Household-related employment relationships and services - tax consideration

Source: BUS Rheinland-Pfalz

You can deduct the costs of the following services from your tax bill:

Household-related employment
household-related services
Nursing and care services
Use of handyman services

Household-related employment

You employ a person who, for example

cleans your home,
prepares meals in your household or
looks after your children.

The tax benefits vary depending on how the household-related activity is carried out:

For marginal employment: 20 percent of your expenses, up to a maximum of 510 euros per year.
For employment subject to social insurance contributions: 20 percent of your expenses, up to a maximum of 4,000 euros per year.

Household-related services

In the case of household-related services, you commission a company or agency to carry out tasks that the members of your private household usually do themselves. These include

Cleaning the home
Garden maintenance work (e.g. lawn mowing, hedge trimming)
Preparation of meals in the household and
Services for privately arranged removals

The tax reduction amounts to 20 percent of your expenses, up to a maximum of 4,000 euros per year.

Nursing and care costs

If you make use of nursing and care services for people in need of care, you can also claim the tax reduction for household-related services. Either the person in need of care or their relatives are entitled to the tax reduction. It depends on who pays for the care or support services.

Handyman services

The subsidized craft activities include, for example

Work on interior and exterior walls
Work on the roof, facade, garages or similar
Painting/varnishing doors, windows (inside and outside), wall cupboards, radiators and pipes
Repair or replacement of floor coverings (e.g. carpeting, parquet, tiles)
Repair, maintenance or replacement of heating systems, electrical, gas and water installations
Repair and maintenance of items in the taxpayer's household (e.g. washing machine, built-in oven)
Garden landscaping measures

Note: It does not matter whether the expenditure is for maintenance or construction. You cannot deduct work carried out as part of a new building project.

The eligible expenses include

Labor or wage costs and
invoiced machine and travel costs.

You cannot deduct the cost of delivered goods or materials from your tax bill. The proportion of labor costs must be shown separately on the invoice.

The tax reduction for these expenses is 20 percent, up to a maximum of 1,200 euros per year.

You are entitled to claim if you

are the employer in the case of household-related employment.
are the client of a household-related service or tradesman service.

The services must be provided in your household within the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA).

Note: As a tenant or member of a condominium community, you can also deduct such services from your tax bill. The same applies if you run an independent, self-contained household in a care home.

You cannot claim the tax reduction twice as a married couple, it is household-related. The expenses are attributed to the spouse who has borne them. Upon joint application, half of the expenses can be deducted. In the case of a joint assessment, the division is irrelevant.

Two single people living together in the same household can only claim the maximum amount of tax relief once. In this case, the division is based on who has borne the respective expenses. You can also make a joint agreement.

In the income tax assessment notice, the respective reduction amounts are deducted directly from the standard income tax liability.

In addition to the income tax return, the tax office may request the submission of the following documents:

for household-related employment relationships (e.g. for mini-jobs as part of the household check procedure): Certificate from Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See
for household-related services and craftsmen's services:
- Invoice
- Proof of payment by bank transfer or crossed cheque
for nursing and care services:
- Certificate (e.g. benefit notification) from the social care insurance fund or private care insurance company
- Proof of payment by bank transfer or crossed check

Note: Cash payments and cash cheques cannot be accepted.

The application is made as part of the income tax return in the household-related expenses annex.

Electronic applications and forms can be created and submitted free of charge via the online portal of the tax authorities (ELSTER).

Paper forms for income tax returns are available from all tax offices in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The forms are also available in the Forms Management System (FMS) of the Federal Tax Administration for download.

Household-related employment relationships and services - tax consideration

Who should I contact?

Requirements

Which documents are required?

What are the fees?

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

Legal basis

Appeal

Professionally released on