(2022) When do I have my own household?

A prerequisite for the tax recognition of a second household is that you maintain your own household at your place of origin. The household is a furnished flat that forms your centre of life and where you maintain your household. You must use the flat as an owner, tenant, or through a joint or derived right of use (e.g. sharing your partner's flat). For married couples, the own household is usually always where the family lives.

If you are single, the recognition of your own household plays an important role in the deductibility of costs for a second household. It is not sufficient if you occupy a room in your parents' house or flat, even if you contribute to the rent. What is necessary is your own furnished flat, used as an owner, tenant, or subtenant. You must maintain a household there, i.e. determine or significantly co-determine the household management. If you can prove at least two journeys home per month, it is generally assumed that this is your centre of life. Since 2014, it has been required that you contribute financially to the cost of living in your own household.