People call it the Bike to Work scheme. Revenue calls it the Cycle to Work scheme. A search for the best e-bike Ireland riders can order through an employer usually wants one winner. This page applies the scheme limit to e-bikes already on Compare. It is not a test and not a ranking. The model that fits is the one you can lift, lock and charge.
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What Revenue allows
Your employer buys a new e-bike for you. The exemption does not apply if you pay and the employer reimburses you. The employer does not have to run the scheme. If they do, Revenue’s manual says it has to be open to employees generally, not to a chosen few.
The e-bike and pedelec limit is €1,500, including safety equipment. Revenue’s employee page, published 18 June 2026, and Citizens Information, page edited 1 July 2026, both state that figure. We re-read the Revenue page on 27 October 2026. Cargo and e-cargo bikes are €3,000. Other bikes are €1,250. The Budget 2027 statement on 6 October 2026 said the scheme will be reviewed in 2027. It did not publish a new e-bike limit.
Revenue’s manual defines a pedelec as a bicycle with a motor of at most 0.25 kW continuous rated power that cuts out at 25 km/h, or sooner if you stop pedalling. Motorbikes, scooters, mopeds and second-hand models are not covered. You can use the scheme once in any four-year period. The e-bike has to be mainly for the journey between home and your normal workplace, and you sign a statement saying so.
The usual way to pay is a salary sacrifice. You give up an agreed amount of gross salary, for no more than 12 months, and you pay Income Tax, USC and PRSI only on the salary that is left. For an e-bike the most that can be sacrificed is €1,500.
Civil and public servants have to buy from a suppliers list. We have not checked that list, so we do not know if ADO or ENGWE are on it, or which retailers in Ireland will invoice an employer.
- Cycle to Work scheme, Revenue, published 18 June 2026. The e-bike limit, the salary sacrifice, and the rule that the employer must buy the e-bike.
- Cycle to Work Scheme, Citizens Information, page edited 1 July 2026. The same three limits, and the steps for an employee.
- Tax and Duty Manual Part 05-01-01g, last reviewed November 2024. The pedelec definition, the four-year rule, delivery, and VAT when the e-bike is bought in another EU country.
- Budget 2027 statement, Department of Finance, 6 October 2026. A review of the scheme in 2027, not a new limit.
- Suppliers list for civil and public servants, the page Revenue links. Citizens Information points at a suppliers PDF dated 23 October 2025 in the file name. We have not checked either list for ADO or ENGWE.
After-tax cost
Revenue does not publish one net price. You give up gross pay. The take-home cost is that gross amount minus the Income Tax, USC and PRSI you would have paid on it.
The cards use two slices from the 2026 tables, and they assume the whole shop price is sacrificed and stays inside one band. Rounded to the nearest euro.
- Standard rate: 20% income tax, plus the 3% USC slice, plus 4.35% employee PRSI. A single person pays 20% on the first €44,000 in 2026.
- Higher rate, while USC is still 3%: 40% income tax, plus 3% USC, plus 4.35% PRSI. That is the slice above the standard-rate band and at or under €70,044, where the 3% USC band still applies.
Above €70,044 the USC balance is 8%, not 3%, so the higher-rate figure on the card is too high for that income. If your top slice of pay is in the 0.5% or 2% USC band, you save less than the card assumes, and the take-home cost is a bit higher. Employee PRSI is nil in a week when pay is €352 or under, so the cards overstate the cost for that week. Between €352.01 and €424 a week there is also a tapered €12 PRSI credit, which these cards do not apply. Reduced USC rates are not used here.
The sticker is not the cost you feel. A best e-bike Ireland shortlist is a take-home figure, not the shop price on its own. The rates are the 2026 tables still on Revenue’s site. Weather in Ireland does not change the tax sum. It does change how far the battery goes.
- Tax rates, bands and reliefs, published 1 January 2026. 20% and 40%, and the €44,000 standard-rate band for a single person.
- Standard rates and thresholds of USC, published 1 January 2026. 0.5% on the first €12,012, 2% on the next €16,688, 3% on the next €41,344, 8% on the balance.
- PRSI Class A rates, Department of Social Protection, page dated 10 June 2026. Employee PRSI is 4.35% from 1 October 2026 when weekly pay is over €352.
One more catch, from the manual’s section on purchases outside the State. If the employer buys from a shop in another EU country and gives that shop an Irish VAT number, the supplier should not charge VAT, and the employer accounts for Irish VAT. The price on our card is the consumer price on the shop, not that invoice. Ask the employer before you treat the card price as the salary you will give up.
How ordering works
The cycle to work scheme Ireland employers run is a salary sacrifice, not a voucher you spend yourself. People also call that the bike to work scheme Ireland. Your employer pays the retailer. You sign that the e-bike is mainly for the trip between home and your normal workplace.
A bike to work scheme Ireland order is still a new e-bike, not a scooter and not a second-hand model. Ask the employer to keep the order inside €1,500, with a lock, lights and delivery included. The longer note on who can join, and what the salary sacrifice does, is the Cycle to Work scheme.
