Pendlerpauschale 2026: 0.38 EUR per km from the first km, and the tax it saves
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 18 Oct 2026.From 2026 the German Pendlerpauschale is 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of the one-way distance, from the first kilometre, for each day at work. For 25 km on 220 days that is 2,090 euros; the 860 euros above the 1,230 euro flat amount save 286 euros of tax at a taxable income of 45,000 euros.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 18 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Type the one-way road distance to work in km and the days you went there in the year.
Say whether you drive your own car; without one the allowance stops at 4,500 EUR.
Type your taxable income and, if any, ticket costs and other work costs.
Read the allowance, how much of it is above the 1,230 EUR flat amount and the tax it saves.
The Entfernungspauschale, usually called Pendlerpauschale, lets employees in Germany deduct the trip to work from taxable income. This calculator works out the allowance for 2026 and the tax it actually saves.
The allowance (§ 9 EStG). For each day you go to your first place of work you deduct 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of the shortest road distance, one way. From 2026 the rate is the same from the first kilometre. The allowance covers all costs of the trip, whatever the means of transport. Without your own or a provided car it stops at 4,500 euros a year; by car there is no cap. Public transport tickets that cost more than the allowance can be deducted instead.
Why the saving is smaller than the allowance. Every employee already gets the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag of 1,230 euros a year (§ 9a EStG) without proof. Commuting and your other work costs (Werbungskosten) only lower the tax once together they pass that amount. The calculator takes your taxable income with the flat amount already deducted, lowers it by the part above 1,230 euros, and works out income tax by the 2026 tariff of § 32a EStG, single or with Splitting, plus the solidarity surcharge and, if you pay it, church tax of 8% or 9%. The difference is your saving.
Example. 25 km on 220 days gives 2,090 euros. 860 euros of it lie above the flat amount, and at a taxable income of 45,000 euros the income tax falls from 8,835 to 8,549 euros: a saving of 286 euros, about 1.30 euros per day at work.
Not covered. The Mobilitätsprämie for very low incomes, journeys home under a double household, actual costs for people with severe disabilities, and tax-free employer tickets that reduce the allowance.
For your monthly net pay, use the Germany Income Tax Calculator.
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In 2026 the Pendlerpauschale is 0.38 euros for every full kilometre of the one-way road distance to your first place of work, for each day you go there, from the first kilometre. For 25 km on 220 days that is 2,090 euros deducted from your taxable income.
Only the part of your work costs above the 1,230 euro Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag lowers your tax, at your personal tax rate. With 2,090 euros of commuting and a taxable income of 45,000 euros, 860 euros count and save 286 euros of income tax in 2026.
Without your own or a provided car the allowance stops at 4,500 euros a year, for example by train, bike or car-sharing. Driving your own car or a company car has no cap. Public transport tickets that cost more than the allowance can be deducted at their actual cost instead.
The shortest road connection between your home and your first place of work counts, one way and in full kilometres. A longer route may be used only when it is clearly more convenient and you really use it regularly. Flights and tax-free shared transport do not count.
When your commuting allowance and other work costs together stay below 1,230 euros, the flat amount every employee gets anyway already covers them. A 10 km trip on 220 days gives 836 euros, so on its own it saves no tax at all.
Yes. Under § 9 (2) EStG people with a degree of disability of at least 70, or at least 50 with a considerable impairment of mobility in road traffic, may deduct the actual costs of the trips instead of the allowance. Official documents must prove it; this calculator covers only the flat allowance.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Germany Pendlerpauschale Calculator 2026 and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
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