Can I Claim Firmenfahrzeug (Company Vehicle) as a Business Expense in Germany?
Yes — company vehicles used exclusively for business are fully deductible. For mixed private/business use, either the 1% rule (Fahrtenbuch Pauschale) or an actual logbook (Fahrtenbuch) must be used to calculate and tax the private-use benefit. The most tax-efficient method depends on the vehicle's list price and extent of private use.
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What Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) & Finanzämter says
§6 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 EStG (1% rule) and R 8.1 LStR (benefit-in-kind). For GmbH company cars, the benefit is taxed at the employee/Geschäftsführer level.
When you can claim
- 100% of vehicle costs (depreciation, leasing, insurance, fuel, maintenance) for vehicles used exclusively for business
- Business portion of costs for mixed-use vehicles determined by Fahrtenbuch (logbook) method
- Electric vehicles (BEV): only 0.25% monthly of list price as private-use benefit (vs 1% for combustion). Plug-in hybrids: 0.5%
- Leasing costs fully deductible as operating expenses in the period incurred
When you cannot claim
- Private use portion under the 1% rule — this is charged as a benefit-in-kind subject to income tax and social insurance on the employee/Geschäftsführer
- Vehicles stored predominantly at the owner's home without a Fahrtenbuch are presumed to be privately used — Finanzamt often challenges this
Good to know
Pro tip: For expensive vehicles with high private use, the Fahrtenbuch (logbook) method often results in lower tax if documented correctly. For electric vehicles, the 0.25% rule makes company car provision extremely attractive — particularly for BEVs with list prices under €70,000.
Important: A Fahrtenbuch must be kept contemporaneously and in detail — date, departure point, destination, distance, business reason, and business contact for every trip. Incomplete logbooks are regularly rejected by the Finanzamt, reverting to the 1% default.
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