Household service
The household-related service is a term from German income tax law . The cost of such a service can lead to a tax reduction. The legal basis can be found in § 35a EStG .
Household service
Household service is an activity that is usually carried out by members of the private household and for which a service agency or an independent service provider is used instead, e.g. B .:
- Cleaning of the apartment (e.g. by employees of a service agency or a self-employed window cleaner),
- Garden maintenance work (e.g. mowing the lawn, cutting hedge. The creation of a new garden is also tax-privileged, but according to Section 35a, Paragraph 3 of the Income Tax Act - use of craftsmen's services for renovation, maintenance and modernization measures)
- Childcare costs (if not included as special expenses)
- Care and support services in private households (e.g. by a care service)
- Home accommodation (only costs comparable to domestic help are deductible).
- Pet care and care
In the case of household-related services, on application (e.g. in the income tax return), 20% of the wage costs that the taxpayer has paid to one or more service providers, up to a maximum of 4,000 euros, can be deducted from the tax to be paid (i.e. not from the taxable income, but directly from the tax amount). This is only allowed if invoices are available and the labor costs have been transferred through a bank (no cash payments).
The deduction as a household-related employment relationship, when registering as a marginal employee via the Federal Miners' Union ( household check procedure ) , has priority. All other services, including wages for employees with compulsory contributions to statutory social insurance, are considered as household-related services.
Personal services (e.g. hairdressing or beautician services) are not household-related services, even if they are provided in the taxpayer's household.
Time of withdrawal
The expenses are taken into account in the year in which they are incurred and paid. An invoice from December 2010 that is only paid in January 2011 is therefore only deductible in the 2011 income tax return .
Apartment owners can only claim the full expenses later in the year in which the annual statement was approved by the owners' meeting. The same applies to the tenant's utility bill. For details, see Item 47 of the BMF letter of 9 November 2016.
Place of household
The household must be in Germany, within the EU or the EEA . The domestic household also includes a second, weekend or holiday home actually used by the taxpayer.
According to the judgment of the Federal Fiscal Court , a household is "the management of several people (in a family) living together or a single person". Such a household could "in principle also be run by the resident of a residential building" and justify a right to a tax reduction for household-related services.
The maximum amounts mentioned apply to households and not to individuals. If several single persons live together in one household, they can only claim the maximum amounts once. However, the employment of a close relative (spouse, non-marital partner, parent or child) living in the same household is not recognized as a tax deductible.
Payment method
An invoice must be issued for the services and the payment must be made cashless (e.g. bank transfer, direct debit, crossed check); this is intended to ensure taxation for the recipient and counteract illegal employment. From 2008, according to the law, proof of this must only be presented to the tax office on request.
Subordinate deduction
The deduction is excluded if the expenses belong to the operating expenses , advertising expenses , special expenses or extraordinary charges .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ BFH, judgment of July 13, 2011 , Az. VI R 61/10, full text - no household-related service.
- ↑ BFH, September 3, 2015, AZ VI R 13/15
- ↑ Tax reduction for expenses for household-related employment and for the use of household-related services (§ 35a EStG); Revision of the BMF letter of January 10, 2014 (BStBl I 2014 page 75). (PDF; 220 kB) Federal Ministry of Finance, November 9, 2016, p. 37 , accessed on November 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Saving taxes: How to use the tax office as a domestic help . In: Welt Online . May 5, 2012, accessed November 7, 2017 .
