Keeping a logbook in Germany 2026: what the tax office requires and how to do it without a subscription app

If you work in Germany and also drive your company car privately, you have two options: the 1% rule (1-%-Regel) or a logbook (Fahrtenbuch). The flat rate is convenient but can get expensive, especially with a high list price and few private trips. A logbook then often saves real money. But only if it is properly kept (ordnungsgemäß). Otherwise the tax office (Finanzamt) rejects it, and the 1% rule applies retroactively after all.

Here's what a logbook must contain, which mistakes tax auditors find most often, and how paper, Excel and apps compare.

This guide is not tax advice. Discuss your individual case with your tax adviser (Steuerberater).

The 1% rule or a logbook?

Under § 6(1) no. 4 sentence 2 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), private use of a vehicle that is used more than 50% for business is valued each month at 1% of the domestic gross list price at first registration (including optional extras). As a rule, a supplement is added for trips between home and the first place of work.

Sentence 3 instead allows you to use the costs actually attributable to private trips. The condition: you prove the total costs with receipts, and the ratio of private to other trips with a properly kept logbook.

Rule of thumb: a logbook usually pays off if

• the list price is high but the car is already older or fully depreciated,
• you drive little privately,
• your commute is long, or you rarely drive to your first place of work.

For electric and certain hybrid vehicles, reduced values apply under the flat rate (¼ or ½ of the list price, depending on purchase date, CO₂ value and price cap; see § 6(1) no. 4 sentence 2 nos. 1–5 EStG). In that case a logbook pays off less often. Work out both options with real figures.

What a properly kept logbook must contain

The tax authorities (R 8.1(9) no. 2 LStR, BMF letter of 3.3.2022) and the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) require the logbook to be kept promptly (zeitnah) and in a closed form (in geschlossener Form), recording trips completely and without gaps, with the total mileage reached each time.

For every business trip:

• date,
• odometer reading at the start and end of the trip,
• destination (for detours, the route as well),
• purpose of the trip,
• clients or business partners visited.

For private trips: the kilometres driven are enough. For trips between home and first place of work: a short note is enough.

Template: the mandatory columns

The most common reasons logbooks are rejected

1. Created after the fact. A logbook reconstructed at the end of the month from memory or fuel receipts is not "prompt". Auditors compare it with fuel receipts, garage invoices and appointments.
2. An Excel spreadsheet. The BFH ruled (VI R 64/04) that a file created in Excel is not a properly kept logbook, because it can be changed at any time without anyone noticing. Loose sheets of paper are not suitable either.
3. Mileage jumps. If one trip ends at 61 468 and the next starts at 61 530, 62 km are missing.
4. Purpose too vague. "Client visit" or "field work" without names is not enough.
5. Only a "representative" period. The logbook must be kept without gaps for the whole year.

Electronic logbook: what matters

An app is allowed, but not every app is automatically "audit-proof". According to the BFH (most recently its order of 12.01.2024, VI B 37/23), what counts is:

• Subsequent changes to earlier entries must be technically impossible, or they must be documented and disclosed in the file itself. In the case decided, it was not enough that changes were visible only through a query by the system administrator.
• Entries must be made promptly.
• There is no official certification for logbook apps. A provider's "approved by the tax office" badge is a marketing claim; the taxpayer bears the risk.

According to the BMF letter, it is acceptable for an electronic logbook to record date, mileage and destination automatically and for the driver to add the business reason (purpose, business partner) within up to seven calendar days.

Paper, Excel or app: an honest comparison

A bound notebook is a good, free solution, provided you make an entry after every trip. Don't use Excel for your logbook.

How we do it ourselves: UZYTAK Kilometr

We are a small team with our own renovation company, and we need a logbook for our work vehicle every month. That's how UZYTAK Kilometr came about:

• Tap Start, drive, tap Stop. GPS measures the distance, and the start and destination addresses are filled in. Location only between Start and Stop: no background tracking, and recording is always visible through a notification.
• Trip type: business, private or commute, plus purpose, business partner and driver. For detours, simply write the route in the purpose field.
• Odometer chain. Each trip starts at the odometer reading of the previous one; kilometres without an entry are flagged in the report.
• Changes stay visible. Every trip is sealed in a SHA-256 chain. A change needs a reason and appears in the report; cancelled trips remain crossed out. That is exactly what the BFH requires: disclose changes in the file itself.
• Forgot a trip? Add it manually, with date, odometer reading, route and purpose.
• PDF in the German logbook layout with date, odometer reading at the start and end of each trip, route, purpose, business partner, trip type and driver, plus CSV for Excel.

Price: GPS and manual trips are free and unlimited for one vehicle, with a PDF report for the current month, no ads and no account. Pro costs a one-off €19.99: more vehicles, reports for any month and the whole year, and a ZIP with PDF + CSV for your tax adviser. No subscription. Your data stays on your phone.

To be honest: Kilometr is not "officially certified" either, because no app is. Whether your logbook is accepted depends on you keeping it completely and promptly.

End-of-month checklist

• Every trip has date, km start/end, destination, purpose and business partner.
• No mileage gaps between trips.
• Private trips and commutes marked.
• Odometer reading in the report = odometer in the car.
• PDF sent to your tax adviser and a copy archived.

Frequently asked questions

Can I switch from the 1% rule to a logbook in the middle of the year? As a rule, only at the turn of the year or when you change vehicles: the logbook must be kept for the whole year. Ask your tax adviser.

Do I need a logbook if business use is under 50%? The 1% rule only applies if business use is above 50%. Below that, private use is valued at the proportional costs, and you need proof of the share, for example through records. A logbook also helps to prove the 50% threshold.

Can I use abbreviations? Yes, if they are unambiguous and explained, e.g. in a client list.