How the Cycle to Work scheme saves you money
Cycle to Work lets you pay for a bike and safety kit out of your pre-tax salary, so you save the income tax and National Insurance you’d have paid on that money. In 2025/26 that’s 28% for basic-rate, 42% for higher-rate and 47% for additional-rate taxpayers — not the “32–47%” most sites still quote.
Verified Jun 4, 2026 GOV.UK scheme guidance ↗
What you actually save in 2025/26
The saving is simply your income-tax rate plus your employee National Insurance rate during the hire. Higher and additional-rate earners pay only 2% NI above £50,270, which is why their saving isn’t even bigger.
| Your tax band | Income tax | + Employee NI | = You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | 8% | 28% |
| Higher rate | 40% | 2% | 42% |
| Additional rate | 45% | 2% | 47% |
The “save 32–47%” figure is out of date. It uses the old 12% National Insurance rate. NI was cut to 10% in January 2024 and again to 8% in April 2024, so the basic-rate saving is now 28%, not 32%. We lead with the current number because being right is the whole point.
Work out your saving
Enter the bike and your tax band. The headline saving is the easy part — switch how you keep the bike to see what the end-of-scheme fee does to it.
What this assumes
2025/26 rest-of-UK rates (England, Wales & Northern Ireland). The saving is your income tax plus employee National Insurance on the bike and safety kit — the headline figure, before any fee to own the bike at the end. Scotland's tax bands differ, so the percentage isn't the same there.
- Income tax saved
- £320
- National Insurance saved
- £128
- Off your take-home pay (≈ £96/mo × 12)
- £1,152
The catch — keeping the bike. To own it at the end you typically pay 7% (£112) as a deposit, which trims your real saving to about £336 (~21%). Modelled on Cyclescheme / HMRC figures — gogeta charges just £1 and Cycle Solutions nothing, so the provider you use matters. How the saving is worked out ↗
An estimate for the rest of the UK (England, Wales & Northern Ireland), 2025/26 rates. The ownership fee models a typical %-based provider (Cyclescheme’s 3%/7% deposit and HMRC’s market-value table); gogeta charges £1 and Cycle Solutions nothing.
The catch at the end
You hire the bike — you don’t own it. To keep it when the hire ends, you buy it at fair market value under a separate agreement. HMRC lets providers use a simplified valuation table, and this is where a chunk of the saving quietly goes. Pay too little and the difference is a taxable benefit.
| Age of bike | Original price under £500 | £500 and over |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 18% | 25% |
| 18 months | 16% | 21% |
| 2 years | 13% | 17% |
| 3 years | 8% | 12% |
| 4 years | 3% | 7% |
| 5 years | negligible | 2% |
| 6 years+ | — | negligible |
Source: HMRC EIM21667a (in force, last updated 21 May 2026). That year-one 25% is why “own it now” barely beats paying cash for a £500+ bike. The usual fix is own it later: extend the hire for three-plus years, pay a small refundable deposit (typically 3% under £500, 7% over), and the value falls to almost nothing. Cyclescheme puts the realistic saving once the fee is in at roughly 21–39%.
Is there a £1,000 limit?
No — and this is the most repeated mistake in the niche. The £1,000 figure was never a tax limit. It’s a consumer-credit threshold from the FSMA (Exemption) Order 2001: an employer could run an unauthorised scheme only up to £1,000. Above that, the scheme needs an FCA-authorised provider — which most of the big names are. There is no cap on the value of the bike for the tax break itself, and that’s precisely what makes a £2,000–£5,000 e-bike work through the scheme.
Source: DfT Cycle to Work scheme implementation guidance (para 4.7).
Who runs the schemes, compared
Seven providers on what actually differs: the FCA status, the spend cap, and — the one that costs you — how cheaply you can keep the bike.
Verified 4 June 2026 against each provider’s own site and Companies House. FRNs are from each firm’s statutory FCA disclosure; we still recommend a live FCA-register check before relying on one for a high-value bike.
