Inflow principle
The inflow principle is a principle of German income tax law , according to which income is to be assigned for tax purposes to the calendar year in which it was received. The corresponding outflow principle accordingly stipulates that expenses are to be recognized in the calendar year in which they were made.
The inflow principle also exists in other areas of law. For SGB II , d. H. the question of when and how income is offset against unemployment benefit II ("Hartz IV") is regulated in Alg II-V .
The inflow principle, which is based on the actual time of receipt or expenditure, must be strictly separated from the realization principle , which is based on the time of economic cause.
Purpose of the regulation
The income tax is periodically generated and assessed tax d. H. the tax bases and the tax must always be determined for one calendar year . For the allocation of the income to the respective assessment year, a regulation for the chronological recording of income and expenses is required.
Inflow time
A sum of money has accrued when economic control over it has been obtained. When paying by check , the amount accrued when the check was received.
Time of discharge
The time of performance for the expenditure side is determined in accordance with Section 11 (2) sentence 1 EStG. A sum of money has flowed out when the performer has done everything necessary to effect the service. The point in time for a check payment is when it is handed over to the post office or when it is dropped in the recipient's mailbox. The outflow for a transfer occurs at the time the transfer order is submitted to the bank, provided the account has sufficient funds or a corresponding credit line is available.
Exceptions to the principle
As an exception to the inflow and outflow principle, the law determines the allocation of inflows and outflows to the year to which they economically belong. This applies if the payments are regularly recurring and these flow shortly before or after the turn of the year. The case law understands this to be a period of ten days and requires that the due date and inflow or outflow be within this period. Section 11 (1) sentence 4 of the EStG refers to an exception to the inflow principle for the wage tax procedure, which serves to simplify matters . Contrary to the inflow / outflow principle from § 11 EStG, § 7 EStG, the deduction for wear and tear , according to the economic goods under certain conditions, stands anti-periodically as income-related expenses ( § 9 para. 1 sentence 3 No. 7 EStG) or operating expenses ( § 4 Paragraph 4 of the Income Tax Act).
