Commuter Allowance 2026: How Much Tax Your Commute Saves – by Distance and Income

In short: In 2026, anyone commuting less than 15 kilometres to work saves no tax at all from the German commuter allowance (Entfernungspauschale) on its own. The reason is the employee lump sum (Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag) of €1,230 that the tax office deducts for every employee anyway. Only the part above it has an effect. At 30 kilometres the saving is €307 to €601 a year depending on income, at 50 kilometres €670 to €1,386. Compared with the old staggered rate, the new rule of 38 cents from the first kilometre adds at most €166 a year. We calculated the saving for 8 distances and 6 incomes with the 2026 tax tariff.

As of 27 October 2026. Based on § 9(1) sentence 3 no. 4 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) as amended by the Tax Amendment Act 2025 (since 1 January 2026: €0.38 from the first kilometre), the employee lump sum under § 9a EStG and the 2026 income tax tariff under § 32a EStG including the solidarity surcharge.

Key findings

Tax saving by distance and income

Annual saving in income tax and solidarity surcharge from the 2026 distance allowance, at 220 commuting days, tax class I, no church tax and no other work-related expenses. The column “Allowance 2026” shows the deductible commuting expenses. Only the part above €1,230 has a tax effect.

With church tax, the saving is higher by 8% (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg) or 9% of the income tax saved. At €45,000 gross and 30 km that would be about €34 more in the other states.

What the new rule adds compared with the old staggered rate

Until the end of 2025, €0.30 applied for the first 20 kilometres and €0.38 only from the 21st kilometre. The table shows how much more tax the 2026 rule saves per year than the old rate. Both are calculated with the 2026 tariff so that only the change to the commuter allowance shows.

At 5 and 10 km every cell reads +€0 because the allowance stays below €1,230 under both rules. From 20 km the extra deductible amount is a constant €352. That the gain at €25,000 falls slightly with distance is due to the progressive tariff: the more is deducted, the lower the marginal rate that applies to the last €352.

From which distance the allowance pays off

The threshold depends on how many days you actually travel to the office. The table shows the smallest full distance from which the distance allowance alone exceeds the €1,230 employee lump sum.

Other work-related expenses lower the threshold. Anyone who works from home two days a week and claims the home-office lump sum for them (88 days × €6 = €528) is above the lump sum from 14 km at 132 commuting days. Work equipment, training, union fees or account fees count too. More in our article on home office and the commuter allowance.

What one extra kilometre is worth

Once deductible expenses are above the lump sum, each kilometre one way counts €0.38 × 220 days = €83.60 a year. How much of that arrives as a tax saving depends on the marginal tax rate. The figure is the average between 30 and 40 km.

¹ Taxable income without the commuter allowance, after the employee lump sum, the €36 special-expenses lump sum and social-security contributions. At €100,000 gross the solidarity surcharge applies within its phase-in zone, which is why the marginal rate of 47% is above the top income tax rate of 42%.

Low earners: mobility premium instead of a tax saving

Anyone whose taxable income is below the basic tax-free allowance of €12,348 pays no income tax and therefore cannot save any. For them there is the mobility premium (Mobilitätsprämie) under § 101 EStG. The Tax Amendment Act 2025 removed its time limit, so it continues after 2026. It is 14% of the distance allowance from the 21st kilometre, as far as work-related expenses exceed the lump sum and at most up to the amount by which taxable income falls short of the basic allowance. Amounts below €10 are not paid (§ 105 EStG). The table shows the premium per year at 220 commuting days.

At €18,000 gross, taxable income without the commuter allowance is just above the basic allowance. Only the allowance pushes it below, which is why the premium there is slightly lower. It is claimed with the mobility premium annex of the tax return. More in our article on the mobility premium 2026.

Methodology

Sources

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Data free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution and a link to rechenportal.de. Suggested credit: “Source: rechenportal.de, Commuter allowance 2026: tax saving by distance and income, as of 27 October 2026”.

Your personal saving with your own distance, commuting days and tax rate is shown by the commuter allowance calculator.