Vehicle and travel costs in the German EÜR: what you can deduct

The essentials in brief

• Basic rule: business expenses are the costs caused by the business (section 4 (4) EStG). In the EÜR the surplus of business income over business expenses counts (section 4 (3) EStG).
• Way to your place of business: not in full, but covered by the distance allowance: from 2026 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of distance (section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6, section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 EStG); for 2025 0.30 euros for the first 20 kilometres and 0.38 euros for each further kilometre (instructions for Anlage EÜR 2025, line 73).
• Meals when away: 28 euros for 24 hours, 14 euros on the day of arrival and departure with an overnight stay, 14 euros for more than 8 hours without one (section 9 (4a) EStG).
• Business car with private use: with more than 50 percent business use, 1 percent of the list price per month, or the actual costs with a proper logbook (section 6 (1) no. 4 EStG).
• Receipts: keep accounting vouchers for eight years (section 147 (3) AO).

Which travel costs are business expenses?

The question is always whether the business caused the trip. If so, the costs are business expenses (section 4 (4) EStG). Typical cases are trips to customers and suppliers, to the post office, the wholesaler or a trade fair. Evidence includes fuel receipts, garage and leasing invoices, train or flight tickets and hotel invoices. How to enter the total in the EÜR form is explained in filling in the EÜR.

For employees, section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4a EStG names flat per-kilometre rates, namely the highest travel allowance under the Federal Travel Expenses Act. For self-employed people, section 4 EStG names no such per-kilometre rate. For business use of a private car (not a business asset) the tax authorities allow a flat 0.30 euros for every full kilometre driven or the pro-rata actual costs (instructions for Anlage EÜR 2025, line 71); for the way to your place of business the distance allowance applies instead.

The way between home and your place of business

The way between home and your place of business follows its own rule: these costs may only be deducted as set out in the following sentences of section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG. To cover them, section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 EStG applies accordingly. It says:

• Rate per kilometre: 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of distance, at most 4,500 euros per calendar year (statutory text from 2026; for 2025 the rate was 0.30 euros for the first 20 kilometres and 0.38 euros from the 21st kilometre).
• Own car: a higher amount than 4,500 euros applies if your own car, or one made available to you, is used.
• Distance: the shortest road connection decides.
• Days: the allowance applies for every working day on which the place of work is visited. How you count "working day" for self-employment with one place of business is something to clarify with your tax office if in doubt.

Example: 12 kilometres one way and 200 days a year give 12 × 0.38 euros × 200 = 912 euros. This applies from 2026; for 2025 it is 12 × 0.30 euros × 200 = 720 euros. Both are worked examples of the rule, not statutory text.

If you use a business vehicle and value private use with the 1-percent rule, section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 sentence 3 EStG contains its own calculation rule using 0.03 percent of the list price per calendar month and kilometre of distance. Have this case calculated.

Business trips: meals and accommodation

If you work for the business temporarily away from your home and from the centre of your permanent business activity, the extra meal costs are deductible under section 9 (4a) EStG (section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 5 EStG). The flat amounts:

The deduction is limited to the first three months at the same place of work. For work abroad, country-specific flat amounts apply. Hotel costs and tickets, by contrast, you enter at the actual amounts because the business caused them.

A business car with private use: 1-percent rule or logbook

If a motor vehicle is used more than 50 percent for business, its private use is to be valued at 1 percent of the domestic list price at first registration, plus the cost of special equipment including VAT, for each calendar month (section 6 (1) no. 4 sentence 2 EStG). Alternatively you can value private use at the actual costs attributable to private trips if you prove the total vehicle costs with receipts and the ratio of private to other trips with a proper logbook (section 6 (1) no. 4 sentence 3 EStG). That section has special rules for electric and hybrid vehicles. How private use appears in your EÜR is best discussed with your tax adviser.

Common mistakes

• Claiming the commute in full like a business trip. For home and place of business the distance allowance applies.
• Using a vehicle privately and for business without recording the private use. With more than 50 percent business use you need the 1-percent rule or a proper logbook (section 6 (1) no. 4 sentences 2 and 3 EStG); with less business use the 1-percent rule does not apply, so clarify with your tax adviser how to determine the private share.
• Meal allowances without absence times. The amount depends on how long you are away and on the overnight stay; note when the trip starts and ends.
• Not keeping receipts. Keep accounting vouchers for eight years (section 147 (3) AO); see receipt retention periods.
• Assigning travel costs to the wrong year. In the EÜR it counts when you pay the expense; see bookkeeping for small businesses.

How it works with VAT GPT

You upload your travel receipts to VAT GPT as PDF, photo or XML file. The AI reads date, amounts, VAT, currency and country and assigns the receipt to one of 29 expense categories, including vehicle costs, hotel on business trips and meal allowance. You check and confirm the result. VAT GPT builds your EÜR from the expenses.

After that it takes three steps:

1. Upload files: your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and your invoices. The AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
2. Check the result: VAT GPT breaks down the VAT for Germany and the EU (OSS) and prepares the advance return – monthly or quarterly. You check and confirm.
3. Send: with VAT GPT Pro via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

With Go you use all Pro features free of charge for 30 days. Get to know VAT GPT or create an account right away.

What VAT GPT does not do

• VAT GPT is not tax advice.
• VAT GPT does not keep a logbook and does not calculate a distance allowance for the way to your place of business in the EÜR: you collect kilometres and days yourself.
• VAT GPT is not an archive that stores receipts according to the GoBD; GoBD and digital receipts explains that topic.

What does VAT GPT cost?

Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features), Pro €49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Are travel costs business expenses in the EÜR? Yes, as far as the business caused them (section 4 (4) EStG). For the way between home and place of business the distance allowance applies (section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG).

How high is the distance allowance? From 2026 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of distance, at most 4,500 euros per calendar year; with your own car a higher amount applies (section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 EStG, applied accordingly). For 2025: 0.30 euros for the first 20 kilometres and 0.38 euros from the 21st kilometre (instructions for Anlage EÜR 2025).

Which meal allowances are there? 28 euros for 24 hours away, 14 euros on the day of arrival and departure with an overnight stay, 14 euros for more than 8 hours away without one (section 9 (4a) EStG).

Do I need a logbook? For a vehicle used more than 50 percent for business: only if you want to value the private use of a motor vehicle at the actual costs of the private trips instead of 1 percent of the list price (section 6 (1) no. 4 sentence 3 EStG).

How long do I keep travel receipts? Accounting vouchers for eight years (section 147 (3) AO).

Further reading

• Filling in the EÜR (income surplus statement)
• EÜR business expenses list
• EÜR depreciation and low-value assets
• Receipt retention periods in Germany

Not tax advice: the content does not replace individual advice.

Sources

• Section 4 EStG (in German)
• Section 6 EStG (in German)
• Section 9 EStG (in German)
• Section 147 AO (in German)
• ELSTER: instructions for Anlage EÜR 2025 (in German)