Driver's Logbook Template (Fahrtenbuch)

The driver's logbook – German: Fahrtenbuch – documents every trip a vehicle makes: when, from where to where, for what purpose, and with which odometer readings. For company cars it decides whether private use is taxed based on actual trips instead of the flat-rate 1% rule (1-%-Regelung) – worthwhile above all when private use is low. With this free template you record every trip on a structured monthly sheet.

What must a logbook record per trip?

Every single trip needs these details – the template has a dedicated column for each:

• Date of the trip
• Odometer reading at the start and end of the trip
• Starting point and destination, plus the route taken in case of detours
• Purpose of the trip and the business partners or customers visited
• Classification as business or private – for private trips the mileage figures suffice, for commutes between home and workplace a short note is enough
• Name of the driver if several people use the vehicle

When does the tax office accept a logbook?

Honesty matters here: for German tax purposes only a proper logbook (ordnungsgemäßes Fahrtenbuch) counts – kept contemporaneously, without gaps, and in a closed form. Loose sheets and plain Excel spreadsheets fail that test because entries can be changed later without a trace; Germany's Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) has repeatedly rejected Excel logbooks. Electronic logbooks are accepted only if subsequent changes are technically impossible or at least fully documented.

For tax use, print the template and keep it bound or stapled, handwritten, and up to date. The Excel version with sum formulas works as a calculation aid and for internal fleet documentation – not as tax evidence.

Paper or digital?

One monthly sheet per vehicle works – until the fleet grows. Then sheets pile up, odometer readings go missing, and nobody remembers which driver had which vehicle when. Trips, drivers, and vehicle assignments run along digitally in Maxmove TMS – the paperwork around fleet documentation disappears. It does not replace a tax-recognized logbook, though; the formal requirements above still apply. Also record odometer readings at vehicle changes in the handover protocol.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if the logbook has gaps? Minor flaws are harmless as long as the entries remain plausible overall. With larger gaps the tax office rejects the entire logbook – then the 1% rule applies automatically, usually the more expensive option.

Is a logbook in Excel allowed? As tax evidence, no: a spreadsheet can be changed retroactively and has no closed form. For internal purposes such as cost control or vehicle utilization, Excel is perfectly fine.

When is an electronic logbook accepted? When the software rules out manipulation: entries must be made promptly, and subsequent changes must be technically impossible or at least logged without gaps.

Who has to keep a logbook at all? For tax purposes, nobody – it is the alternative to the 1% rule. It only becomes mandatory through an official logbook order (Fahrtenbuchauflage) under § 31a StVZO, for example when the driver could not be identified after a traffic violation; then the authority's requirements apply.