What is an extensive work area?
A large-scale work area exists when the contractually agreed work is to be performed over a defined area and not within a fixed business location of the employer, an affiliated company, or at a third party specified by the employer.
If the employee (e.g. a forestry worker) is typically required to perform their work on a daily basis in a large-scale work area, the employee's journeys from home to the nearest access point of the large-scale work area are treated as journeys to a first place of work, i.e. considered with the travel allowance. If the large-scale work area is always accessed from different entry points, the travel allowance for these journeys is only applicable for the shortest distance from home to the nearest access point.
Expenses for journeys within the large-scale work area as well as for additional kilometres for journeys from home to a more distant access point should be entered in the "Travel expenses" section. Instead of the actual expenses incurred, the following flat rates per kilometre driven can be claimed:
- 30 cents for cars,
- 20 cents for other motor vehicles (e.g. motorbikes, scooters).
The Federal Fiscal Court has made clear distinctions in several recent rulings regarding the definition of the first place of work:
1. Industrial railway train drivers:
The Federal Fiscal Court ruled that the work area of an industrial railway train driver is considered the first place of work and not a large-scale work area (BFH ruling of 1.10.2020, VI R 36/18).
2. Paramedics and postal workers:
It was also determined that paramedics and postal workers do not have large-scale work areas in the tax sense, but each have a first place of work (BFH ruling of 30.9.2020, VI R 11/19; BFH rulings of 30.9.2020, VI R 10/19 and VI R 12/19).
3. Refuse collectors:
The Federal Fiscal Court decided that the depot is not the first place of work for a refuse collector if they only perform administrative tasks there, such as collecting documents and checking vehicles (BFH ruling of 2.9.2021, VI R 25/19).
This allows refuse collectors to claim daily meal allowances of 14 EUR for tax purposes if they are away from home for more than eight hours, without being away from the depot for more than hours.
4. Dock workers:
In another ruling, the Federal Fiscal Court decided that a dock worker does not work in a large-scale work area if they are assigned to specific work locations within the Port of Hamburg (BFH ruling of 15.2.2023, VI R 4/21).
Additionally, the Lower Saxony Finance Court clarified that the entire area of the Port of Bremerhaven does not constitute a large first place of work unless the employer uses it in its entirety for the work (Lower Saxony FG, ruling of 2.9.2022, 4 K 149/21).
