Reasonable distance to the workplace

For the journey from your home to your place of work, you can claim a flat-rate distance allowance in your income tax return. The deciding factor is the reasonable distance to your workplace.

Mileage allowance to the workplace

• The distance flat rate (kilometer flat rate) is 0.30 € for each distance kilometer. It doesn't matter which means of transport you use. With this lump sum are all ride costs compensated.
• However, the lump sum for distance is only applicable if your travel expenses exceed the lump sum for income-related expenses of € 1000 (as of 2012). To do this, your distance must be at least 15 km. Break down your travel expenses as follows: 230 working days (with a five-day week and three weeks of vacation) x 15 km x 0.30 € = 1,035 € travel expenses.

The distance must be as short as possible or as convenient as possible

• Note that the law requires you to always take the shortest route to work. There is an exception if there is an obviously more convenient route. The big question then is when a route is actually cheaper. You should therefore always justify your decision.
• Obviously, a route is cheaper if it is also possible for an uninvolved third party (clerk at Tax office), it is easy to see that the route taken is appropriate. For example, you do not need to drive through the inner city of a large city if you are inevitably stuck in a traffic jam in the morning. The purpose of bypasses in particular is to distribute rush hour traffic. If you were forced to take the shortest route through the downtown area, you too would clog the downtown area.


Travel costs per kilometer - this is how you charge a kilometer flat rate

Anyone who has a long commute to work every day knows that this is a lot of money in the long run ...

• If you are traveling by train and choose a longer route, it is important that you reach your workplace faster or, given the overcrowded trains in rush hour, more comfortably.

A reasonable time saving is irrelevant

• It does not matter that you actually save a certain amount of time on the route you have chosen. It just has to be clear from the circumstances that your route decision makes sense. In the past, it was important that the route had to save a certain amount of time. So if you use a bypass, make a responsible decision. Even if you are on the road for longer and / or drive more kilometers, the tax office must recognize your travel expenses.
• Please note that the tax office uses the map services on the Internet to track the routes and the distance that is reasonable for you.