How do you count working days for French real expenses?
For French real expenses, separate working days from commute days. Mileage expenses should be calculated only on the days when you actually travelled between home and work.
Good to know :
This answer helps you understand a topic or make an estimate, but it is not a substitute for professional advice. For any important decision regarding your health, finances, rights, safety or administrative procedures, please consult an official source or a qualified specialist.
Explanation
Counting days is a sensitive step because an error can distort the whole real expenses calculation.
Start by reconstructing your working year: on-site days, telework days, paid leave, RTT days, sick leave, non-worked public holidays and other absences.
For transportation expenses, do not count every working day. What matters is the number of days when you actually travelled between home and work. A telework day may count as a working day, but it should not be counted as a commute day.
The right method is to create two separate numbers: your working days and your commute days. This second number is used to calculate home-to-work mileage.
Formula / method
Commute days = working days - telework days - days without travel
Home-to-work mileage = commute days × round-trip distance
Concrete example
You worked 218 days during the year, including 76 telework days and 4 exceptional days without travel.
Commute days: 218 - 76 - 4 = 138 days
If your home-to-work round trip is 34 km, your commute mileage is: 138 × 34 = 4,692 km.
Common mistake
Do not mechanically start from 365 days. For home-to-work commuting, reason in actual commute days, not calendar days.
Sources & methodology
- impots.gouv.fr — Frais de transport: home-to-work expenses, distance, supporting documents and keeping calculation evidence.
- impots.gouv.fr — Je déclare mes frais professionnels: real expenses option, professional expense calculation and requirement to justify amounts.
- Outilo methodology: distinction between working days, on-site days, telework days and commute days.
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