VIDEO: Tax-deductible business trip

If you are driving a private vehicle, write down the route and the distance. You can also have the kilometers calculated on the Internet. You can charge € 0.30 per kilometer driven. If you are not traveling alone but are taking colleagues with you, you can charge an additional € 0.02 per kilometer for each person traveling with you.

Notwithstanding the lump sum, you can also apply individual vehicle costs. To do this, however, you first have to calculate a kilometer rate. For this you take all of them costs, how depreciation (six years according to the depreciation table), interest charges, Tax, insurance, Repairs, maintenance and fuel per year, and dividing them by the kilometers driven in the same period. If you drive a relatively expensive car, it can be worth the effort. You must enclose the calculation with your statement.

You can claim lump sums for the additional meal costs that you incur as a result of your business trip. These are staggered according to the duration of your trip. If you were out for at least 8 hours a day, you can add 6 euros per day. If you are on the road for at least 14 hours a day, you can deduct 12 euros, and for at least 24 hours you can deduct 24 euros. However, these rates only apply in Germany.

However, if breakfast is included in your accommodation costs, you cannot claim the full expenses. Breakfast is part of the catering and is already covered by the meal allowance. Therefore, you have to deduct the amount for this from the accommodation bill. If breakfast is not shown separately, you can deduct € 4.50 from the total accommodation bill in Germany and 20% abroad.

Write down all the facts about your business trip, such as who you visited and why, when You drove and how long, the route, the passengers, which vehicle you drove, etc. Everything you state in your tax return must be proven by receipts. The best thing to do is to prepare an invoice for your business trip and have it confirmed by your employer.