Betriebs-Pkw: 0,03-Prozent-Regelung auch bei seltenen Bürofahrten

You're mostly out on the road seeing clients, you have a company car in your business assets, and you only drop by the office now and then? The 0.03 percent rule still costs you real money. In its judgment of February 5, 2026 (III R 18/25), Germany's Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) made it clear: for the self-employed, the flat-rate add-back under § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG applies in full even if you only visit your business premises occasionally. Here's what that means in practice, how the offset works, and why a mileage log is the only way out for many.

The issue: the double add-back on a company car

If you hold a car in your business assets and use it more than 50 percent for business, you tax the private use either under the one-percent rule (§ 6 (1) no. 4 sentence 2 EStG) or via a mileage log (Fahrtenbuch). So far, so familiar.

What many underestimate: alongside private use there is a second add-back, and it covers the trips between your home and your business premises (Betriebsstätte). Under § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 sentence 1 EStG, the expenses for these journeys must not reduce your profit. Sentence 3, first half-sentence, sets out the mechanics under the one-percent rule: what is non-deductible is the positive difference between

• 0.03 percent of the domestic list price at the time of first registration, per calendar month and per kilometre of distance, and
• the amount resulting from § 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 EStG, i.e. the commuter allowance (Entfernungspauschale).

The purpose is equal treatment: the self-employed shouldn't be able to deduct more for the commute than employees, who are capped at the commuter allowance. Technically this is implemented as a ban on deducting business expenses, sitting alongside the one-percent rule.

The case before the BFH

The claimant was a self-employed agent with several employees. His staff worked in his office, and he filed his tax returns for that address. He kept no mileage log, so the one-percent rule applied. He did not, however, apply the 0.03 percent reduction.

His reasoning: he worked almost exclusively in the field, drove from home directly to clients and business partners, and only visited the office occasionally to hand documents to his staff for further processing. The office was therefore not his "first place of work".

Following a tax audit, the tax office reduced his business expenses for the years in dispute, 2015 to 2017, using the flat 0.03 percent of the list price. The Cologne Tax Court dismissed the claim (judgment of January 25, 2024, 6 K 2390/22). The BFH has now confirmed that on appeal.

The reasoning: "Betriebsstätte" is not "first place of work"

The core point is a definitional one, and it has far-reaching consequences. The claimant wanted the term "Betriebsstätte" in § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG to be interpreted like "first place of work" in § 9 (4) EStG, which has applied to employees since the travel-expense reform of 2014. The BFH rejects this, on four grounds:

• Wording: § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG simply says "Betriebsstätte", not "first place of work".
• System: the provision specifically does not refer to § 9 (4) EStG as the central rule on the new term. The reference in sentence 3 concerns only legal consequences and calculation methods.
• History: the 2014 travel-expense reform changed only the rules for income from employment. § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 sentence 2 EStG remained untouched.
• Purpose: the first place of work is determined primarily by the employer's assignment under employment law, so it is shaped by the employer's right to issue instructions. Clients generally have no comparable influence over a trader.

The established definition therefore remains decisive: a Betriebsstätte is the place at or from which a self-employed person renders their services to customers. The term presupposes a fixed, permanent business facility that is visited not merely occasionally but with a certain sustained regularity, i.e. continuously and repeatedly.

In the case at hand, the office was exactly that: his employees worked there, he issued instructions there, kept documents, signed things, and made decisions. And crucially, he repeatedly drove to the office by car throughout the period. Frequency was irrelevant.

The 15-trips assumption, and why it doesn't help

The flat rate rests on the assumption that the business premises are visited on at least 15 days per month on average. Anyone driving less often therefore loses out arithmetically. This isn't new: as early as its judgment of June 12, 2018 (VIII R 14/15, BStBl II 2018, 755), the BFH held that the difference is to be calculated at 0.03 percent per calendar month even where there are fewer than 15 trips per month on average.

The BFH's reasoning is matter-of-fact: for taxpayers determining profit, who are subject to record-keeping and retention duties anyway, keeping a mileage log to avoid the downsides of the flat rate is neither disproportionate nor unreasonable.

Key takeaway: the 0.03 percent rule is not a presumption you can rebut by pointing to few trips. It is a flat rate you can only escape with a proper mileage log.

Worked example: what it actually costs

Take a company car with a gross list price of 50,000 euros and a distance between home and office of 20 kilometres. For 2026, the commuter allowance is 38 cents from the first kilometre.

