Apply for income tax reduction

Some expenses can reduce your income tax. The tax office takes them into account after the end of the respective calendar year when assessing your income tax.

Expenses that are likely to be incurred in the calendar year can be recognised in advance as an allowance in the electronic wage tax deduction features.

Note: This entry reduces the wage tax that the employer must withhold from your wages.

The following expenses are eligible for an allowance:

• Income-related expenses from employment, if these exceed the lump sum of 1,230 euros, for example:
  • Work equipment (e.g. specialist literature, tools, typical work clothing)
  • Travelling expenses (e.g. travel costs, accommodation costs, additional meal expenses in the case of work away from home), unless these are reimbursed tax-free by your employer
  • Journeys to work (so-called commuting allowance)
  • Daily allowance for professional activities in the home office/ home office
• Special expenses
  • Contributions
    • to a foreign basic health and long-term care insurance scheme
    • to self-help organisations/solidarity associations within the meaning of § 176 SGB V
    • to the health insurance scheme for federal railway employees (KVB)

any tax-free allowance paid by the employer in accordance with § 3 No. 62 EStG must be deducted:

• Special expenses if these exceed the lump sum of 36 euros for single persons and 72 euros for spouses/life partners, for example:
  • Maintenance payments to divorced or permanently separated spouses, to civil partners following the dissolution of a civil partnership or to a permanently separated civil partner
  • under certain conditions, lifelong and recurring pension benefits as well as compensation payments to avoid a pension equalisation and compensation payments within the framework of pension equalisation
  • church tax paid in certain cases
  • Expenses for first-time vocational training or a first degree course up to EUR 6,000 per year
  • proven childcare costs amounting to 80% of the expenses, up to a maximum of EUR 4,800 per child belonging to the household
• Extraordinary expenses, for example
  • Allowance for the special needs of a child in vocational training
  • Support payments to needy relatives
  • Lump sum for the disabled
• Other allowances, for example negative income from:
  • Commercial, freelance or agricultural activity
  • Losses from a rented property. You can have the allowance taken into account for the first time in the calendar year following the acquisition or completion of the rented property.
• in exceptional cases: Child allowances and allowances for childcare, education or training needs.

If an allowance has been created as ELStAM, you must submit an income tax return to the tax office at the end of the calendar year if you have exceeded a certain income threshold.

The income threshold is calculated as the sum of the basic allowance, the employee lump sum and the special expenses lump sum. In the case of spouses/life partners, the basic allowance and the lump sum for special expenses are doubled. The Federal Ministry of Finance will make the new salary limits for the individual calendar years available on its website.

There is no reason for compulsory assessment if only the lump sum for disabled persons, the lump sum for surviving dependants or a relief amount for single parents has been taken into account.