E-bikes within the scheme limit
Sorted by shop price. Not a ranking. Treat the grid as a best e-bike Ireland filter, then drop any model you will not carry or lock. The budget on these cards is €1,500. ADO prices were read on adoebike.com in euro on 2 November 2026. They are sale prices: ADO shows a higher compare-at price, and the sale can end without notice. While it lasts, the ADO Air 20 Pro and Air 30 Pro are also under €1,500; both are on Compare. ENGWE prices are the ones already on Compare. We did not re-open ENGWE that day. A retailer in Ireland may not stock the same model, and we have not checked local shops.
The ENGWE T14 is €599 and sold out, so it has no card. The ENGWE P20 is €999 and it is not listed either. ENGWE says the P20 has a thumb throttle and does not say how fast the throttle alone goes, so we cannot treat it as the pedelec in Revenue’s manual.
ENGWE P275 SE
Commuter e-bike
Full-size city e-bike. The battery comes out, so you can charge it indoors.
250 W and 25 km/h, according to ENGWE. Confirm the pedal-only cut-off on the shop page before you treat it as Revenue’s pedelec. Weight on Compare: 24 kg. If this shop price is the whole cost, including delivery, €501 of the scheme limit is left for a lock, lights or a helmet.
Take-home illustration: €726 at the standard rate, €526 at the higher rate. Your own bands will differ.
ENGWE Zip
Folding e-bike
Folding, for stairs and a train. Lighter than the full-size models here.
250 W, 25 km/h, and ENGWE’s spec list includes no throttle. Weight on Compare: 19.4 kg. If this shop price is the whole cost, including delivery, €501 of the scheme limit is left for a lock, lights or a helmet.
Take-home illustration: €726 at the standard rate, €526 at the higher rate. Your own bands will differ.
ADO Air 20S
Folding e-bike
ADO’s lowest-priced folder. Single speed, belt drive.
250 W, assist to 25 km/h, according to ADO. The weight is net, without accessories. Weight on Compare: 18 kg. If this shop price is the whole cost, including delivery, €401 of the scheme limit is left for a lock, lights or a helmet.
Take-home illustration: €798 at the standard rate, €579 at the higher rate. Your own bands will differ.
ENGWE O20 Boost
Folding e-bike
Folding, with a larger battery. Heavy if you carry it every day.
250 W, according to ENGWE. Our ENGWE page does not state a 25 km/h cut-off for this model, so confirm that before you use the e-bike limit. Weight on Compare: 26.5 kg. If this shop price is the whole cost, including delivery, €301 of the scheme limit is left for a lock, lights or a helmet.
Take-home illustration: €871 at the standard rate, €631 at the higher rate. Your own bands will differ.
ADO Air 28
Commuter e-bike
Full-size step-through. The battery comes out.
CE version: 250 W, 25 km/h and no throttle, according to ADO. Weight on Compare: 23+ kg net (according to ADO). If this shop price is the whole cost, including delivery, €201 of the scheme limit is left for a lock, lights or a helmet.
Take-home illustration: €944 at the standard rate, €684 at the higher rate. Your own bands will differ.
ADO Air 20 Pro at €1,499, ADO Air 30 Pro at €1,299, ADO Air 20 Ultra at €1,799, ADO Air 30 Ultra at €1,499, ADO Air Carbon at €1,899 all sit above the scheme limit. The first €1,500 of an e-bike can still be exempt. Tax applies to the rest if the employer pays it. They stay on Compare.
We have not checked whether ADO or ENGWE deliver to Ireland, or what the delivered price would be. ADO’s shipping line on our other pages is about Sweden, 3–7 days, and it is not a promise for a commute in Ireland. Read the checkout. Irish roads and a wet evening are a separate question from the shop price. Lights, mudguards and a battery you can bring inside are in Commuting in rain and winter.
Rain, a lock, and the stairs
A model that only works in the dry is a poor commute e-bike. A lock bought with the e-bike uses the same budget. The Air 28 is the dearest model here, and it leaves almost nothing inside the limit once the e-bike itself is counted. Bike locks is the longer note on what a lock can and cannot do. If the e-bike has to come up stairs or onto a train, start with the folding guide and the weight, not the range claim.
FAQ
Is there one best e-bike Ireland riders should buy?
No. The model that fits is the one on this page you can lift, lock and charge on your route. We have not ridden them, and the list is not a ranking.
Can I buy the e-bike myself and claim it back?
No. Revenue says the exemption does not apply if you pay and your employer reimburses you. Your employer has to buy the e-bike.
How often can I use the scheme?
Once in any four-year period. The tax year the e-bike is provided counts as year one.
Do e-scooters qualify?
No. Revenue’s Cycle to Work scheme does not cover motorbikes, scooters or mopeds. Second-hand models are out too.
What if the e-bike costs more than the scheme limit?
The first €1,500 of an e-bike can be exempt. Income Tax, USC and PRSI apply to the excess if the employer pays that excess. Safety equipment and delivery share the same limit.
Is a cheap electric bike Ireland search the same as this list?
No. A low shop price is not the pedelec test. Confirm 250 W and a cut-off at 25 km/h, or sooner if you stop pedalling, before you use the e-bike limit.
Next step
Set the budget, including a lock, before you open a shop. Then filter Bike on Compare. E-bikes under €1000 are on their own page. How to spend a tighter budget is in the budget commute guide. There is no single best e-bike in Ireland on this site. Price the model with your employer against €1,500, delivery included.