'How to Claim Your Commute to Work on Your German Taxes: Pendlerpauschale

The costs of travelling from home to your first place of work in Germany are included in your tax return as Werbungskosten—work-related expenses. The most common allowance is the Entfernungspauschale, also known as the Pendlerpauschale: the tax office considers not the actual return trips, but the one-way distance and the number of working days.

It is important to distinguish between two levels: your taxable income is reduced by the amount of Werbungskosten, but that does not mean the entire amount is refunded to your account. The savings depend on your income, tax rate, and other details in your tax return.

What is already included automatically

Employees receive the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag—a standard allowance for Werbungskosten without receipts. In 2026, it is €1,230.

If all your work-related expenses for the year are below this amount, calculating your commuting costs separately will usually not provide an additional benefit. If your commute, work materials, training, professional contributions, and other Werbungskosten together exceed €1,230, it makes sense to declare the actual amount.

Commuting costs belong in the same Werbungskosten section of the German tax return.

How the Pendlerpauschale works

For the usual journey between home and your first place of work, the following applies:

• only the one-way distance;
• only whole kilometres;
• only days when you actually travelled to your workplace;
• usually the shortest road route;
• another route may be used if it is clearly more convenient for transport and is used regularly.

In 2026, the Entfernungspauschale is €0.38 for every whole kilometre of one-way distance for each working day.

A different system applied for the 2024 and 2025 tax years: €0.30 for kilometres up to and including 20 km, and €0.38 starting from the 21st kilometre. This is important if you file a tax return in 2026 for a previous year.

Calculation formula

For the 2026 tax year, the basic formula is:

One-way distance × €0.38 × number of working days = Entfernungspauschale amount.

Example: an employee lives 6 km from work and travelled to the office for 200 days.

6 × 0.38 × 200 = €456.

These €456 are included in Werbungskosten. There is an additional tax effect only when all Werbungskosten for the year exceed the €1,230 Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag.

Example: a distance of 20 km

If the distance to the first place of work is 20 km and the employee travelled there for 200 working days in 2026, the calculation is:

20 × 0.38 × 200 = €1,520.

This amount already exceeds the standard Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag, so commuting costs can affect taxable income even without other work-related expenses.

If you are filing a return for 2025, the calculation for the same 20 km is different:

20 × 0.30 × 200 = €1,200.

Therefore, always check which tax year the return is for before calculating.

Example: a distance of 30 km

For 2026, with a distance of 30 km and 220 working days:

30 × 0.38 × 220 = €2,508.

For 2025, the same distance would be calculated using the mixed rate:

(20 × 0.30 + 10 × 0.38) × 220 = €2,156.

The difference is due to the rule change in 2026: the €0.38 rate applies from the first kilometre.

The €4,500 limit

The Entfernungspauschale has an annual cap of €4,500. However, there are important exceptions: a higher amount may be taken into account if the employee uses their own car or a car provided to them. In some cases, actual public-transport costs can also be claimed if they are higher than the calculated flat-rate allowance and are supported by documents.

For most employees without complicated circumstances, it is enough to enter the number of days, home address, first place-of-work address, and distance. Tax software usually calculates the amount automatically.

Public transport, tickets, and the Deutschlandticket

For public-transport journeys, it is often easier to use the Entfernungspauschale because it does not require proof of every trip. But if your actual public-transport costs are higher than the calculated amount, you can claim them instead of the flat-rate allowance if you have supporting evidence.

With subscriptions and travel passes, it is important to separate work travel from personal travel. Buying a monthly ticket does not always prove that its entire cost relates to commuting. Keep invoices, tickets, payment confirmations, and route information if you want to claim actual costs.

Mixed situations

Your situation may change during the year: you may drive on some days, take the train on others, and work from home on others. The tax return usually counts only the days you actually travelled to your first place of work.

Example: an employee travelled 25 km to the office for 120 days, worked from home for 40 days, and was on holiday or sick for the rest of the time. Only the 120 travel days are used for the Pendlerpauschale.

If you have several places of work, business trips, double housekeeping, or move for work, the rules may differ from the usual commute between home and your first place of work.

Double housekeeping

If an employee needs to maintain a second home near work while their main centre of life remains elsewhere, this may constitute doppelte Haushaltsführung—double housekeeping. The costs of the second home and trips home are then examined separately. This is not the same as the usual daily commute to the office.

It is best to calculate the details separately, especially if your family stays in one city while your job is far away in another. In such cases, the article on double-housekeeping tax deductions may be useful.

Accidents and additional travel costs

Costs arising from an accident on the route between home and your first place of work may be claimed separately as Werbungskosten if they are connected with your work journey and supported by documents. For example, these may include repair bills, towing costs, or other expenses caused specifically by such an incident.

It is best to document such cases immediately: the date, route, reason for the journey, invoices, insurance documents, and correspondence.

What to prepare for your tax return

Before completing your tax return, gather:

• your home address and the address of your first place of work;
• the one-way distance;
• the number of days when you actually travelled to work;
• information about working from home, holidays, sick leave, and business trips;
• tickets and invoices if you claim actual public-transport costs;
• proof of additional costs, for example after an accident;
• documents relating to double housekeeping, if applicable.

If you complete your return using software or an online service, it will usually ask you to enter the addresses and number of days. In complicated cases, you can consult a tax-return specialist.

Common mistakes

• Calculating the return distance, although the Pendlerpauschale uses the one-way distance.
• Entering all working days, including days working from home, holidays, and sick leave.
• Applying the 2026 rate to a tax return for 2025.
• Expecting the full amount of Werbungskosten to be refunded rather than taxable income to be reduced.
• Forgetting that the standard €1,230 is already included automatically.
• Not keeping proof when claiming actual expenses above the flat-rate allowance.

In short

Commuting costs in Germany are usually claimed through Werbungskosten using the Pendlerpauschale. In 2026, the calculation became simpler: €0.38 for every whole kilometre of one-way distance for each day travelled. However, for tax returns for 2024 and 2025, the previous split between the first 20 kilometres and kilometres from the 21st onward remains important. The deduction itself makes sense when total work-related expenses exceed the €1,230 Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag.