Vehicle Costs for Sole Proprietors

Who this article is for

Itemized deduction of vehicle operating costs only matters to sole proprietors taxed under vállalkozói szja. For an flat-rate taxed (átalányadó) proprietor, the statutory cost ratio already covers the cost of operating a vehicle, so none of the itemized methods below apply.

This article covers operating costs, fuel, maintenance, repair, and refurbishment, for a personal car that's your own property (or held under a closed-end lease, or owned by a close relative). For deducting the vehicle's purchase price via depreciation or the flat-rate amortization alternative, see the fixed assets article.

The mileage log as a precondition

A vehicle cost can only be deducted if it's backed by a mileage log (útnyilvántartás): only trips actually made for business purposes can be entered, private trips can't. The log must record

• the vehicle's type and license plate,
• the fuel consumption norm used,
• the odometer reading on the first and last day of the year,
• the date and purpose of each trip (where to and from),
• the business partners visited, and
• the number of kilometers driven on public roads.

Fuel cost: norm-based or by receipt

Fuel cost can be deducted in one of two ways:

• using the consumption norm set by government decree (by vehicle type, or by engine displacement, your choice) multiplied by the fuel price NAV publishes monthly, with no receipts needed, or
• based on the actual fuel receipts.

You can only choose one method per quarter, applied consistently across all your vehicles; you can't switch mid-quarter. As of January 1, 2026, though, you can choose a different method for each vehicle group, internal-combustion, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric, rather than one method for every vehicle. If you deduct the VAT on fuel under the general rules, the NAV-price-based norm can't be used at all: only the itemized, receipt-based method applies in that case.

Maintenance, repair, and refurbishment cost

Maintenance, repair, and refurbishment costs backed by receipts can be deducted in proportion to business use. A simpler alternative is the flat 15 HUF per kilometer general passenger-car norm cost. You must pick one of the two methods for the whole tax year; you can't switch partway through.

The monthly 500 km flat rate

Instead of keeping a mileage log, a sole proprietor can also choose to deduct a flat amount corresponding to 500 kilometers a month of business use of their own car, regardless of how many vehicles they operate. This method can only be applied for the whole tax year, or the whole duration of the activity; you can't switch back to log-based deduction partway through the year. If you choose it, fuel cost is calculated from the norm quantity and the NAV-published price, and maintenance cost from the 15 HUF-per-km norm cost above, and you owe no company car tax for the months you claim this cost.

When does company car tax apply?

If you deduct costs for your own car's business use based on an itemized mileage log, that triggers company car tax (cégautóadó). Choosing the monthly 500 km flat rate, or not deducting any vehicle cost at all, doesn't trigger it. Company car tax itself depends on the vehicle's power and environmental class; see NAV information booklet no. 31 for details.

A rented or leased vehicle

If the vehicle isn't your property (you rent it, or hold it under an open-end lease), the documented rental or lease fee can be deducted in proportion to business use, with the limit that for a passenger car this cost can't exceed 1% of annual revenue in total. That cap doesn't apply to proprietors in the business of renting out cars or providing passenger transport, where the vehicle is directly the tool of the activity. Fuel and other receipt-based costs are deductible the same way as above.

Highway vignette

The cost of a highway vignette can be deducted, during its validity period and backed by the mileage log, in proportion to the business-purpose kilometers driven on the toll road.

This article is for general information only, does not constitute tax advice. Source: the Personal Income Tax Act, 1995. évi CXVII. törvény, primarily annex 3 (net.jogtar.hu), and NAV information booklet no. 8, "A gépjárművek üzemeltetésével kapcsolatos költségek elszámolása" (2026. 01. 30.).

Last updated: July 31, 2026.