LIFTY // JOURNAL
Bike to Work Scheme Ireland 2026: The Definitive Revenue Guide & Tax Savings
Ireland’s Bike to Work Scheme can reduce the effective cost of a qualifying commuter bicycle through your employer. The saving depends on your tax position and approved purchase. This guide explains the limits, equipment choices and purchasing sequence so you can prepare an informed quotation.
The 2026 statutory caps
The limits include safety equipment, not just the bike. To count as an e-bike, the machine must be a pedelec: a 250W continuous rated motor, assistance cutting out at 25 km/h, and pedal assist only. Throttle-only machines, mopeds and anything needing registration do not qualify.
Strictly ineligible
Revenue excludes scooters, mopeds and motorbikes. It does not set a €1,000 minimum bicycle price. Lifty’s featured scheme selection focuses on e-bikes at €1,000 or more; confirm whether your chosen model and supplier route can be quoted.
What it actually costs you: the net savings matrix
The scheme works by salary sacrifice. You give up part of your gross salary, so you never pay income tax, PRSI or USC on that money. What you save depends on your tax band.
| Illustrative assumed relief | Hypothetical €1,500 qualifying package |
|---|---|
| 30% | €450 assumed saving; €1,050 estimated net cost |
| 52% | €780 assumed saving; €720 estimated net cost |
These percentages are arithmetic examples, not current statutory combined rates or a personal entitlement. Payroll must calculate your actual Income Tax, PRSI and USC effect. Gross salary deductions differ from the estimated reduction in take-home pay.
Exceeding the €1,500 cap
A bicycle may cost more than the exemption ceiling. Income Tax, USC and PRSI apply to the excess. Ask your employer how it handles the full purchase and extra amount before committing; do not assume that a separate personal payment is an accepted route.
The four-year rule, demystified
Revenue counts eligibility by calendar year, not by 48 rolling months from your last bike. This trips people up constantly. If you bought a bike at any point in 2022 — January or December, it makes no difference — you become eligible again on 1 January 2026. The clock resets at the start of the fifth calendar year. Someone who bought in 2023 waits until 1 January 2027.
Revenue's accessory rules: what's in, what's banned
The €1,500 covers safety equipment too — but Revenue draws a hard line between safety gear and gadgets. Accessory-only purchases are not covered; the equipment must be bought with the bike under the scheme.
| Allowed — tax-exempt with the bike | Banned — Revenue excludes these |
|---|---|
| ✓ Helmets (EN 1078) | ✗ GPS computers (Garmin, Wahoo) |
| ✓ Locks and chains | ✗ Smartwatches |
| ✓ Lights and reflectors | ✗ Action cameras (GoPro) |
| ✓ Luggage racks and panniers | ✗ Child seats |
| ✓ Mudguards | ✗ Child trailers |
| ✓ Cycle clips | ✗ Cycling shoes |
| ✓ Multi-tools and puncture repair kits | ✗ Sports jerseys and clothing |
| ✓ Reflective safety bands | ✗ Standalone upgrade parts |
If it protects you or the bike, it is in. If it records, navigates, carries children or gets worn as kit, Revenue says no — buy those outside the scheme.
Directors, sole traders and the public sector
Proprietary directors (limited companies)
Eligible. If you are a proprietary director paid through the company's PAYE payroll, the scheme runs exactly as it does for any employee — the company purchases the bike and recovers the cost through gross salary sacrifice.
Sole traders
Not eligible through salary sacrifice — there is no employer payroll to sacrifice from. Depending on your circumstances, a bicycle used for business may instead qualify as a capital business expense. That is a question for your accountant, not for us or for the scheme.
Civil service, HSE and public sector
Eligible, processed through your own HR channels — typically the NSSO self-service portal for civil servants, or your department's or the HSE's own scheme forms. The rules and caps are identical; only the paperwork route differs. Your HR section confirms the exact process.
Corporate scheme portals
Lifty supports employer quotations and several scheme-provider routes. Confirm that your employer accepts the chosen supplier and payment route before requesting approval. A quotation is a proposed purchase, not a guarantee of acceptance.
The payment rule that catches everyone out
Your employer pays us directly
Revenue requires the employer to purchase the bike from the supplier. You cannot buy the bike yourself and claim the money back — reimbursement kills the tax relief. We invoice your employer or the scheme portal, never you.
How it works with Lifty Electric
- Select a compliant bike and safety gear. Pick from our qualifying CUBE e-bike range — every model we quote under the scheme meets the 250W / 25 km/h pedelec specification.
- We prepare an employer-ready quotation. A proforma quote with the scheme-compliant split, ready for your employer or scheme portal to approve.
- Your employer or portal issues payment. TravelHub, HubEx, Cyclescheme.ie, Bike to Work Ltd or a direct company payment — all accepted.
- Collection or delivery. Ask Lifty to confirm current availability, preparation time, delivery charge and collection arrangements for your exact order before payment.
Send spec questions and quote requests to hello@lifty.co. We supply vehicles to order in zero-mileage condition, so test rides and in-person sizing consultations are not something we offer — every question you would ask on a test ride, we answer over email first.
