(2023) What donations are not tax-deductible?

The tax officer does not accept every donation and membership fee as a special expense.

Here are some examples:

The judge orders the defendant to pay a fixed amount to a charitable organisation. The convicted person cannot, of course, deduct this "involuntary" donation from tax, as it is not voluntary and not without consideration.

Membership fees for sports clubs cannot be deducted by the taxpayer.

Contributions to carnival, local heritage, animal breeding or singing clubs are also not recognised by the tax office.

However, there is a new development: If you belong to a club that is involved in nature, welfare, gender, animal or monument protection, you may deduct both your donations and membership fees from tax.

Membership fees to clubs promoting the following purposes are not deductible: Sport, cultural activities for leisure purposes (e.g. singing, music, theatre clubs), local heritage and folklore, animal and plant breeding, allotments, traditional customs including carnival, soldiers' and reservists' support, amateur radio, model flying and dog sports.

Club A promotes science and research, while Club B also promotes sport according to its statutes. Donations and membership fees to Club A are deductible as special expenses, but for Club B only donations are deductible, not membership fees. The decisive factor is the entry of the club's purpose in the statutes, not the actual activities of the club.

 

The Federal Fiscal Court has recently ruled that membership fees to clubs primarily serving leisure activities cannot be deducted as special expenses in income tax. This also applies if, for example, a music club promotes another purpose in addition to "cultural activities for personal benefit", such as musical training, cultural and church music events, music festivals and music competitions (BFH ruling of 28.9.2022, X R 7/21).