Flat rate wage tax

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The wage tax flat rate is a simplification procedure in German wage tax law , regulated in § 40 to § 40b EStG , according to which it is permissible in a number of cases to levy the wage tax for taxable wages . This tax is also called a flat rate or definitive tax .

In many cases, flat-rate wages have different advantages over regular taxation. For the employer, the calculation, withholding and payment of wage tax according to the individual taxation characteristics of the individual employee is associated with considerable difficulties and considerable work and costs. For reasons of simplification, it is therefore legally permitted to pay wage tax at a flat rate in certain cases. H. regardless of individual characteristics. A distinction is made between a statutory tax rate (between 2.00% and 30.00%, possibly plus annex taxes ) and a company-specific tax rate .

The applying company also has an interest in flat-rate taxation vis-à-vis other employees than its own. Otherwise, the recipient of the grant would be obliged to tax the grant himself. However, that would make the donation considerably less attractive. The tax literature therefore sometimes speaks of a poisoned gift if the lump sum is not applied.

The advantage of the flat rate is not only the simplification of the procedure, in particular the dispensability of an eTIN ( Section 41b (6) EStG), but above all a considerable tax advantage if the employee receives other income and he receives this with a higher marginal tax rate must pay tax. For the employer, the elimination of the employer's contribution to social security can result in almost cost neutrality or even cost savings.

Additionality requirement

In cases in which the flat rate relates to earmarked services (e.g. a travel or internet allowance), it is often a legal requirement that the flat-rate wage component is paid in addition to the wages owed anyway . Since a ruling in August 2019 , the Federal Fiscal Court understands this to mean that part of wages that is earmarked for use or for a specific purpose. In contrast, the wages owed anyway are the wages that are paid by the employer without being earmarked for a specific purpose. Before this ruling, the court and the tax authorities were of the opinion that a lump sum could only be made for what the employer voluntarily paid over and above the wages owed. By eliminating this requirement, it has become easier to use the cheap wage tax flat rate. This is because it is now possible to agree to a wage conversion in which an employee waives part of his gross wage and instead is entitled to a preferential benefit in kind (e.g. a trip or internet allowance). In this way, the tax base is withdrawn from the individual marginal tax rate and instead taxed at the usually much lower flat rate.

Overview of the flat-rate wage tax rates

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Wolfersdorff, ifst -Schrift 522 (2018), p. 54.
  2. ↑ See § 40 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 No. 5 or § 40 Paragraph 2 Sentence 2 EStG
  3. ↑ See Bundesfinanzhof, judgment of 1.8.2019, VI R 32/18 , NJW 2019, 3470.