Expense donation
In German tax law, an expense donation is a tax-deductible waiver of the payment of a reimbursement claim.
In the case of the expense donation , in certain, narrowly defined circumstances to promote tax-privileged purposes, a waiver of a claim to reimbursement of expenses according to Section 10b (3) EStG is tax-deductible without any cash flow taking place. However, it must be a serious claim; the tax authorities therefore require that the claim has been determined in advance (e.g. that it has been contractually established in advance or is based on a previous general resolution of the corporation) and that it is waived only afterwards, that the corporation is solvent accordingly and that the waiver is promptly declared (in writing) when the claim arises. Furthermore, the amount of the reimbursement must be reasonable and the expense donation - like any other donation - must be voluntary and free of charge. For the expense donation , the person concerned receives a donation receipt for the corresponding amount, which must then be submitted with the income tax return.
As an alternative to the expense donation , a donor can first have the expenses reimbursed and then make a (voluntary) monetary donation to the receiving body , for which he then receives a donation confirmation.
- Differentiation from the waiver of usage or service fees
According to Section 10b of the Income Tax Act, a waiver of remuneration for use (such as the free provision of rooms) and services (such as an agreed paid work) is not an expense donation. Rather, a subsequent, voluntary waiver of the agreed consideration to which the claim existed is considered a monetary donation. The donor receives a donation receipt for this.
Both an expense donation and a waiver of usage or service fees are sometimes referred to colloquially as a "return donation"; In both cases, only the subsequent, voluntary waiver counts as a donation for tax purposes.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Monika Jachmann (Ed.): Charitable. (PDF, 50 MB) German Tax Law Society, 2003, accessed on January 20, 2020 .
- ↑ a b New regulation of the donation law. Archbishop's Ordinariate Berlin, accessed on February 1, 2014 .
