Job Ticket and Tax Regulations – How Can One Avoid Taxation?

Every commuting person in Germany can receive a special job ticket from their employer – it covers the costs for travel from home to the workplace using public transport. Read on to find out how the job ticket works, when it is tax-free, and what you need to pay attention to.

What is a job ticket in Germany?

A job ticket is a monthly or annual ticket for public transport that employers can buy (often at a discount) from a transport company to offer to their employees for free or at a reduced price. When the job ticket is given for trips between home and the first workplace, it is generally considered taxable income.

This way, employers particularly encourage those to accept a job who have to travel long distances and bear high costs. Large companies can often negotiate really favorable discounts with transport companies, and some firms offer to cover all travel costs to make the job offer more attractive.

How is the job ticket taxed?

The job ticket can generally be tax-free if it is granted in addition to the salary already owed – in this case, there is no amount limit. However, if the job ticket is granted as part of a salary conversion or as other in-kind benefits, it can remain tax-free within the monthly in-kind benefit exemption limit of 50 euros. This exemption limit applies to the total of all in-kind benefits per month; if exceeded, the entire amount is taxable.

It must be noted that:

• all in-kind benefits of the month must be added together,
  ● unused amounts cannot be carried over to the next month,
  ● it is not possible to convert the exemption into an annual amount.

However, there are ways to ensure that the job ticket remains tax-free.

Tax-free job ticket

Given the constantly increasing traffic in cities that hinders functioning and negatively impacts the environment, there is a need for more people to switch to public transport. The German government is therefore looking for ways to encourage citizens to do so, and one of the related measures allows employers to grant tax-free benefits for the use of public transport on regular routes between home and work.

According to § 3 paragraph 15 of the Income Tax Act, since 2019, benefits from employers for employees who use public transport to work are tax-free – however, they must be granted in addition to salary.

To grant a tax-free benefit, the following conditions must be met:

• the benefit must be granted within the employment relationship,
  ● the support can be provided through the free or reduced transfer of a public transport card or by partially covering the costs for such a card,
  ● the benefit must be granted in addition to the salary,
  ● trips between home and the first workplace as well as all other trips with local public transport qualify.

The tax exemption applies exclusively to all business and private trips with local public transport. It therefore does not apply to taxi rides or flights. There are also additional restrictions for long-distance travel.

Job ticket with flat-rate taxation – when is it worthwhile?

Changes in the tax law of 2019 also allow for a flat rate to be applied to the job ticket for commuters (job ticket with flat rate taxation). In this case, it does not have to be granted as an additional benefit, and a 25% tax is applied to the in-kind benefit.

Job ticket and commuter allowance – how do they affect each other?

It should be noted, however, that the value of the job ticket must be deducted from the commuter allowance. This is to ensure tax fairness so that individuals receiving such support are not favored in the annual tax return (to avoid double benefits). Therefore, the total costs of the annual subscription must be deducted from the full commuter allowance in the tax return.

The German commuter allowance is 0.30 euros per kilometer (0.38 euros from the 21st kilometer) and applies exclusively to trips between home and workplace (only for the first job). In 2025, the maximum commuter allowance is 4500 euros. It is available to all employees and self-employed individuals – regardless of the means of transport used.

So the employer has a choice – they can tax the job ticket after a flat-rate tax and allow employees to deduct the full travel costs to work as work-related expenses, or they can provide employees with a free or reduced ticket, thereby reducing the deduction of the commuter allowance.

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