For what period can I claim meal allowances?
For the first three months after moving into a second home, you can claim meal expenses as business expenses. However, it is not possible to deduct the actual costs, only flat rates, the amount of which depends on the duration of your absence from your main home.
From the fourth month, you can no longer use the meal allowance rates.
Mr X from Mannheim has been working in Wiesbaden since February 2022 and has a second home there. He travels to his workplace in Wiesbaden every Monday at 6:00 am and returns home to Mannheim every Friday at 4:00 pm. Mr X can claim the following meal allowances:
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: full calendar day absent: 28 Euro each
- Monday and Friday: absent for at least 8 hours: 14 Euro each
- Saturday and Sunday: no meal allowance
For the first three months, Mr X can claim the following amount:
- 39 full calendar days: 39 x 28 Euro = 1.092 Euro
- And for 25 days with at least 8 hours absence: 25 x 14 Euro = 350 Euro
The three-month period starts anew if you move your employment and second home to a new location. The period also starts anew if your employment away from home is interrupted by a temporary assignment at another workplace. This temporary assignment must last for at least four weeks.
Any interruption of at least four weeks without checking the reason leads to a restart of the three-month period, including interruptions due to illness or holiday.
