Employees in Germany

6-Day week in the tax return

Those who work more days a year must of course also go to work more often and thus have additional travel expenses.

These can be entered as professional expenses in Appendix N, which you as an employee must fill in addition to the standard form of the tax return. However, there are some things to note in the Tax Declaration for the 6-day week, so that the tax office will also recognize it.

Substantiating the 6-day week in the tax return and calculating it correctly

The IRS only accepts the 6-day week in the tax return if you can prove that you are working 6 days a week. However, this is usually not a problem because a copy of the employment contract is usually sufficient if the working time is indicated on it accordingly. Also, evidence of a time account is enough to make a 6-day week credible to the tax office.

In order to indicate the correct number of working days in Appendix N of your tax return for the calculation of the commuter allowance, you can choose between two procedures. One way to about it is to use appropriate documents to determine and enter the actual number of days worked. Of course, this may be a daunting task. On the other hand, you can also use the so-called "no-challenge limit", which is the number of working days that the Tax Office recognizes without additional evidence. For a 6-day week, this limit is 276 days a year, but some financial institutions accept up to 280 days without evidence.

Do not forget holidays and sick days

30 vacation days are already included in the no-challenge limit. However, if you have had less vacation and have worked for more days, you would have to prove this to the tax office with supporting documents. Of course, you have to deduct sick days from the days worked. If you do not do this and the tax office finds out, this can be treated in the worst case as an attempted tax fraud.

Make sure you take advantage of the commuter allowance because it can significantly reduce your tax load. But be honest in stating the simple travel distance, because the tax office will obviously check information that seems too good to be true. If you still need help filling out Appendix N, you can get assistance from a tax consultant or an income tax assistance union.