(Photo: © Li Xuejun/123RF.com)
Read aloud:
February 2012
The shortest route to work always counts for the travel allowance. However, the tax office must recognize a detour if the route is significantly more convenient.
The Federal Fiscal Court's ruling is likely to be of interest to many commuters. Effective immediately, employees can claim the longer commute even if it doesn't provide them with a significant time advantage.
In principle, only the shortest route between home and work can be taken into account for the travel allowance. According to a new ruling by the Federal Fiscal Court, this applies in exceptional cases if another route is "obviously more convenient" and if the employee regularly uses it.
Tax authorities previously held the view that the longer route must result in a time saving of at least 20 minutes. The Federal Fiscal Court has now overturned this view in two rulings, reports the German Association of Tax Consultants.
According to the judges, no specific time constraints need to be met for a road connection to be considered "obviously more convenient" than the shortest route. It always depends on the individual case. Criteria include, for example, the route, the timing of traffic lights, and similar factors.
A road connection can be "obviously more convenient" even if only a small time saving can be expected from its use, according to the Federal Fiscal Court. The highest tax courts have also clarified that only the road connection actually used is taken into account. A merely possible road connection not used by the taxpayer cannot be used as a basis for calculating the travel allowance.
The German Association of Tax Consultants advises employees to check whether the expenses for the actual route can now be claimed as business expenses.
Federal Fiscal Court, Case No. VI R 19/11 and Case No. VI R 46/1 0, judgments of 11 November 2011, published on 8 February 2012
Newsletter
Write a comment