Commuter discount also available for carpooling

Travel costs between the place of residence and the place of work are generally deducted from the employee’s income tax as the travel allowance i.e. €400. This allowance is granted regardless of the actual travel costs. In order for the commuter allowance to be claimed by the employee, different conditions must be met. The distance between the place of residence and the place of work must be at least 20 km (small commuter allowance) or the use of a mass transport means must not be reasonable or possible for at least half the distance (large commuter allowance). The commuter euro as a travel allowance also reduces the (wage) tax by allowing €2 per year to be charged for each kilometer of distance between the place of residence and the place of work.

The BFG (GZ RV/7104590/2020 of March 29, 2021) had to deal with a case in which the father, mother, and son had worked at different positions at an employer in Austria and regularly traveled by car from their home in Hungary to their workplace in Austria (returning approximately 180 km). On some work days and due to different working hours, the son covered the distance between their home and workplace alone and on some work days in a shared ride with his mother or father. Due to the long distance and the fixed work hours (work starts at 6:30), the journey by public transport is undoubtedly unreasonable. However, the dispute regarding the eligibility for the commuter discount was whether it also applies when the distance from home to the workplace is covered by a shared ride. In contrast to the trips undertaken solely, the taxpayer is only liable for half or 1/3 of the respective travel costs on those days when he/she was traveling in a shared vehicle with his/her father and/or mother.

The BFG came to the decision that the commuter allowance is fully payable and therefore also for the days on which the taxpayer formed a carpool with his mother and/or father. It is simply not possible to derive from the legal wording any provision applicable to the present case according to which there is no commuter allowance or a lower one than the legally stipulated commuter allowance. Furthermore, the entitlement to this benefit is not dependent on the amount of the actual costs incurred. Finally, following the BFG’s reasoning, the commuter allowance is in no way limited by the amount of the actual costs incurred.

Image: © Adobe Stock - Klaus Eppele