What are business travel costs?
Business travel expenses are costs you incur for trips directly related to your business. Think of trips to customers, suppliers, meetings, business events or training courses. It does not matter which means of transport you use, car, train, bus, taxi or even bicycle, as long as the purpose of the trip is business-related, the costs are in principle deductible.
To substantiate travel expenses, keep the business appointment and the corresponding tickets, invoices or journey details. For car journeys, note the date, departure and arrival address, the business purpose and the mileage. An app can help with recording; check that your log is complete and accurate.
Company car
Do you have a car that belongs to your business assets? If so, you are dealing with a company car. In that case, you may include almost all car costs as business expenses. Think about:
- Fuel (petrol, diesel, electricity)
- Maintenance and repairs
- Motor vehicle tax
- Insurance
- Parking charges
- Toll roads and vignettes
- Depreciation of the car
All the expenses you incur for this car are processed in your accounts. This way, you reduce your taxable profit, which ultimately benefits your income tax.
Taxable benefit for private use
Do you also use your business car privately? Then you have to deal with addition. If you drive more than 500 kilometres privately per year with the company car, you have to add an amount to your profit. That amount is determined as a percentage of the catalogue value of the car. In most cases this is 22%, unless you have an electric car, in which case a lower percentage applies up to a certain amount.
Private car: deduct business kilometres
Do you use your private car for business trips? Then you cannot deduct individual car expenses, such as fuel or maintenance. Instead, you may deduct a fixed amount from your profit per business kilometre driven. This is called the kilometre allowance and amounts to €0.25 per kilometre in 2026, retroactive to 1 January. For 2025, the rate is €0.23.
This amount covers all car expenses: fuel, maintenance, insurance and parking fees. So keep track of your business trips carefully, because every kilometre counts. For example, do you drive 3,000 business kilometres? Then you may deduct 3,000 × €0.25 = €750 from your profit.
Trip registration and proof for the tax authorities
To deduct your travel expenses, you must be able to prove that you actually made the trips. A good trip registration is therefore indispensable. In it, you record each trip:
- The date
- The departure and arrival address
- The number of kilometres driven
- Whether business or private
Do you use a company car and want to avoid additional taxes? Then you should also keep track of mileage at the beginning and end of the year and per trip. This can be done manually in Excel, but there are also apps and accounting programmes.
Also make sure you keep receipts, tickets or fuel receipts. In case of an audit, you should be able to prove that the travel expenses you claimed were actually incurred.
Deduct public transport travel costs
Do you travel for business by train, bus, metro or tram? For regular business appointments, the actual costs are in principle tax-deductible. Separate restrictions apply to conferences, seminars and study trips, as explained below. There is no fixed mileage allowance as with a car. You may claim the actual costs. Think of single tickets, season tickets or public transport chip card (OV-chipkaart) transactions.
Just make sure you keep your tickets. For example, you can download a summary of your OV-chipkaart use every month. This will show that the trips were business trips.
Deducting taxi costs
Did you take a taxi to get to a client or appointment on time? Then those costs are also deductible, provided the journey was for business purposes. Keep the receipt or digital invoice from Uber, for example. VAT that you reclaim as input tax should not be included again as an expense. Read the conditions for VAT on business taxi fares.
Travel costs abroad
For a business trip abroad, for example, train, plane and taxi costs can be deductible. Make a distinction between a regular client trip and travel for conferences, seminars, symposia, excursions or study trips.
For that latter category, restrictions apply to mixed expenses and in principle a maximum of €1,500 for travel and accommodation expenses. If participation is necessary for your work, that maximum does not apply; you still need to assess the remaining deduction restriction. See the overview of the Tax and Customs Administration and our explanation about limited deductible expenses.
Combining a business trip with personal travel
Are you extending a client visit with a holiday? Split the costs based on the actual business and private purpose. Keep your appointments, invoices and travel itinerary. A few business emails during a holiday do not make the entire trip business-related. For food and drink during a business trip separate rules apply.
Commuting
For employees, commuting is usually not a deductible expense. But as a self-employed person, you may include the kilometres you make from home to your workplace as business trips. So do you drive to your studio, office or client every day? Then you may include those kilometres in your mileage allowance or trip registration.
Note that for VAT purposes, commuting kilometres are considered private, but for income tax purposes they are business. So that makes them deductible.
Pass on travel costs to your client
In some cases, you can pass on your travel costs to your client. This can be done in two ways:
- You incorporate the cost into your hourly rate.
- You specify travel expenses separately on the invoice.
Recharged travel expenses generally form part of the fee for your service and follow the VAT rate of that service. Different rules may apply in the case of exempt supplies or the application of the small businesses scheme (KOR). You process the costs or mileage allowance separately according to the rules for your means of transport. Agree clear terms with your client in advance, for example in your quotation or order confirmation.
Deducting travel expenses on income tax
You process business travel expenses in your accounts and take account of any deduction limitations when calculating your taxable profit. They reduce your profit, meaning you pay less income tax . There is no separate box for travel expenses in your tax return. They form part of your total business expenses.
Make sure you only claim expenses that are genuinely business-related. If you are in doubt as to whether a trip is for business, assess the purpose, the necessity for your business, and any private elements. Merely stating that the trip was useful for your work is insufficient justification for full deduction.
More information about business travel
Do you use different means of transport? Compare the company bicycle and private bicycle. For collecting fuel transactions, you can read the explanation about a fuel card for the self-employed; a fuel card does not in itself determine your right to deduction. If you drive a van exclusively for business use, check the conditions for the declaration of exclusive business use.
