Electric Mobility Observatory

Companies

From the tax authorities an aid for the growth of electric company fleets

by Claudio Celio

6 May 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In recent years, corporate fleets are undergoing a significant transformation thanks to e-mobility. More and more companies are choosing to electrify their vehicles to reduce operating costs, improve sustainability and benefit from targeted tax incentives. According to the Global EV Outlook 2025 of the International Energy Agency (IEA), global sales of electric cars will reach 13.7 million in 2025, accounting for almost one fifth (around 18%) of all cars sold worldwide. In Italia, in particular, electric company fleets have seen a 30% increase in volume over the last two years, thanks to economic advantages in running costs and the - intermittent - contribution of state and regional subsidies.

In detail, companies that choose to adopt electric cars can benefit from a number of advantages. The first is economic and concerns operating costs. An electric car, in fact, requires less maintenance than an internal combustion car: there are no oil changes, brake pads last longer and general wear and tear is reduced. Furthermore, recharging an electric vehicle costs less than fossil fuel, especially if the company installs recharging stations on its premises, thus taking advantage of particularly favourable electricity tariffs (with the potential to approach zero in cases of self-generation with photovoltaic systems).

All this means that the total cost of ownership, or TCO, of an electric car over four years is on average about 30 per cent lower than its endothermic counterparts in the B, C and D segments.

In addition to the economic benefits, companies investing in e-mobility enjoy substantial tax advantages. The first advantage concerns the exemption from paying the car tax: total for the first 5 years, while thereafter some regions provide for a reduction in the amount. By way of example, the Lazio region in 2025 has provided for a reduction of 1/4 of the amount due after the 5-year exemption period.

It should also be mentioned that the Budget Law 2025 changed the taxation rates for fringe benefits for company vehicles, rewarding the most sustainable cars. The current rates are: BEVs: 10% of the conventional value of the vehicle (ACI flat rate); PHEVs (plug-in hybrids): 20%.

This was followed by a clarifying intervention by the Internal Revenue Service, which ruled that the new tax rates apply to new or already registered vehicles made available to the employee as of 1 January 2025.

The legislative intervention also affected the refuelling and/or recharging modalities, however, generating an overlapping of rules. While, for conventional vehicles, refuelling paid for by the employer does not constitute taxable income for the employee, for electrified vehicles the expenses incurred and reimbursed for recharging (both domestic and business), in private contexts, are considered taxable income, generating in the case of mixed-use cars a double taxation on the electricity used, which is already included in the calculation of fringe benefits.

To overcome this problem, two amendment proposals have also been presented to the Fiscal Decree (as 1852) currently under discussion at the Finance Commission of the Senate of the Republic, under the first signature of Senators Gelmetti (FdI) and Damiani (FI), which aim to change the legislation by inserting in Article 51 of the TUIR a specification that would exclude from employee income the expenses incurred for the purchase of electricity for recharging company vehicles. In this way, the tax treatment of electric cars would become fairer, favouring the adoption of green fleets.

On the corporate taxation front, the Motus-E association, which has drawn up a guide for fleet managers on the electrification of company fleets, advocates the need to intervene at the employer level as well, introducing differentiated deductibility percentages based on vehicle emissions (CO₂/km). Such a mechanism would in fact make it possible to concretely reward companies that choose zero-emission cars, transforming the tax lever into an active tool for decarbonising the company fleet. With benefits also for the expansion of the second-hand electric car market, to the benefit of all citizens, thanks to the greater presence of ex-company electric cars.

Currently, the legislation provides for different deductibility percentages depending on the use of the vehicle. For vehicles used exclusively for business or public purposes, full 100% deductibility for IRPEF/IRES purposes is recognised, with no spending limits. When the vehicle is assigned for the employee's mixed use, the deductibility drops to 70%, while in other cases it is 20%, with a ceiling of EUR 18,075.99 for purchase or leasing and EUR 3,615.20 per year for leasing.

For agents and sales representatives, the threshold rises to 80% of expenses, with higher ceilings: 25,822.84 euro for purchase and 5,164.57 euro for leasing or hire. For all other uses, finally, deductibility stops at 20%, with the same ceilings as for mixed use.

On the VAT side, the legislation allows full deduction for vehicles used exclusively for business purposes or for commercial agents, while in other cases of use the deduction is reduced to 40 per cent.

It is precisely within this framework that Motus-E's proposal fits: differentiating deductibility percentages according to the vehicle's emission profile would not only simplify and make fairer a system based on a regulatory framework dating back to the 1990s, but above all orient companies' purchasing choices towards zero-emission solutions, with positive repercussions on the entire ecosystem of sustainable mobility.