Why is it essential to distinguish between professional and personal journeys?
For businesses as well as for employees, distinguish between business trips and personal trips (or management of professional/personal journeys) is a regulatory, fiscal and social obligation.
In fact, the use of a professional vehicle for personal purposes constitutes a benefit in kind (AEN) subject to social security contributions and income tax.
Without proper management of this distinction, the company is exposed to a tax adjustment in the event of a URSSAF audit or to a flat-rate assessment that is disadvantageous to the employee.
SoFLEET, the benchmark tool for managing business/personal journeys
With SoFLEET, drivers have an intuitive mobile application that simplifies daily life and ensure compliance uses.
Here's what they can do with just a few clicks:
- Easily switch between professional and personal mode, to protect their privacy.
- Start a route to a point of interest from the app.
- Report a claim instantly for rapid support.
- Manage their fleet vehicle reservations according to availability.
In “personal” mode, the geolocation of the professional vehicle is deactivated, guaranteeing respect for privacy and GDPR obligations.
Fleet manager side: time saving and compliance
The SoFLEET platform allows administrators to:
- Add, edit or delete users.
- Manage driver IDs and booking schedules.
- Configure the fleet according to the company's internal rules or those of the territorial public service.
Better management of benefits in kind
In the case of mixed use (professional/personal), SoFLEET helps to precisely calculate the taxable benefit in kind linked to the personal use of a company vehicle.
AEN: a reform to be understood by 2025
Since the update of the Official Social Security Bulletin (BOSS) in March 2025, a major clarification has been made:
The new flat rates for AEN apply not only to new vehicle assignments, but also to reassignments, provided that they took place on or after 1 February 2025.
This means that even if a vehicle has already been in circulation for several years, a reassignment to a new employee triggers the application of the new AEN regime, more strict in certain cases.
Specificity: electric vehicles and eco-score
URSSAF also specifies that an electric vehicle that is not eligible for the AEN reduction at the time it is made available will not be able to benefit retroactively from this reduction even if it subsequently obtains a favorable eco-score.
With SoFLEET, it is possible to keep a history of vehicle availability for each employee, which avoids any confusion in the event of an inspection.
Things to remember for managing business/personal journeys:
- For assignments before February 1, 2025, the old regime applies.
- The date of allocation of the vehicle, defined by the agreement between employer and employees, is the only recognized reference.
- SoFLEET allows you to archive these dates and anticipate tax impacts when renewing or changing vehicles.
Two tax reporting methods:
- Flat rate : a fixed amount based on the cost of the vehicle.
- In reality : based on personal kilometers traveled.
In this second case, SoFLEET becomes essential to justify professional kilometers and reduce the tax base.
Proper monitoring prevents the administration from reclassifying certain travel times as business trips as personal, with a tax impact as a result.
And for the use of personal vehicles for professional purposes?
Many employees use their personal vehicles for business trips. SoFLEET also allows these trips to be tracked and recorded, facilitating the calculation of mileage allowances and compliance with tax scales.
SoFLEET is the ideal solution for:
- Simplify the daily management of fleet vehicles
- Clearly distinguish between professional and personal uses
- Protecting the privacy of employees
- Optimizing the taxation of benefits in kind
- Comply with legal obligations and transparency rules
Would you like to know more about journey management and geolocation of professional vehicles? Contact our teams or try SoFLEET for free today!
