How many trips home can I claim and for what amount?

If you maintain a second household, you can also claim family journeys home for tax purposes, but only one journey per week is allowed. Per year, you can claim a maximum of 46 journeys home, as the tax office assumes 6 weeks of annual leave. However, please ensure you can provide evidence of these journeys if requested by the tax officer.

This can be done, for example, with train tickets or the mileage of your car. You can claim family journeys home for tax purposes using the travel allowance of 0.30 Euro per kilometre (0.38 Euro from the 21st km). The amount you can claim is not limited to the maximum amount of 4.500 Euro per year, as is the case for travel costs to the workplace.

If, for example, you are unable to make a journey home due to illness or high work demands, you can instead claim the costs of a 15-minute phone call with your partner for tax purposes. If, for the same reasons, your family (spouse and minor children) visit you at your place of work, you can claim their travel costs as income-related expenses at the rate of the travel allowance.

However, this does not apply to the costs of accommodation and meals for the family. Costs for family journeys home by plane or paid group transport are recognised at the actual costs.