If the entrepreneur carries out his work in his home office or has several business premises or several offices, the question always arises as to which journeys are external activities or journeys between home and the first business premises for which only the distance allowance may be applied. According to the BMF, the regulations for employees also apply analogously to entrepreneurs.
Practical example:
With two operating sites there are only a first Permanent establishment. An entrepreneur who has a permanent establishment in Bonn (distance 22 km) also has another permanent establishment 14 km away in Bad Godesberg. He drives his company car (gross list price € 50,000) 3 days a week to the business premises 22 km away in Bonn. Two days a week, he drives to the business premises in Bad Godesberg, 14 km away.
Conclusion: The branch in Bad Godesberg is the first place of business because it is closer to the home. The branch in Bonn is not the first place of business, so the journeys there are external activities.
Calculation from 2026 for journeys to the first business premises 14 km away:
| Travel between home and business: €50,000 × 0.03% × 14 km × 12 months = |
2.520,00 € |
| less distance allowance of 14 km × € 0.38 × 96 days |
- 510,72 € |
| = Non-deductible operating expenses |
2.009,28 € |
The commuting allowance is only applied to journeys to the first place of business. This means that the journeys to Bonn are to be classified as external activities, so that the costs for these journeys can be deducted without restriction. If all travel costs, such as depreciation, petrol, repairs, insurance, etc. have already been recorded in the accounts, the part of the non-deductible costs determined on a flat-rate basis can be posted as follows:
„Free value disclosures € 2,009.28 to
Journeys between home and business premises and family journeys home (credit) € 2,009.28“.
The entrepreneur may not use the actual vehicle costs or the travel expense allowance of € 0.30 per kilometer driven instead of the commuting allowance.
Until 31.12.2025, the distance allowance was: € 0.30 for distances up to 20 km and € 0.38 from the 21st kilometer.
Since the 1.1.2026 applies from 1. distance kilometer the uniform commuting allowance of 0,38 € (this also applies to family trips home as part of the double household management).
Application of the flat-rate 0.03% regulation: If the private journeys with the company car are determined on a flat-rate basis using the 1% rule, the non-deductible costs incurred for journeys between home and the first place of business must also be determined on a flat-rate basis. The amount is calculated at a flat rate of 0.03% of the domestic gross list price per calendar month. In contrast to employees, the BFH does not allow the flat-rate calculation of 0.002% of the gross list price of the vehicle per distance kilometer for each trip to the first place of business (maximum once per day).
If the employer leaves his Employees company car, he regularly taxes the non-cash benefit for private journeys using the 1% method. As compensation for the non-deductible costs for journeys between home and the first place of work, he recognizes the following for his employee as Wages either
- a flat rate of 0.03% of the gross list price of the vehicle per kilometer driven per month (the 0.03% rule is based on 15 journeys per month) or
- a flat rate of 0.002% of the gross list price of the vehicle per distance kilometer for each trip to the business (maximum once per day).