Pendlerpauschale

The Entfernungspauschale (§ 9 para. 1 no. 4 EStG) is a flat-rate tax deduction for journeys between your home and your primary workplace. Every employee taxed in Germany can claim it as income-related expenses (Werbungskosten), regardless of transport mode — car, public transport, bicycle or on foot. The self-employed deduct it as business expenses.

€0.30 per kilometre for the first 20 kilometres and €0.38 from the 21st kilometre onwards. The higher rate, introduced by the Fourth Corona Tax Relief Act and extended by the 2022 Annual Tax Act, applies through the 2026 assessment period. This calculator applies exactly that two-band formula to the distance you enter.

Only the one-way distance (einfache Entfernung), measured along the shortest road route between home and workplace. Unlike some other countries' mileage schemes, the German allowance never doubles the distance: a 35 km commute counts as 35 km per working day, not 70 km.

The €4,500 annual ceiling (§ 9 para. 2 EStG) only applies to commutes made without a personal car — public transport, bicycle, carpooling as a passenger, or walking. If you drive your own car, there is no cap; the calculator removes the ceiling as soon as you select the car option.

Employees report it on Anlage N of the income tax return under Werbungskosten, stating the one-way distance and the actual number of commuting days. It only reduces your tax if your total income-related expenses exceed the automatic employee lump sum (Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag).

Counting remote-working or absence days: only days on which the commute actually took place qualify (220 days is a common median, not an entitlement). Home-office days fall under the separate Homeoffice-Pauschale, which cannot be combined with the commuter allowance for the same day.