Field help: (2018) Income from subletting of rental rooms

Tick this box if you have earned income from subletting (e.g. via Airbnb, 9flats or wimdu) of rented rooms in 2018.

If you rent out separate rooms in your own or rented apartment, then you generally earn income from renting and leasing, which must be stated in the tax return.

However, you only have to pay tax on the profit you have made. To calculate the surplus, you need to contrast the rental income with the rental expenses that you had for subletting and that you are allowed to deduct.

An exception exists only in the case of temporary letting of single rooms. For reasons of simplification, rental income of less than 520 Euro per assessment period may remain untaxed (R 21.2, para. 1 of the German Income Tax Regulations (EStR)). However, the amount of 520 Euro is not a tax-free amount but an exemption limit, i.e. if your rental income exceeds this amount by only one Euro, you must declare and pay tax on all income in your tax return.

If income from subletting is concealed or no tax return is submitted, this is considered tax evasion. Tax offences can be punished retroactively for up to 10 years.