As of: February 10, 2024, 5:17 a.m
By: Anne Hund
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Many working people have to drive several kilometers to work every day.
What does this mean with regard to the tax return?
Not everyone has their place of work on their doorstep.
Travel costs that commuters incur on the way to work may be tax deductible to the tax office.
The ADAC reminds us of this and refers to the distance allowance, also known as the commuter allowance, which is included in the income tax return.
When calculating the commuter allowance, the distance from the home to the workplace (“first place of work”) counts, the ADAC informs on its website.
“Even if you travel this route four times a day because you eat lunch at home, you can only claim one route,” it says.
Counting starts from the first kilometer and “the distance is then rounded down to whole kilometers”.
The decisive factor for calculating the kilometers is “in any case the shortest road connection,” explains the automobile club.
Commuter allowance – how many kilometers and days count?
For the first 20 kilometers of the one-way journey between home and work, you receive 30 cents per kilometer
at
Tax relief from the state, the ADAC informs in the article (as of January 10, 2024).
Working people who have to travel longer distances in their car can claim more travel expenses.
From the 21st kilometer onwards, the commuter flat rate has been 38 cents per kilometer since 2022.
“However, the distance allowance only has a tax impact if the total expenses for commuting to work exceed the flat rate for business expenses for all professional expenses,” says
ADAC.de.
You should know that the flat rate for business expenses for the 2023 tax year has been increased to 1,230 euros (from previously 1,200 euros).
Advertising costs also include, for example, costs for work materials, training or work equipment.
Important to know: The distance allowance is only available for days on which employees actually worked at the workplace, as it goes on to say.
The number of days must be stated in the tax return.
Sick days or vacation days, for example, are not included.
With the commuter allowance, working people can deduct the costs of commuting to work from their taxes.
(Symbolic image) © IMAGO/Steinach
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Calculation of the commuter allowance – tax experts give an example
What can the invoice look like in individual cases?
The income tax assistance association Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe (VLH) gives the following example in a statement (as of January 10, 2024): A commuter drove 25 kilometers to the workplace and 25 kilometers back home in his car on each of his working days.
With 215 working days a year and a distance of 25 kilometers, his calculation of the commuter allowance looks like this:
215 working days x 20 kilometers one way x 0.30 euros commuter allowance = 1,290 euros
215 working days x 5 kilometers one way x 0.38 euros commuter allowance = 408.50 euros
In this fictitious example, that is a total of 1,698.50 euros for 2023.
The respective value is relevant for the tax return.
By taking the commuter allowance into account, the taxable income for a year can be reduced and the tax burden can be reduced accordingly.
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By car and train to work
Not everyone goes straight to work from home.
Many commuters first have to go to the train station by car or bike and then take the train from there.
Others change their vehicle depending on the season and, for example, travel by motorcycle in summer and by train in winter.
Anyone who uses different means of transport for a journey should note the following when calculating the commuter allowance, as the VLH informs in its communication: “The distance allowance is determined individually for each leg of the journey.
You can deduct an unlimited amount of the costs for the part of the journey that you travel with your own vehicle, for example the journey by car to the train station, from your tax.
The travel costs that you can claim for travel on public transport, on the other hand, are limited to 4,500 euros per year.”