Travel expenses for the self-employed

The self-employed, freelancers and tradespeople can claim the costs of work-related trips as business expenses. Unlike employees, they receive no reimbursement from an employer, but reduce their profit with the travel expenses. The trip must be caused by the business and the costs must be documented.

Which travel expenses the self-employed can deduct

• Travel costs: for train, flight, taxi or hire car, the actual costs count. For a car from private assets, you can claim a flat €0.30 per kilometre driven, for other motorised vehicles €0.20. If the vehicle belongs to business assets, the actual costs apply.
• Accommodation costs: the actual costs as per invoice. There is no overnight allowance for the self-employed.
• Additional meal expenses: allowances instead of actual costs. In Germany, €14 for more than 8 hours of absence and for the day of arrival and departure of a multi-day trip, and €28 for each full calendar day. Abroad, separate allowances per country apply.
• Incidental travel expenses: for example parking fees, tolls, left luggage or work-related telephone costs on the road.

Difference: commuting and entertainment

For journeys on a trip, €0.30 per kilometre driven applies. The daily journey between home and business is not a trip and does not belong in the travel expense report. It is taken into account via the distance allowance in the tax return. Entertaining business partners is not a travel expense. It is 70% deductible as a business expense if it is reasonable and the place, date, participants, occasion and amount are recorded. Small businesses that do not deduct input tax claim the gross amounts.

Receipts and proof

For every trip, the occasion, destination and period should be documented, together with the receipts. Accounting records such as invoices and receipts must generally be kept in an orderly and unalterable manner for eight years since 2025.

Settling travel expenses with Spesenfuchs

With the PRO version, you capture receipts via the app or upload, and Spesenfuchs calculates the allowances automatically according to current travel expense law. You pass the finished report on to your accounting, for example via DATEV export or to Lexware Office and sevdesk. See also travel expense software for the self-employed.

Legal basis and sources: § 4 EStG, § 9 EStG, § 147 AO, LStH 2026, Annex 25 III: travel expenses of employees