| Firm reference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclescheme | FRN 742049 | Uncapped (employer sets the limit) | Own it later: 3% / 7% refundable deposit — or pay HMRC market value to own it now | 2,600+ shops (Halfords, Tredz, independents) | Yes — any price | Provider site |
| Green Commute Initiative | FRN 755361 | Uncapped (employer may set one) | Extended hire — its structure removes the employer's credit-broking duty | Any bike shop or retailer | Best for cargo & high-value bikes | Provider site |
| Halfords Cycle2Work | FRN 724263 | Uncapped (£1,000 cap removed; employer sets) | Own it now 18% / 25% (falls over time), own it later (free transfer after ~4–5 yrs), or return | Halfords + Tredz + partner shops | Yes — widest first-party retail | Provider site |
| gogeta | FRN 994240 | £5,000 default (employer can lower) | £1 flat transfer fee — cheapest route to actually own the bike | Any participating shop — the only ACT-endorsed scheme | Yes — £1 fee makes high-value cheapest to own | Provider site |
| Cycle Solutions | Authorised — numeric FRN unconfirmed | No fixed cap (standard £1,000; higher above) | Own it later free, no deposit, auto-transfer — or own it now 18% / 25% | Own store + ~1,250 partner shops | Yes | Provider site |
| Vivup | FRN 626422 | Employer-set (NHS examples £1,000–£5,000) | Extended hire (free transfer after term), market value, or return | 1,300+ independents + chains (Decathlon, Evans) | Conditional — capped by your employer's limit | Provider site |
| Bike2Work Scheme | No FRN published | Markets “no limits” (separate contracts under / over £1,000) | Small end-of-hire charge; extended hire or own it (HMRC %) | 2,200+ shops, mostly independents + Evans | Caution — verify FCA status first | Provider site |
One to check first: Bike2Work. It markets “no limits” but publishes no FCA reference number, and its own terms push the over-£1,000 compliance duty onto your employer. Since schemes over £1,000 legally need FCA authorisation, don’t rely on it for an expensive bike until you’ve confirmed its status on the FCA register.
Who can use it — and who can’t
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You don’t own it during the hire
Your employer hires the bike to you. Ownership can’t be promised up front — if it is, the scheme loses its tax break and becomes hire purchase.
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Minimum-wage floor
Salary sacrifice can’t drop your pay below the National Minimum/Living Wage. That shuts out the lowest earners unless they take a smaller package or a longer term.
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Self-employed are out
The saving runs through PAYE, so sole traders can’t use it. Company directors qualify only if they’re paid via PAYE above minimum wage after the sacrifice.
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Leaving your job
Go before the hire ends and your employer can claw back the balance it hasn’t recovered — usually from your final net pay.
In Scotland? The scheme works the same way, but Scotland sets its own income-tax bands (19/20/21/42/45/48%), so your combined saving won’t be the rest-of-UK 28/42/47%. National Insurance is the same UK-wide. Our calculator above uses rest-of-UK rates.
Getting an e-bike on the scheme
E-bikes are explicitly eligible, with no tax cap on value — as long as the bike is a legal EAPC (motor 250W or less, assistance cutting out at 15.5 mph). Anything more powerful is a motor vehicle and doesn’t qualify. Because the only real ceiling is regulatory, not tax, an FCA-authorised, uncapped provider is the route to a pricier e-bike.
What counts as a legal e-bike in the UKThe scheme isn’t the only way. Spread the cost, or just rent.
No scheme at your employer, self-employed, or eyeing a bike above your scheme’s limit? Cycle to Work covers up to the cap — finance can cover the rest, and a monthly rental skips owning altogether. We compare what each really costs.
Cycle to Work, answered
How much do you actually save with Cycle to Work?
In 2025/26 the headline saving is 28% for basic-rate, 42% for higher-rate and 47% for additional-rate taxpayers — your income tax plus employee National Insurance on the price of the bike and safety equipment (rest-of-UK rates). That’s the figure before any end-of-scheme fee to keep the bike. On a typical %-based provider like Cyclescheme, paying to own it trims the real saving to roughly 21–39%.
Is there a £1,000 limit on the Cycle to Work scheme?
No. £1,000 was never a tax limit — it’s an old consumer-credit threshold. There is no cap on the value of the bike or equipment for the tax break. Schemes run by an FCA-authorised provider (which most of the big ones are) are uncapped, and that’s exactly what makes pricier e-bikes work through the scheme.
What happens at the end of the scheme — do I own the bike?
Not automatically. When the hire ends you can extend the hire, hand the bike back, or buy it at fair market value under a separate agreement. Buying it for less than market value creates a taxable benefit on the difference. Most providers offer an ‘own it later’ option for a small (often refundable) deposit to avoid that charge.
Can I get an electric bike on Cycle to Work?
Yes. E-bikes (EAPCs) and safety equipment are eligible with no tax cap on value, as long as the bike meets the EAPC rules — a motor of 250W or less, with assistance that cuts out at 15.5 mph. More powerful machines are classed as motor vehicles and don’t qualify.
Can self-employed people use the Cycle to Work scheme?
No. The tax and NI savings only work through PAYE, so genuinely self-employed sole traders are excluded. Company directors can use it only if they’re paid through PAYE and their pay stays above the minimum wage after the salary sacrifice.
Does the Cycle to Work scheme work in Scotland?
Yes, but the saving isn’t the same. Scotland sets its own income-tax bands (19/20/21/42/45/48%), so the combined saving differs from the rest-of-UK 28/42/47%. National Insurance is the same across the UK.
Which Cycle to Work provider is best?
It depends on how cheaply you can keep the bike and where you want to shop. To own it for the least: gogeta (a £1 flat fee) or Cycle Solutions (free, no deposit). For the widest choice of shops: Cyclescheme or Halfords. Avoid relying on a provider that won’t publish its FCA reference number for a bike over £1,000.