Can you claim the Pendlerpauschale on days you work from home in Germany?

The Pendlerpauschale (commuting allowance) can only be claimed for days on which you actually travel to your primary workplace. Days you work entirely from home do not count toward the Pendlerpauschale calculation. Instead, those days may qualify for the Homeoffice-Pauschale (Tagespauschale) of €6 per day. You cannot claim both deductions for the same day.

This means you need to keep track of how many days you commuted versus how many you worked from home. A straightforward approach is to use your employment contract, work calendar, or HR records as evidence. If your employer can provide a written confirmation of your work-from-home days per year, this supports your Steuererklarung. The Finanzamt may request this documentation.

For people with hybrid working arrangements, the optimal strategy is usually to calculate both the Pendlerpauschale for commuting days and the Tagespauschale for home office days, then add them together as part of your Werbungskosten. For example, if you commuted 110 days and worked from home 150 days during the year, you claim Pendlerpauschale for 110 commuting days and the Tagespauschale for 150 home office days (up to the 210-day maximum). Together these can meaningfully exceed the €1,230 flat-rate allowance and produce a real tax saving.

This is general information only, not professional tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional for your specific situation.