Company car taxation: Additional payments by the employee can reduce the reduce the monetary advantage.

November 29, 2019

User fees and other additional payments made by the employee to the employer for the private use of a company vehicle reduce the value of the non-cash benefit from the transfer of use. The employee is not enriched to the extent of the additional payments. Whether the imputed income is calculated using the 1% rule or the logbook method is irrelevant. The prerequisite for the reduction is that the employee can prove the costs borne.

The tax authorities allow the reduction of costs that are part of the total costs of the vehicle. These include, for example, fuel costs, maintenance and repair costs, vehicle tax, vehicle insurance and expenses for car maintenance. Road tolls, parking fees and expenses for passenger and accident insurance, among other things, are not to be taken into account because they are not part of the total costs of the vehicle.

The Münster Fiscal Court only allows a reduction in the imputed income for those costs borne by the employee that are necessary for legal or factual reasons and are required to fulfill a provision of the employment contract. Voluntarily assumed costs were not among them.

In the case in question, an employee had wanted to reduce the pro rata costs of his owner-occupied house from the imputed income, although there was no obligation to store the company car in a garage. The court refused to reduce the benefit because it was a voluntary benefit.

BMF, Schr. v. 04.04.2018, IV C 5 - S 2334/18/10001, BStBl 2018 I, p. 592 FG Münster, Urt. v. 14.03.2019, 10 K 2990/17, (rkr.), EFG 2019, p. 1083