Motorists who use vehicles for work in France handed a financial boost

Drivers who use their personal vehicles to clock up large amounts of work travel have been handed a boost after the French government hiked a key tax relief.

They can, if they choose, benefit from an increase to a travel allowance which was announced on Wednesday (March 23).

The change affects around two million French households that opt to claim their actual fuel and other work-related expenses (called frais réels) when declaring their annual income to tax authorities.

Most people with more modest travel expenses do not detail these. Instead, the tax authorities give a flat, automatic 10% deduction on a person’s taxable income for their work-related expenses (this is applied generally, both to salaried work income and to retirement pensions).

The amount that can be claimed for travel fuel costs for those on the ‘real expenses’ option, called a barème de l'indemnité kilométrique, has been raised by 5.4%

It is part of government efforts to tackle the impact of rising prices, in particular fuel costs.

The allowance is calculated according to the size of the vehicle’s engine and the number of kilometres travelled. It takes into account a vehicle’s depreciation, repair, maintenance and tyre costs, fuel consumption and insurance premiums.

Paris said the measure is worth €100 for a single person earning around €2,900 a month.

Gabriel Attal, Minister Delegate for Public Accounts said: "I think that our action must be directed above all towards these French people, the middle class who work, who have the feeling that they are always asked for more."

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