Company car and second residence
November 5, 2011 | 30,00 EUR | answered by StB Manuela Ponikwar
Hello,
the distance from my main residence with own household management to the daily workplace is just under 40 km. The travel time for one way is about 1 hour (no highway). My employer provides me with a company car including fuel for private use.
I would like to rent a second home about 5 km from the workplace.
My questions:
1) Is there a chance to claim a second home allowance?
There are 2 court rulings on this. Positive when reducing travel time by one hour daily, negative for distances under 40 km. Here both apply.
2) If the second home allowance is not recognized, is it still possible to use the second home for the taxation of the company car.
Thank you for your effort!
Best regards,
G.R.
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to answer in the context of an initial consultation, taking into account the appropriate fee as follows:
1) Double Household Management
The tax recognition of a double household is dependent on the following 4 conditions:
• Maintaining a separate household
• Main focus of life at the location of the separate household (for singles without a life partner, this can be argued through family, social contacts, clubs, etc.)
• Additional residence (any form of accommodation is eligible) at the place of employment away from home.
• Professional reason for the double household management. The fact that you commuted for a while and only later actually moved to the place of employment does not preclude the double household management.
With a place of employment located 40km away and a one-hour commute, in my opinion, the justification for a double household management is indisputable.
The opinions of the tax authorities as well as the case law on the topic of double household management have changed significantly multiple times since 1995. I do not consider referring to the two judgments ('91 and '97) to be up-to-date at this point. There are no longer any references to them.
However, there is, for example, a judgment from the FG Munich from 2009, where higher proof requirements for the presence of the main focus of life at the separate household and the business necessity of the second residence were imposed in the case of a very short distance (in the case decided, 19km) (FG Munich judgment of 29.04.2009 - 10 K 2154/08), but in principle the double household management could not be excluded solely due to the short distance.
2) Taxation of Company Cars
As part of a simplification rule, a taxable benefit for a car provided by the employer for family home visits in the context of a double household management is not taxable, as long as the related expenses are deductible as business expenses according to § 9 para. 1 sentence 3 no. 5 EStG. As a result, a business expense deduction is waived.
On the other hand, the trips between the second residence and the workplace do not fall under the double household management. You must therefore (in addition to the monthly 1% flat-rate value for personal use) tax these work trips with 0.03% of the list price for each kilometer of distance between the (second) residence and the workplace on a monthly basis. These expenses are deductible as business expenses within the commuting allowance.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Best regards,
Manuela Ponikwar
Tax consultant
www.ponikwar.de
