(2024) Caution: Household services are not always deductible

Costs that you have already declared as income-related expenses, business expenses, special expenses, or extraordinary expenses in your tax return cannot also be deducted as household-related services.

You cannot choose how to deduct the costs. If the costs are considered income-related expenses or special expenses, they must be declared as such, the same applies to extraordinary expenses. This applies, for example, to childcare costs, which cannot be deducted as household-related services, even if the maximum amount for childcare costs has already been exceeded.

Also, personal services, such as for a hairdresser or cosmetic treatment, are not considered household-related services, even if they take place in your home.

Services listed in the care insurance service catalogue can, however, be declared.

Not eligible are works carried out outside your private household, for example, if you take your laundry to a dry cleaner.

Craftsman services for which you receive insurance benefits (e.g., household or building insurance) cannot be claimed in the tax return. Insurance benefits that you will receive later must also be included.

There is also no tax deduction for household-related services that do not take place in your private household. This includes, for example, the cleaning of an off-site office, a second home, or your company. Such expenses are considered business expenses or income-related expenses. However, costs for a cleaning help who works both in a home office and in your private home can be proportionately divided. The business part is considered business expenses or income-related expenses, the private part as household-related services.

If household-related services are carried out both on private property and on public land, this activity is entirely tax-favoured according to a BFH ruling. This applies, for example, to snow clearing on public pavements, but not on public roads. The costs for winter service in front of your own property are therefore deductible at 20 percent from the tax liability (BFH ruling of 20.3.2014, VI R 55/12).

However, in 2020, the BFH ruled that expenses for street cleaning in front of the property are not tax-favoured as household-related services according to § 35a para. 2 sentence 1 EStG (BFH ruling of 13.5.2020, VI R 4/18).

Recently, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the following overview regarding the BFH's case law (BMF letter of 1.9.2021, IV C 8 - S 2296-b/21/10002 :001):

 

Measure	Eligible	Not eligible	Household-related service
Street cleaning
– Roadway		X
– Pavement	X		X
Winter service
– Roadway		X
– Pavement	X		X

 

Furthermore, the BMF states: For craftsman services provided by public authorities that benefit not only individual households but all households involved in the public measures, a benefit under § 35a EStG is excluded. There is no spatial-functional connection between the craftsman services and the household of the individual property owner. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the general supply network or the development of a road. This position corresponds to the BFH ruling of 28.4.2020 (VI R 50/17).