Company smartphone as a tax-free benefit.

Private use of company-owned telecommunications equipment by employees is tax-free — including full private use and shared use with family members. The device stays on the employer's balance sheet; the provision creates no taxable benefit and no social contributions.

The paragraph has been in force in Germany since 2000, but most mid-sized companies do not use it — because nobody builds the operational side internally (device portfolio, employee portal, ordering, lifecycle, audit-proof documentation).

How the scheme works out for tax and social security in a specific case depends on how it is set up — in particular on whether the device is provided on top of salary or funded through salary conversion. That needs to be checked by your tax adviser before you start. We provide general information here and do not give tax advice.

Comms Connect no longer runs the benefit program itself. For companies with concrete interest we refer to the specialist partnerjobhandy.io — setup, employee portal, order handling, tax mechanics and lifecycle sit fully on their side.

The advantage for you: one operator that runs exclusively this program, with matching depth on the operational and tax details. The advantage for us: we keep focus on ICT contract optimization, device procurement and connectivity.