Mileage allowance
Flat-rate employer reimbursement for business use of a personal vehicle, computed from the annual French tax scale (barème kilométrique).
Definition
Mileage allowances (indemnités kilométriques in France) are the flat-rate reimbursement paid by an employer to an employee who uses their personal vehicle for a business trip. The amount is calculated from a scale published every year by the French tax authority, which factors in the vehicle’s fiscal horsepower (in CV) and the distance travelled. This flat rate removes the need to produce fuel receipts.
In detail
The mileage scale applies to cars, motorcycles and mopeds. For cars, it takes the form of a two-component formula, by annual mileage bracket (up to 5,000 km, 5,001 to 20,000 km, above 20,000 km) and by fiscal-horsepower step (3 CV, 4 CV, 5 CV, 6 CV, 7 CV and above). The exact coefficients are revalued each year by the tax authority and published on impots.gouv.fr; they must not be extrapolated.
Three principles govern the use of this flat rate:
- The reimbursement is exempt from social contributions as long as it respects the official scale. Any excess is added back to the contribution base.
- For the employee, the allowance is a matter of choice: keep the standard 10% flat deduction, or opt to deduct actual expenses up to the scale.
- The flat rate already includes a fuel compensation: the company cannot, in parallel, recover the VAT on that fuel. That is the central trade-off between a fuel card and mileage allowances.
The scale’s coefficients are revalued every year. For the exact value applicable to a given financial year, consult the current version published by the tax authority rather than a frozen table that would become obsolete.
Frequently asked questions
Are mileage allowances subject to social contributions?
No, within the limit of the official mileage scale. The fraction reimbursed beyond the scale is added back to the contribution base. Sticking to the scale therefore guarantees the social exemption without having to justify the actual expense.
Is a receipt required for mileage allowances?
No fuel receipt: that is the point of the flat rate. However, the company must keep the elements that justify the business trip (date, purpose, distance travelled) in order to answer an audit. Only the distance and the fiscal horsepower feed the calculation.
Related terms
- Expense report, the mileage flat rate is declared in the same loop as other expenses
- VAT on fuel, the recovery mechanism incompatible with the flat-rate scale
- Sustainable mobility allowance, another exempt allowance, dedicated to soft-mode travel
