Do you make long car journeys to work every day? Rather than keeping the automatic 10% allowance on your salary, you can opt for actual expenses (frais réels) and deduct your travel costs using the mileage allowance scale (barème kilométrique) set by the French tax authorities. You still need to know whether it works out better for you, which distances are accepted and which supporting documents to keep. Here is the method, with the official figures.
Actual expenses or the 10% allowance: the starting choice
By default, the tax authorities apply a flat-rate 10% deduction to your salary, with no action required. For 2025 income, it is at least €509 and at most €14,555 per member of the tax household, according to Service Public, the French administration’s official information site. A single filer cannot apply the allowance to one of their salaries and actual expenses to another, but each member of the household opts for whichever regime is most advantageous for them.
Opting for actual expenses only makes sense if the total of your documented work-related expenses exceeds that 10%. Commuting by car is often the largest item, hence the importance of the mileage scale.
The current mileage scale
The scale applicable to cars is the one set by the order (arrêté) of 27 March 2023, published in the Bulletin officiel des finances publiques (BOFiP, the official French tax bulletin). It has not been raised: according to MoneyVox, this is the third consecutive year it has been frozen, and it remains valid for the 2026 return on 2025 income. With d as the annual distance driven for work, and CV as the vehicle’s French fiscal horsepower rating, it reads as follows:
- 3 CV or less: d × 0.529 up to 5,000 km; (d × 0.316) + 1,065 from 5,001 to 20,000 km; d × 0.370 beyond;
- 4 CV: d × 0.606; (d × 0.340) + 1,330; d × 0.407;
- 5 CV: d × 0.636; (d × 0.357) + 1,395; d × 0.427;
- 6 CV: d × 0.665; (d × 0.374) + 1,457; d × 0.447;
- 7 CV and above: d × 0.697; (d × 0.394) + 1,515; d × 0.470.
For a fully electric car, the resulting amount is increased by 20%. Two-wheelers have their own scale, with bands up to 3,000 km, from 3,001 to 6,000 km and above 6,000 km:
- moped of 50 cc or less: d × 0.315; (d × 0.079) + 711; d × 0.198;
- motorcycle of 1 or 2 CV: d × 0.395; (d × 0.099) + 891; d × 0.248;
- motorcycle of 3 to 5 CV: d × 0.468; (d × 0.082) + 1,158; d × 0.275;
- motorcycle over 5 CV: d × 0.606; (d × 0.079) + 1,583; d × 0.343.
Calculating your deduction, step by step
- Check the fiscal horsepower of your vehicle on the registration certificate (carte grise). The car scale stops at 7 CV: above that, the “7 CV and above” line applies.
- Measure the home-to-work distance. It is accepted automatically up to 40 km per journey. Beyond that, you must show special circumstances; otherwise, only the first 40 kilometres count, the BOFiP specifies.
- Count one round trip per working day. A second round trip, to have lunch at home for example, is only accepted in special circumstances: atypical working hours, health constraints, dependants or no possibility of eating nearby.
- Multiply the distance of one round trip by the number of days worked to obtain d, the annual distance.
- Apply the formula for your band. An example given by MoneyVox: a 7 CV combustion-engine car, 30 km per journey and 218 working days, i.e. 13,080 km, gives about €6,669 in deductible expenses.
- Add the costs the scale does not cover: tolls, parking and interest on a loan taken out to buy the vehicle, in proportion to work use and with supporting documents.
What the scale already covers
The scale is a flat rate: it includes vehicle depreciation, servicing and repairs, tyres, fuel (including electricity), insurance, as well as helmets and protective gear for two-wheelers. You therefore cannot additionally deduct a garage bill or a tank of fuel. If the car is leased, the lease payments cannot be added to the scale either. When car-sharing, only the share that remains payable by you after splitting the costs is deductible.
The scale remains optional: you can declare your expenses at their actual amount if they are higher and documented, but the deduction is then capped at the amount the scale would give for the maximum horsepower it takes into account.
Declaring and documenting
Enter the total of your expenses on the “Frais réels” (actual expenses) line of your income tax return and specify, in an attached note, the nature and amount of each expense. If your employer reimbursed part of these expenses, add those reimbursements to your taxable salary. Do not attach any supporting documents, but keep them for 3 years: the tax authorities may ask for the registration certificate, purchase and servicing invoices, the insurance contract and any evidence of the mileage and frequency of journeys, even for less than 40 km.
Frequently asked questions
Has the mileage scale gone up for 2025 income?
No. The scale set by the order of 27 March 2023 has been renewed unchanged, without any new text, for the third consecutive year.
I live 60 km from my workplace: can I deduct everything?
Only if you can show special circumstances explaining that distance. Otherwise, the deduction is limited to the first 40 kilometres of each journey.
My car is rated 9 CV: which scale applies?
The one for 7 CV and above. The car scale is capped at 7 CV, whatever the vehicle’s actual horsepower.
Are tolls and parking included in the scale?
No. They are added to the amount calculated with the scale, as is the interest on a car loan, provided they are documented.
How do I know whether actual expenses are worth it?
Compare the total of your documented expenses with 10% of your salary. The official simulator referenced by Service Public does the calculation; for a specific case, contact your tax office.
Sources
- Impôt sur le revenu – Frais professionnels : forfait ou frais réels (déduction) — Service Public, 2026-04-15
- Barèmes d'évaluation forfaitaire du prix de revient kilométrique applicables aux automobiles et aux deux-roues motorisés — BOFiP-Impôts (DGFiP), 2023-07-20
- Déduction des frais réels : frais de déplacement et frais de repas — BOFiP-Impôts (DGFiP), 2017-02-24
- Impôts 2026 : le barème kilométrique est gelé pour la 3e année consécutive — MoneyVox, 2026-04-09