Do costs for a garage reduce the taxable value of use in the case of a car transfer?

If an employer also provides his employee with a company car for private use, a non-cash benefit calculated according to the so-called 1% rule is regularly added to the employee’s wage subject to wage tax and social security contributions. Flat-rate or individual usage fees paid by the employee (e.g. for fuel, insurance or vehicle maintenance) regularly reduce the taxable usage value.

 

The Münster Fiscal Court has now ruled that costs for an employee’s private garage, in which the vehicle provided is stored, do not reduce the value in use. In the opinion of the court, only expenses that are connected with the ownership and operation of the company car and are therefore inevitably incurred are eligible for this.

 

However, the court also indicates that a reduction of the pecuniary advantage could be considered for expenses that are necessary for legal or factual reasons, e.g. if they were required to fulfill a clause in the employment contract. This would be the case if the parking of the passenger car had been a mandatory prerequisite for its transfer. However, such an agreement could not be proven in the case in dispute. Therefore, the garage costs could not be taken into account as a reduction when allocating the taxable benefit of use.