Childcare costs

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Regulation from 2012

From 2012, childcare costs can be deducted as special expenses in accordance with Section 10 (1) No. 5 EStG for children up to the age of 14, up to a maximum of € 4,000 per child . There is no age limit for children who are unable to support themselves because of a disability.

Compared to the regulation valid until 2011, the previously applicable distinction between employment-related and non-employment-related childcare costs is no longer applicable.

Regulation 2006 to 2011

Of the expenses for services to care for a child belonging to the taxpayer's household , two thirds, but a maximum of € 4,000 per child,

  • a) when determining income from agriculture and forestry , income from commercial operations or income from self-employed work such as business expenses and when determining income from non-self-employed work such as income-related expenses are deducted if the expenses were incurred due to gainful employment of the taxpayer and the child the Had not yet reached the age of 14 or was unable to support himself due to a physical, mental or emotional handicap that occurred before the age of 25 . In order to be able to use this regulation, the other spouse had to be employed in the case of married persons.
  • b) are deducted as special expenses if the child had not yet reached the age of 14 or was physically unable to support themselves due to a physical, mental or emotional disability occurring before the age of 25 and the taxpayer was in training was mentally or mentally handicapped or ill. In the case of parents living together, this only applied if both parents met the requirements or if one parent was employed and the other parent was in training or was physically, mentally or mentally disabled or ill. If the care expenses were incurred due to illness, the illness had to have existed within a continuous period of at least three months, unless the illness occurred immediately after employment or training .
  • c) are deducted as special expenses if, in the case of parents living together, only one parent was employed or both were not employed. In this case, childcare costs were allowed for children who had reached the age of 3 but not yet completed the age of 6 (i.e. 3, 4 or 5 years old) in accordance with Section 9c, Paragraph 2, Clause 4 of the Income Tax Act.

The full monthly costs were also allowed to be applied for months that started in which the child reached the lower or upper age limit.

Exclusion of a further deduction

Childcare expenses were primarily to be taken into account, such as operating expenses or advertising expenses ( Section 9c (1) EStG). If the prerequisites for this were not met, for example because a spouse was not gainfully employed, a deduction according to Section 9c (2) EStG was possible as special expenses (see above). If there were still childcare costs that could not be taken into account, a deduction as a household-related service could still be considered (for example for au pairs ).

Regulation until tax year 2005

For tax returns up to the tax year 2005, according to § 33c EStG old version, married parents could deduct up to € 1,500 per child, for unmarried or divorced parents up to € 750 per parent for each child as child care costs as an extraordinary burden .

The deductible childcare costs were not only limited by these maximum rates. According to the legal situation, the actual childcare costs had to be deducted from the costs that the parents considered reasonable ( advance deduction ). In the case of married parents, this was € 1,548 per child, in the case of unmarried or divorced parents € 774 per child.

In special cases (age, illness, disability), (additional) expenses (e.g. max. € 77 per month if there is a disability of at least 50% [as of 2004]) for domestic help - who can also look after the children - be invoked.

New legal situation through judgment of the BVerfG?

The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2005 that the requirement of horizontal tax equality and the prohibition of discrimination against parents vis-à-vis the childless forbids making a corresponding advance reduction in the applicable childcare costs. However, since the regulation of the child tax allowance for childcare, upbringing and training according to Section 32 (6) EStG was redesigned after the start of the procedure, the tax authorities now point out that there is no longer any reasonable personal contribution, but only an advance deduction , which is justified by the amount of the exemption.

Deductible childcare costs

Kindergarten fees (excluding play, food and drink money) are deductible according to the above regulations. Costs for child minders, homework supervision or au pairs are also deductible, but the costs may have to be apportioned in an estimated manner if normal housework is also done. Skill acquisition expenses (such as music lessons or a language course) are not deductible.

Employer subsidy

Subsidies for childcare costs granted by an employer are fully deductible as a business expense. As far as care costs for childcare in a kindergarten or a comparable day-care center are concerned for children not yet of compulsory schooling, the subsidies are also exempt from taxes and social insurance for the employee ( Section 3 No. 33 EStG). With effect from January 1, 2015, an employer's allowance for short-term “emergency care” is also tax-free, if it is necessary for compelling and job-related reasons, up to an amount of 600 euros per calendar year.

It is controversial to what extent the employee can claim the portion of the childcare costs to be borne by himself as a special expense in this case. In many cases, the tax offices reduce the childcare costs paid by the employer subsidies received.

See also: Company day nursery

Web links

(Attention: The following two web links do NOT refer to the legal situation in force since 2012, but to outdated regulations)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BVerfG, decision of March 16, 2005 , Az. 2 BvL 7/00, full text.
  2. ↑ Children and work: deduction of childcare costs. IHK Region Stuttgart, January 1, 2016, accessed on January 30, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Treatment of an employer's subsidy for childcare costs. haufe.de, August 6, 2015, accessed January 30, 2016 .