Bookkeeping & receipts · 6.10

Company car and travel expenses: What applies?

Short answer

Your GmbH can purchase or lease a car and deduct all costs. If you also use it privately, this is a non-cash benefit (geldwerter Vorteil) for you, meaning taxable wages subject to wage tax (Lohnsteuer). It is calculated either as a lump sum under the 1% rule or accurately using a logbook (Fahrtenbuch).

Key points

Lump sum: each month, a percentage of the gross list price as a benefit, plus an additional surcharge for trips between home and office.
Logbook (Fahrtenbuch): precise breakdown based on actual journeys. Labor-intensive, but pays off if private use is minimal.
Electric vehicles receive preferential tax treatment.
Private use must be agreed upon in the managing director's employment contract. Otherwise, there is a risk of a hidden profit distribution (verdeckte Gewinnausschüttung, vGA).
If the car is to be used exclusively for business purposes, record this in writing.
Private use is also subject to value added tax (Umsatzsteuer).

Figures & thresholds (as of November 2026)

Combustion engine: 1% of the gross list price per month
Pure electric car up to €100,000 gross list price: 0.25%; above that, 0.5%
Trips home–office: an additional 0.03% of the (potentially reduced) list price per distance kilometer and month

Legal basis

§ 8 Abs. 2 EStG§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 EStG§ 3 Abs. 9a UStG§ 8 Abs. 3 KStG

Continue

Next topic: How do I read my tax assessment notice?
Related: Managing Director Salary: What Is Allowed?

With Pluto

Pluto books vehicle expenses to the vehicle. You currently process the non-cash benefit via payroll accounting, which is not part of Pluto.

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