Car use – Limitation – Withdrawal of use – 1% rule

If a company passenger car is

is also used by the entrepreneur or his relatives for private purposes, the expenses incurred in this connection are not deductible as business expenses but must be recognized as a withdrawal. These “usage withdrawals” can generally be valued at 1% per month of the gross domestic list price at the time of initial registration if the business use is more than 50%.

As an alternative to this 1% rule, the value of private use can be determined on the basis of a proper driver’s logbook and the proven actual expenses.

Especially with used purchased

or fully depreciated passenger car, the value of private use determined using the 1% rule may be higher than the total costs actually incurred for the passenger car. For reasons of equity, the tax authorities therefore provide for a so-called cap, so that the private share is recognized at a maximum of the total costs.

Even though the 1% rule can only be applied on the condition of more than 50% business use, the Federal Fiscal Court does not consider a cap of 50% of the total costs to be necessary for constitutional reasons because the application of the flat-rate 1% rule can be avoided by keeping a proper driver’s logbook.

(Further comments & information on this can be found in our information letter 10/2018 under item 6.)