The flat 0.03 percent figure:
50,000 euros × 0.03% = 15 euros per distance kilometre and month
15 euros × 20 km × 12 months = 3,600 euros per year

Case A: 180 trips per year (classic office commuter)
Commuter allowance: 180 × 20 km × 0.38 euros = 1,368 euros
Non-deductible: 3,600 − 1,368 = 2,232 euros

Case B: 60 trips per year (mostly field work, as in the BFH case)
Commuter allowance: 60 × 20 km × 0.38 euros = 456 euros
Non-deductible: 3,600 − 456 = 3,144 euros

The effect is paradoxical but intended by the statute: the less often you drive to the office, the larger the add-back becomes, because the 0.03 percent figure stays constant while only the offset shrinks. At a marginal tax rate of 42 percent, Case B means roughly 1,320 euros of additional tax per year, with trade tax running in parallel.

The way out: the mileage log

The BFH points this out explicitly: the claimant should have kept a mileage log to avoid the flat-rate rule. If you keep a proper log, the actual costs are used instead of the flat rates, both for private use and for the trips between home and business premises. If you drive little, you'll almost always be better off.

A mileage log is only recognized if it is kept promptly, without gaps, and in a closed format. For every business trip you need the date, the odometer reading at the start and end, the destination, the purpose, and the business partner visited. Private trips can be recorded with the kilometre figure; trips between home and business premises must be flagged separately. A loose spreadsheet that can be edited after the fact is not enough. Electronic mileage logs with tamper-proof logging are permitted and considerably more practical day to day.

Three points that often get overlooked

1. A home office room is not a Betriebsstätte within the meaning of § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG. If you work exclusively from home and have no external business premises, you simply make no trips between home and business premises, and the reduction doesn't apply. What you do need to watch, though, are the tightened record-keeping duties under § 4 (7) EStG.
2. The term here differs from § 12 AO. § 12 AO requires more than temporary control over the facility; § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG focuses on where services are rendered to customers. The terms deliberately diverge.
3. Client offices are generally not your own business premises. In the case at hand, the clients' offices lacked central significance for the activity and therefore did not qualify. The office in his own town was the only Betriebsstätte, and that decided the case.

What you should check now

If you have a company car and use the one-percent rule, work through these four questions:

• Do I have fixed business premises outside my home that I drive to repeatedly?
• Is the 0.03 percent add-back actually recorded in my bookkeeping, or has it simply been forgotten so far?
• How many trips do I realistically make per month, and how large would the difference be?
• Would switching to a mileage log from January 1 of next year pay off for me?

Important: as a rule you can only change method at the start of a financial year or when changing vehicles. A mid-year switch for the same vehicle is not recognized. So if you want to move to a mileage log for 2027, make the decision during the current year and record without gaps from January 1.

Get your company car handled properly

The 0.03 percent reduction is a classic finding in tax audits, precisely because it's so often overlooked. At Buchführungsheld, real bookkeepers look at your figures and work out whether the flat rate or a mileage log is cheaper for you, at a fixed price and without timesheets. If you're unsure how your company car is currently being treated, book a free initial consultation and we'll go through it together.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 0.03 percent rule apply even if I only drive to the office twice a month?

Yes. In its judgment of February 5, 2026 (III R 18/25), the BFH confirmed that frequency is irrelevant. What matters is that you visit the business premises continuously and repeatedly with the company car. The flat rate is then applied at 0.03 percent of the list price per month and distance kilometre, regardless of the number of trips.

How can I avoid the 0.03 percent reduction?

Only with a proper mileage log. The actual costs of the trips between home and business premises are then used instead of the flat rate. The BFH expressly considers this reasonable for taxpayers determining profit.

Does my home office room count as business premises?

No. A workspace forming part of your home or house is not a Betriebsstätte within the meaning of § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG. If you only have a home office and no external business premises, you make no trips between home and business premises.

What's the difference from the one-percent rule?

The one-percent rule under § 6 (1) no. 4 sentence 2 EStG covers private use of the vehicle. The 0.03 percent rule under § 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 6 EStG additionally covers the trips between home and business premises. Both add-backs run alongside each other.

How high is the commuter allowance I can offset?

Since January 1, 2026, a uniform 38 cents per distance kilometre applies from the first kilometre. The actual travel days are decisive. The amount is deducted from the 0.03 percent figure; only the excess is non-deductible.