Claiming German travel costs and a home workspace
Everything turns on the first place of work: it decides whether the one-way distance counts at 0.38 € per full kilometre or the distance driven counts as travel costs. Plus the ceiling of 4,500 € that car drivers never meet, and the lump sum of 1,230 € that is a threshold rather than a bonus. The second module covers work away from base: meal allowances of 28 € and 14 €, reductions of 20 and 40 percent always taken from the full daily rate, the second household, and the choice between the annual and the daily allowance. Two modules with case studies worked on the statute itself.
Intermediate2 modules40 minModule 1 free to read
2026 rules — verified on September 22, 2026
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This content is part of the path: Filing your income tax return· Step 1 of 12· Next step: Deducting insurance and pension costs in German income tax
By the end of this course, you can…
These outcomes are the modules' own: the promise cannot say anything the course does not teach.
- determine whether and where a first place of work exists
- apply the commuting allowance correctly, with its ceiling and the exception to it
- know which route counts and when a longer one may be used
- read the employee lump sum as a threshold rather than an addition
- assign the three meal allowances to the relevant absence
- compute the reduction for provided meals correctly
- test the conditions for a second household
- choose between the annual allowance for a study and the daily allowance
The programme, module by module
Each module has its own page. Durations are derived from the actual text, never announced by hand.
- Module 120 minFree — no accountThe first place of work, and why everything else depends on itWhat you will be able to do
- determine whether and where a first place of work exists
- apply the commuting allowance correctly, with its ceiling and the exception to it
- know which route counts and when a longer one may be used
- read the employee lump sum as a threshold rather than an addition
- Module 221 minIncluded in the full courseWorking away, living twice, sitting at homeWhat you will be able to do
- assign the three meal allowances to the relevant absence
- compute the reduction for provided meals correctly
- test the conditions for a second household
- choose between the annual allowance for a study and the daily allowance
What you take away
A handout you keep, not just a page you read. The sections are derived from the course itself: what is announced here is exactly what gets generated.
Participant handout (PDF)
PDF
- Learning objectives (2)
- Key figures (6)
- Mistakes to avoid (2)
- Official sources (2)
Exercise workbook (Word)
Word
- Learning objectives (2)
- Key figures (6)
- Mistakes to avoid (2)
- Official sources (2)
Answers live in a separate appendix: the participant handout and the workbook stay distributable before the exercise.
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Where this course leads
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Educational content, current with the sources cited. It does not replace advice tailored to your situation. These courses are neither certifying nor CPF-eligible: they prepare for no certification registered with the French RNCP or specific register.