Commuter allowance under fire: Who really benefits from it?

Commuter allowance under fire: Who really benefits from it?

The debate about the commuter allowance in Germany is being reignited by the plans of the black-red coalition. On June 9, 2025 it became known that an increase in the flat rate was intended. The commuter flat rate is currently 30 cents for each kilometer from the first kilometer and 38 cents from the 21st kilometer. The planned change will increase the amount to 38 cents from the first kilometer onwards, which represents significant financial relief for commuters like Mark Nothum, who covers 100 kilometers a day from Renningen to Metzingen. Nothum sees the increase as positive support for commuters who can hope for annual savings of around 350 euros if they travel 30 kilometers a day.

However, the commuter allowance has been criticized. Nisha Toussaint-Teachout, climate activist, describes it as a climate-damaging subsidy. Their argument is based on the belief that these financial reliefs primarily benefit higher earners. The Federal Environment Agency (UBA) supports this view, as low earners cannot benefit from the flat rate to the same extent. In the discussion about the new regulation, Toussaint-Teachout also calls for an improvement in public transport connections and infrastructure in order to motivate more commuters to switch to more environmentally friendly means of transport.

Social injustice of the commuter allowance

A new study by the Social-Ecological Market Economy Forum (FÖS), commissioned by Climate Alliance Germany, German Caritas Association and WWF Germany, sheds light on the social and ecological effects of the commuter allowance. The results are alarming: the flat rate is socially unfair and blocks climate protection in the transport sector. Up to six billion euros of the state budget goes into this subsidy every year, with over 80 percent of the money going to drivers, who are often among the 30 percent of the highest earners.

Over 60 percent of taxpayers do not benefit from the distance allowance because it is below the flat rate for business expenses. Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, President of the German Caritas Association, highlights the social injustice of the flat rate and calls for socially just and more climate-friendly alternatives. For example, intelligent public transport with attractive transfer points could represent a solution.

Climate protection through abolition?

The research results suggest that abolishing the commuter allowance could potentially lead to CO2 savings of around 2.4 million tonnes. In the coalition agreement, the federal government announced a socio-ecological redesign of the flat-rate travel allowance, which is to come into force retroactively by 2026. This includes, among other things, increasing the flat rate to 38 cents per kilometer from the 21st kilometer onwards.

Mark Nothum's commute by car takes 90 minutes. In comparison, a journey on public transport would take over two hours. He emphasizes that he would switch to using public transport if travel times were comparable. The discussion about the commuter allowance therefore remains highly topical and is determined by both economic and ecological aspects.

For further information and a deeper insight into the subject, those interested can visit the articles tagesschau.de and wwf.de read.