(2022) Who can claim funeral expenses on their tax return?

Death certificates, funerals, obituaries, and gravesites cost money. If the inheritance is less than the funeral expenses, bereaved family members can deduct the costs from their taxes.

Funeral expenses for a close relative can be claimed for tax purposes as exceptional expenses under certain circumstances.

You can only deduct funeral expenses as exceptional expenses if you are legally obliged to cover the costs or have voluntarily paid them for moral reasons and the estate is insufficient.

If the estate is greater than the funeral expenses, a deduction is not possible. A payout from a funeral expenses insurance policy also reduces the funeral costs.

If all this applies, the proven costs (i.e. submit invoices) can be claimed as exceptional expenses. However, the reasonable personal burden is deducted.

Tip: Funeral benefits paid to the heir do not reduce the deductible exceptional expenses if they are taxable. Otherwise, the bereaved would be doubly disadvantaged for tax purposes. This was the decision of the Düsseldorf Fiscal Court on 15.6.2020 (11 K 2024/18 E).