(2023)
What can be deducted when moving away from your place of work?
It is not uncommon for employees to move away from their place of work, i.e., relocate their residence away from their place of work. Some have built or purchased a home in the countryside, others move to a more attractive area with high leisure value. Others move out of the marital home and in with a new partner. Single people move in with their partner at another location. In these cases, employees may claim additional meal expenses as business expenses.
In the past, if you kept your previous accommodation as a second home or rented a smaller apartment at your place of work, you could not deduct any costs for double housekeeping for tax purposes. This was because the double housekeeping was considered to be for private reasons due to the move.
- In 2009, the Federal Fiscal Court fortunately changed its previous case law in favour of employees: Double housekeeping is now also considered work-related if the main residence is moved away from the place of work for private reasons and a second household is used at the place of work. It does not matter whether the previous accommodation is kept as a second home or a new apartment is rented (BFH rulings of 5.3.2009, BStBl. 2009 II p. 1012 and 1016).
- The tax authorities accept the generous new view of the BFH – but with one restriction: After moving the main residence and taking up a second home, meal allowances are not recognised for the first three months if you had already lived at or near the place of employment for at least three months beforehand (BMF letter of 10.12.2009, BStBl. 2009 I p. 1599).
Current decision: The Federal Fiscal Court has ruled against the tax authorities and in favour of employees that meal allowances may also be deducted for tax purposes for the first three months in cases of relocation. This is because double housekeeping is established when the previous accommodation is re-designated as a second home. Therefore, the three-month period begins when the previous accommodation is re-designated as a second home (BFH ruling of 8.10.2014, VI R 7/13).
The case: The employee lived and worked in Düsseldorf. After meeting his current wife, he moved to a small town on the Lower Rhine and relocated his main residence there. He kept the apartment in Düsseldorf as a second home. In his tax return, he claimed meal allowances for the first three months after his move. The tax office refused to recognise them, but the tax court and the BFH granted them.
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So, if you move your residence from your place of work to another location and designate your previous accommodation as a second home, you can now claim meal allowances, even though your meal situation at your place of work has not actually changed. According to the BFH, it is irrelevant for the tax consideration of meal allowances whether there was actually an increased need for additional meals and whether the employee is familiar with the meal situation at the place of work.
