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Are commuting and home journeys no longer tax deductible?

December 18, 2021 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Hello,

According to the articles https://www.vlh.de/arbeiten-pendeln/pendeln/doppelte-haushaltsfuehrung-diese-kosten-koennen-sie-absetzen.html and https://www.haufe.de/personal/entgelt/verwaltungsregeln-zur-doppelten-haushaltsfuehrung_78_533614.html, it seems that I will no longer be able to deduct my second home for work-related reasons from this year on, because the second home is 142 km one way and more than 1 hour driving time away from the main place of work. The main residence is 591 km from the main place of work and 566 km from the second home.
My question is, does this new regulation mean that I can no longer deduct trips home and trips from the second home to the main place of work as well?

Best regards

Steuerberater Knut Christiansen

Good evening,

In fact, there is a new administrative instruction from the tax authorities. According to this, your second home is no longer considered a second home in the sense of a double household management. Rather, it is now only considered a second home that is no longer work-related (at least not in the sense of double household management).

However, the trips from this apartment to your first place of work can still be claimed as business expenses (simple route x 0.30 EUR or from the 21st km onwards with 0.35 EUR/km). However, trips back home are no longer tax deductible, as they are only deductible from a second home used for work purposes (in tax terms).

I hope this answers your question, otherwise please feel free to contact me again.

Best regards,

Knut Christiansen
Tax advisor