurement, vehicle by vehicle, with documentation compliant with the salary certificate generated automatically. Discuss your result with a Voltaback expert.