Single assessment on Tuesdays
February 7, 2021 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Bernd Thomas
Private use of company vehicle:
My employer provides me with a company vehicle that I also use for private purposes. Due to the Corona pandemic, I have been working 4 to 6 days per month since May 2020, and for the remaining days of the month, I receive short-time work allowance.
Since I do not keep a logbook, the 1% method and an additional 0.03% of the list price per distance kilometer are applied for the taxable benefit, with the employer taking the flat-rate income tax (15%) on the amount of deductible expenses for trips between home and workplace.
However, as I am currently exclusively working in field service, on the 4 to 6 days per month I drive directly from home to my 3 to 5 job sites per day (round-trip to different construction sites). I then drive back home (home office) where I document my activities. My office workplace at the employer's premises remains unused. Specifically, I visited my first place of work (office at employer) exactly three times during the mentioned period.
Questions:
Can I apply the more favorable individual valuation (0.002% x list price x distance kilometer) in my income tax return for 2020, retroactively, also considering the employer's flat-rate income tax (15%)?
How are the days I worked in field service (almost all of them) treated for tax purposes? With a distance of 0 (zero) kilometers or with the distance to the first job site?
The salary statement for January 2021 has already been prepared. What do I need to do to have the January salary recalculated by the employer using the individual valuation (0.002%)?
Thank you in advance for your assistance!
Dear questioner,
I am happy to answer your inquiry based on the information provided in the initial consultation on frag-einen.com. The response is based on the facts you have provided. Missing or incorrect information can affect the legal outcome.
You can switch to the individual trip method (0.002% method) within the framework of your income tax annual return, but only on a yearly basis. You will need proof of the number of trips taken (record keeping, time tracking printout, confirmation from employer, etc.).
Changes will not be made in the payslip, but rather by providing information in Appendix N (the difference amount, classified as income on which no income tax was withheld, should be entered with a negative sign, and the process should be explained in the supplementary information for the tax return in the main form).
If the employer has provided a lump sum reimbursement for costs, any excess amount will be added to the income (if the tax office notices, which they often do not).
Best regards,
Bernd Thomas
Tax Advisor
Information according to DL-InfoV: Tax Advisor Dipl.-Kaufmann (FH) Bernd Thomas, Tax Advisor, Neustadtswall 85, 28199 Bremen, member of the Hanseatic Chamber of Tax Advisors Bremen, registration number 111705, professional liability insurance with R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Mittlerer Pfad 24, 70499 Stuttgart, insurance sum: 250,000 euros per individual claim; annual maximum benefit: 1,000,000 euros (for all damages in an insurance year); The professional regulations of §§ 3, 3a, 32, 43 of the Tax Consulting Act apply (regulations can be viewed at: http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stberg)
