If you work away from where you live, three German tax levers come into play: second-home rent, weekly trips home, meal allowance. The amounts add up — a weekly commuter with €800 rent and 250 km between the two homes often reaches €15,000 in work-related expenses per year. Compute your actual saving with the Double Household Tax Deduction Calculator.
When does a double household exist?
Three conditions must all be met (§9 Abs. 1 Satz 3 Nr. 5 EStG):
- Work-related cause — the second home serves the job, not private convenience
- Own household at the centre of life — the main home must be your real centre of life (family, friends, clubs)
- Financial contribution — you must contribute at least 10 % to the running costs of the main home (rent, utilities, food)
Typical situations: weekly commuters, project-based postings, career starters keeping their student-town home. Students without prior employment are not in scope — that's a special-expenses deduction route.
Three buckets — three rules
| Bucket | Cap | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| Second-home rent + utilities | €1,000/month | As long as work-related |
| Trips home (1×/week) | German distance allowance | As long as work-related |
| Meal allowance | €28/day (full), €14/day (arrival/departure) | First 3 months |
Bucket 1: Second-home costs — €1,000 cap
The actual housing costs in Germany are capped at €1,000 per month — a maximum of €12,000 per year. The cap covers:
- Cold rent
- Utilities (heating, hot water, waste, building manager)
- Electricity and water (separately metered)
- Broadcasting fee (GEZ)
- Internet/phone, to the extent work-related
- Parking/garage
The cap does not apply abroad — locally typical costs are recognised, which often means more in London or Zurich. For owners instead of tenants: mortgage interest, depreciation and ongoing costs are recognised up to €1,000/month.
Important: furniture and fittings in the second home are deductible on top of the cap. Bed, table, chair, wardrobe, lamps, dishes, microwave — anything that makes the place usable for work. Items below €952 gross per piece are fully deductible in the year of purchase, above that depreciated over their useful life.
Bucket 2: Trips home — German distance allowance
One family trip home per week is recognised. It's claimed via the German distance allowance (the same logic as the Commuter Allowance Calculator):
- €0.30/km for the first 20 km (one-way)
- €0.38/km from km 21
The allowance applies regardless of transport mode — car, train, bicycle, ride share. Exception: flights. Here actual ticket cost counts (no mileage). For public transport, the higher of allowance or actual ticket cost can be used.
Phone calls (15 minutes/week with the family) can substitute for a trip home — rarely the better lever, but useful during illness or emergencies.
Bucket 3: Meal allowance — the 3-month brake
Section 9 EStG only allows meal expenses for the first 3 months at the new place of work:
- €28 for full days away (24 hours)
- €14 on arrival/departure
Maximum: about 90 days × €28 = €2,520 in the first three months. A continuous interruption of four weeks or more (holiday, hospital, long trip) restarts the 3-month clock. For people with rotating sites, this matters: each new place opens a fresh 3-month window.
Worked example: weekly commuter Berlin → Munich
Anna works in Munich since February 2026; her centre of life with her partner remains in Berlin. 2026:
- Munich second home: €950/month × 11 months = €10,450 (within the cap)
- Furniture purchases February: €1,800 (on top, all under €952/piece)
- Trips home: 40 × 580 km × allowance = 40 × (20×€0.30 + 560×€0.38) = 40 × €218.80 = €8,752
- Meal allowance: 90 days × €28 = €2,520
- Total work-related expenses: €23,522
At a 35 % marginal rate Anna saves about €8,233 in tax. Net of her actual outgoings, the effective burden of the double household drops dramatically. Without the furniture bucket she'd be €600+ worse off.
Documentation
- Lease for the second home with address and start date
- Proof of financial contribution to the main home (bank transfers, lease, utility bill)
- Trip-home evidence — train tickets, fuel receipts, calendar entries. Not strictly required, but useful in case of questions
Enter the figures in Anlage N, lines 81-87 — ELSTER has separate fields per bucket. Keep receipts for at least 4 years.
Common mistakes
- No financial contribution to the main home — living with parents without paying rent kills the whole deduction (BFH VI R 16/19)
- €1,000 cap misread — furniture is on top, many taxpayers leave money behind
- Meal allowance after 3 months — no longer deductible, even if you keep working away
- Trips home double-counted — the commuter allowance for daily trips and weekly trips home are separate buckets, but the days must not overlap
- Centre of life not credible — for singles over 30 the tax office checks strictly whether the main home really is the centre of life (clubs, doctor, hobbies)
The tax lever
Work-related expenses reduce taxable income. At a 30 % marginal rate, €10,000 in expenses brings €3,000 in tax savings. At top rate (42 %) it's €4,200 per €10,000. Pair this calculator with the German Income Tax Calculator to see the impact on your actual liability.
Optimisation tips
- Buy furniture in year one — front-loads the deduction
- Keep rent just under €1,000 — €1,100/month wastes €100 of monthly tax effect
- Document trips home — drivers should keep fuel receipts, supports plausibility
- Mind the 3-month window — restart the meal allowance with a 4-week break if applicable
- Modest main homes count — as long as you contribute financially, a shared flat or small studio can be your centre of life
Related calculators
- Double Household Tax Deduction Calculator — instant tax-saving estimate
- Commuter Allowance Calculator — same distance-allowance logic
- Work-Related Expenses Calculator — review all buckets together
- German Income Tax Calculator — effect on the final tax bill