Car expenses in the tax return: this is how it's done!

"Kurt*, the tax documents came today..." Nicole* presses the thick envelope into her husband's hand. Kurt sighs. Last year, the IRS made a huge lament about deductions. Kurt tried to use the data from his calendar to define work trips and distinguish them from personal ones. But that wasn't reliable enough for the lady at the tax office.

Here we go again, Kurt groans inwardly. Nicole can see what her husband is thinking. Suddenly a thought flashes through her mind: Didn't Kurt say something about a new system in the car? "That's right," Kurt confirms, "We have an app called autoSense . I can use it to pay at Migrol directly at the pump, for example, all with the app on my phone. And it also records my journeys. Maybe that will help me with my taxes..."

He reaches for his mobile phone and calls his colleague Hans Bellorini, the fleet manager at Admeira. "Hans, can I use the data from autoSense for my tax return?" asks Kurt. Hans Bellorini confirms to his colleague: "Yes, the digital trip journal from autoSense has been checked by the relevant tax authorities. It complies with current case law and therefore with the tax requirements and is recommended by the tax authorities. So the digital trip journal is valid as a receipt for the tax return!" Kurt sighs in relief. One less problem. He can easily export the digital trip journal from the autoSense app and integrate the business trips into the tax return accordingly.

The fleet manager also leans back in the shop, satisfied. One more employee with one less problem. It was worthwhile setting up the autoSense application for his people after all, Bellorini thinks. Well done, he praises himself inwardly. But outwardly he remains quite controlled. After all, you are a manager...

*name changed