Commuter flat rate

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The commuter tax is used in the Austrian income tax law as a lump sum of costs for daily trips by commuters between home and workplace . Under certain conditions, employees in Austria are entitled to this exemption , which must be applied for using form L34.

How it works, requirements and amount

Utilization

According to Section 16 (1 ) ( 6 ) of the Income Tax Act (EStG) 1988, the flat- rate commuter allowance is a form of income- related expenses and is available for journeys from a distance of two or 20 km between home and work. The lump sums cover the assumed costs from this distance. The travel costs for journeys between home and work of less than 20 km, on the other hand, are compensated with the "transport allowance" (2017: 400 euros per year, 690 euros for low earners), which is generally awarded to every employee without an application.

Basically, there are two ways of claiming it: The commuter allowance can either be taken into account by the employer in the monthly payroll (in this case, form L34 must be presented to the employer) or it is included in the annual report for the employee assessment carried out by the employee himself (previously: " Annual compensation ") is paid directly by the tax office by deducting the amount due from the annual income for the entire calendar year (in this case, form L34 must be attached to the declaration on the employee tax assessment).

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The flat rate is adjusted from time to time to the general price level. The last adjustment came into force on January 1, 2011.

Small commuter flat rate

The small commuter flat rate applies to employees whose workplace is more than 20 km away from their home and for whom the "use of public transport is possible and reasonable": 

   Grenzen (monatliche Beträge für 2011):
   * ab 20 km: EUR  58,—
   * ab 40 km: EUR 113,—
   * ab 60 km: EUR 168,—

Large commuter flat rate

The large flat-rate commuter allowance applies to employees whose workplace is more than 2 km away from their home, but for whom "using public transport is not possible or unreasonable": 

  Grenzen (monatliche Beträge für 2012):
  * ab 2 km:    EUR  31,—
  * ab 20 km:   EUR 123,—
  * ab 40 km:   EUR 214,—
  * ab 60 km:   EUR 306,—

Regulation for part-time employees

An employee is only entitled to the full commuter allowance (large or small) if he commutes to work on at least eleven days per month. Since January 1, 2013 it has also been possible for part-time workers to receive a flat-rate commuter allowance. If an employee travels to work on at least four, but a maximum of seven days per month, he is entitled to a flat-rate commuter allowance of one third of the full amount. If there are at least eight, but a maximum of ten days per month, he is entitled to two thirds of the full rate.

Reasonableness

The use of public transport is unreasonable if:

  • No public transport or not at the required time at least half way to work ,
  • there is permanent severe mobility impairment or
  • the following travel times are exceeded:
    • In the case of a part-time job , one and a half hours traveling there and back is considered reasonable - regardless of the extent of part-time employment.
    • With a full-time job , two hours of travel time are reasonable for the way there and back.
    • A crossing of these travel times is possible under special circumstances - such. B. if people living at their place of residence usually cover longer journeys or particularly favorable working conditions are offered from the point of view of the employee.

The travel time is calculated from leaving the apartment until arriving at work. In the event of different travel times for the outward and return journey, the longer journey time applies.

Volume and criticism

According to a study by the Austrian Transport Club (VCÖ), the number of recipients of the commuter allowance rose from 589,000 to 737,000 between 1996 and 2006. The current figures come from a parliamentary question. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance , there were around 850,000 recipients of the commuter flat rate in 2008 and 2009. In 2006, 581 million euros in commuter allowance were claimed, which corresponds to a doubling of the amount within ten years. According to the Ministry of Finance, around 800 million euros were asserted in 2008 and 2009, which resulted in reduced tax receipts of around 320 million euros. Due to the increase in the commuter flat rate in 2011, there was a further increase. According to a current VCÖ list, the tax-deductible commuter allowance increased to an extrapolated 1.2 to 1.3 billion euros in 2013.

Some traffic experts criticize the negative consequences of the flat rate and advocate reform or abolition. Points of criticism are, for example, the lack of social accuracy and the wrong traffic policy steering effects.

Use of language in DA-CH

The term “commuter flat rate” comes from Austrian tax law. The designation officially used (e.g. in the Income Tax Act or on the website HELP.gv.at operated by the Austrian federal government ) is “das Pendlerpauschale” (neuter). In contrast, everyday language in Austria also uses the feminine form “the commuter flat rate”. The Duden considers the neuter form “the flat rate” to be out of date, in the current edition on spelling only the feminine article is cited for “flat rate”. The Austrian dictionary, on the other hand, lists the neuter article in the first place, but regards the variant with the feminine article as equal.

In Germany , the term “commuter flat rate” is also used colloquially, but the official name there is distance flat rate, which is popularly known as “kilometer flat rate” . Like the Austrian commuter flat-rate , this should not be confused with the flat-rate kilometer allowance , which, however, represents a reimbursement of costs for business trips . In Switzerland there is also the possibility of a flat-rate claim for travel costs between home and work.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ help.gv.at , accessed on March 10, 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.help.gv.at/Content.Node/193/Seite.800600.html
  3. ↑ diepresse.com , accessed on July 11, 2016.