(2022) Requirements for all tax reductions

The service must have been performed in the taxpayer's household. This condition is not met, for example, in the case of

• care and support for sick, elderly, and dependent persons in a day care facility,
• repair of household items at the repair company's premises,
• waste collection (the processing or disposal of waste takes place outside the household)

The household must be located in the European Union or the European Economic Area. If the taxpayer's expenses relate to several households (e.g. main residence and holiday home), the maximum amount is deductible only once in total.

Not eligible are expenses that have already been taken into account for tax reduction under other provisions of the Income Tax Act as business expenses, income-related expenses, special expenses, or extraordinary burdens.

Special feature for apartment owners: Apartment owners who use their apartment themselves receive the tax reduction even if the community or the administrator is the employer or client. This is done proportionally according to their co-ownership share.

 

The costs for waste collection are currently not considered as household-related services in the tax return. The tax authorities rely on an old ruling by the Cologne Fiscal Court dated 26.1.2011 (4 K 1483/10, EFG 2011 p. 978 no. 11).

The reasoning is said to be that the main service is not performed within the property boundaries of the taxpayers. The actual service is not the collection of the waste, but its subsequent disposal and processing. The emptying and transport of the waste are merely ancillary services. The Münster Fiscal Court has currently confirmed this view but has explicitly allowed an appeal, which is already pending (judgment of 24.2.2022, 6 K 1946/21 E, appeal under VI R 8/22).