Deduct your carwash fees

Carwash costs are tax-deductible to the same extent as your company car. The maximum tax deductibility depends on your car’s CO2 emissions, its purchase date and its professional use. If your company car is 70% tax-deductible, your carwash costs are too. The carwash belongs to ‘other car expenses’, just like maintenance, car accessories, car insurance, parking costs…

Deducting carwash costs

The maximum tax deductibility of your company car depends on your car’s CO2 emissions. For cars bought before 2026, we apply this gram formula:

120%- (0.5% x [coefficient] x CO2 )

Careful: if you bought or leased your car between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2025, the deduction is limited to a maximum of 50% this year (2026). For fossil-fuel cars bought in 2026, no deduction is possible any more, while electric cars remain 100% deductible (still until 2027). If you’re not sure of your car’s maximum tax deductibility, you can consult this article.

An example:

In 2024 you bought a petrol car. According to the gram formula above, this car is 60% tax-deductible. But this year (2026), a maximum of 50% applies to cars from that period. You are self-employed in a secondary occupation and you only use the car 50% of the time for professional purposes. The maximum tax deductibility is then 25% (50% of 50%). Other costs related to your company car, such as the carwash, are then also 25% deductible from your taxes.

In practice, you deduct the carwash costs, excluding VAT, from your taxes.

If you receive a VAT invoice for your carwash, you can also deduct part of the VAT: 35% for a mixed-use vehicle, 85% for a utility vehicle.

In the case of a company car, you only deduct 100% of the VAT if you can prove that you use the vehicle exclusively for business purposes and have an alternative for private use.