Vaccination centres: trainer's allowance or volunteer allowance for volunteers
The finance ministries of the federal and state governments have agreed on tax relief for voluntary helpers in vaccination centres. They can now benefit from the trainer's allowance or the volunteer allowance, which means that payments for certain activities are tax-free.
- Following the agreement between the federal and state governments, the trainer's allowance applies to all those directly involved in the vaccination process – such as in information sessions or administering the vaccine. This regulation applies to income in 2020 and 2021. The trainer's allowance was 2,400 Euro in 2020 and was increased to 3,000 Euro annually in 2021. Income from voluntary work is tax-free up to this amount.
- Those involved in the administration and organisation of vaccination centres can claim the volunteer allowance. For 2020, it was up to 720 Euro, and since 2021, up to 840 Euro is tax-free (Source: Ministry of Finance Baden-Württemberg, press release dated 15.02.2021).
Both the trainer's allowance and the volunteer allowance apply only to payments from part-time activities. This is usually the case if they do not exceed one-third of the working hours of a comparable full-time position per year. Part-time workers can also include those without a main occupation, such as students or pensioners.
Furthermore, the employer or client must be either a non-profit organisation or a legal entity under public law (such as the federal government, states, municipalities).
The trainer's allowance and the volunteer allowance are annual amounts granted once per calendar year. For various eligible activities, the income is combined.
(2021): Vaccination centres: trainer's allowance or volunteer allowance for volunteers
Which tax-free expense allowances do I need to declare?
If you have received tax-free expense allowances, please enter them here. This includes allowances received from public funds, a federal or state fund.
Employees often receive a tax-free expense allowance from a part-time job. This could be a role as an instructor, educator, trainer in the sports sector or as an artist such as a choir director or musician, and also as a carer for sick, elderly or disabled people. It must be an educational or caregiving role.
Payments for such a privileged part-time role are tax and social security-free up to 3,000 Euro (until 2020: 2,400 Euro). The condition for the tax benefit is that the role is part-time, carried out for a charitable organisation or a legal entity under public law, and serves charitable, benevolent or religious purposes.
The allowance of 3,000 Euro is granted per person only once, even if you have several eligible roles. It is therefore personal and not job-related. The allowance is an annual amount. Therefore, payments up to the maximum amount remain tax-free even if you do not carry out the eligible role for the entire year.
As a supporter of such an organisation, you can receive part or all of your expense allowance tax-free. Any amounts exceeding the allowance of 3,000 Euro must be taxed. If your expense allowance is less than 3,000 Euro, you can only claim the lower amount.
Example
Ms Meier teaches at a music school and receives 2,800 Euro annually for this. She also supervises a gymnastics group at the primary school and receives another 400 Euro per year for this. Both roles are tax-privileged under § 3 No. 26 EStG, but only up to a total of 3,000 Euro. Ms Meier must tax the remaining 200 Euro.
(2021): Which tax-free expense allowances do I need to declare?
When should I declare income as a cross-border commuter?
If you live in a border area and commute daily to work in a neighbouring country, you are a so-called cross-border commuter. Regarding your income, the following applies in most neighbouring countries: you must pay tax on your salary in the country where you work; the income remains tax-free in the country where you live. However, your foreign income is included in the progression clause and thus increases the tax rate for your other income.
The information must be provided in "Form N" and "Form N-AUS" or Form N-Gre. Form N-Gre concerns foreign income from employment for cross-border commuters from Baden-Württemberg to Austria, Switzerland, and France.
Tipp
If you are single, work as a cross-border commuter, and have no additional income in Germany, you do not need to worry about the progression clause in Germany.
Exceptions: For France, Austria, and Switzerland, a special cross-border commuter regulation applies under the respective double taxation agreement.
If you work in France or Austria, you do not have to pay taxes there but must declare the wages in your German tax return and pay tax as normal. Civil servants or public sector employees, however, pay tax on their income in the country where they work, as the principle of the paying state applies here.
If you work as a cross-border commuter in Switzerland, your employer may deduct a wage tax of 4.5 percent, which is credited against the tax in Germany. If you are a civil servant or public sector employee, you must pay tax on your income entirely in Germany.
Please note that during the coronavirus period, there are special regulations for cross-border commuters, as many employees are or were working from home and do not or did not commute daily (see also: Double taxation agreements and other agreements in the tax sector).
(2021): When should I declare income as a cross-border commuter?
What is the "Special Cross-Border Commuter Regulation"?
This regulation applies to commuters who live in Germany and commute to work in France, Austria, or Switzerland. This is regulated in the respective double taxation agreements. If you work in one of these countries, you must pay tax on your income in Germany and not in the country where you work. However, this only applies if your place of residence and work is in the border zone of the respective country. For France, the border zone is 20 km on either side of the border, for Austria it is 30 km. In Switzerland, there is no such border zone.
There was also a special cross-border commuter regulation with Belgium until 2003. However, since 2004, the general regulation applies. This means for cross-border commuters to Belgium: The salary is no longer taxed in the country of residence, Germany, but in the country of employment, Belgium. In Germany, the income is exempt from tax but included in the calculation of the tax rate. However, there is a special tax regulation for commuters from Belgium to Germany: Belgium as the country of residence exempts the wages taxed in Germany as the country of employment and only includes them in the calculation of the tax rate. However, this income is included in the Belgian municipal tax, which is an additional tax on income tax. To offset this Belgian municipal tax, German income and wage tax on this income is reduced by a flat rate of 8%.
(2021): What is the "Special Cross-Border Commuter Regulation"?
Who receives wages without tax deduction?
In the tax return, you must also enter wages in "Anlage N" from which no income tax was deducted. This applies to wages from a foreign employer that are taxable in Germany, as well as wages paid by third parties where the employer was not obliged to deduct income tax.
Tip
Such income without tax deduction may be eligible for hardship relief if it does not exceed 820 Euro.
Important: You do not need to enter a mini-job (450 Euro job) here. For this employment, the employer pays flat-rate taxes and social security contributions. The employee does not pay any taxes or contributions. You do not need to declare the income from the mini-job in the tax return.
However, it is also possible that the mini-job is taxed monthly according to income tax details (ELStAM). In this case, the mini-job must also be declared in the income tax return under “Employees > Income tax statements”. Your employer must provide you with an income tax statement in this case.
(2021): Who receives wages without tax deduction?
Do I need to declare my part-time job in my income tax return?
A mini job is a part-time employment (450-Euro job). This applies if the wages do not regularly exceed 450 Euro per month. When checking whether the earnings limit of 450 Euro per month is exceeded, the regular monthly wages must be considered.
The regular monthly wages are determined based on the number of months for which employment for wages exists. The period under consideration is a maximum of 12 months. This corresponds to an earnings limit of maximum 5,400 Euro per year for continuous employment lasting at least 12 months.
For this employment, the employer pays flat-rate taxes and social security contributions. The part-time employee does not pay any taxes or insurance contributions.
You do not need to declare income from part-time employment in your tax return.
Exception: If the employer does not choose flat-rate wage tax for the mini job, wage tax is to be deducted from the wages according to the wage tax characteristics available to the relevant tax office. In this case, you will also receive a wage tax certificate from your employer for the mini job. Only in this case must the data from the wage tax certificate be declared in the income tax return.
(2021): Do I need to declare my part-time job in my income tax return?
