Distance allowance for outward and return journeys on different days

Anyone who drives only one of the two routes between home and place of work on a working day can only claim half the commuting allowance for that day.

For the past 20 years, only the distance allowance of EUR 0.30 per kilometer can be claimed for costs incurred for travel between home and the first place of work. The Federal Fiscal Court is convinced that the flat rate covers two journeys (one outward and one return) on each working day. Therefore, if an employee only makes one of the two trips on a calendar day, he or she can only claim half of the commuting allowance (EUR 0.15 per commuting kilometer) as income-related expenses for that day. However, this does not work the other way around: if there is more than one daily outward and return trip, only the single flat-rate commuting allowance is still to be applied - additional trips are therefore not recognized for tax purposes.