Which health and nursing insurance contributions can I claim?

Sie können Ihre kompletten Kranken- und Pflegeversicherungsbeiträge für die sogenannte Basisabsicherung als Sonderausgaben in der Steuererklärung eintragen. Das Finanzamt zieht von den gezahlten Beiträgen zur gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung lediglich vier Prozent pauschal für Krankengeld ab.

Für Privatversicherte gilt: Kosten für Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung werden nur in Höhe des Basisbeitrags der privaten Krankenversicherung anerkannt. Wahlleistungen, wie Chefarztbehandlung oder Zwei-Bett-Zimmer im Krankenhaus, werden im Rahmen der "anderen Versicherungsbeiträge" berücksichtigt, sofern dafür noch Spielraum beim abzugsfähigen Höchstbetrag besteht.

Wenn Sie einen weitergehenden Vertrag haben, ermittelt die PKV den genauen Anteil der Basisabsicherung. Falls Sie nicht über den Höchstbetrag von 1.900 Euro (Selbständige 2.800 Euro) mit Ihren Beiträgen zur Krankenversicherung kommen, können Sie noch Beiträge für weitere Versicherungen geltend machen. Begünstigt sind beispielsweise Beiträge zur Arbeitslosenversicherung, zu einer zusätzlichen Kranken- oder Pflegeversicherung, zur privaten Erwerbs- oder Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung, zu Unfall- oder Haftpflichtversicherungen oder zu Risikolebensversicherungen. Kapitallebens- und Rentenversicherungen können als Sonderausgaben berücksichtigt werden, wenn die Policen vor 2005 abgeschlossen wurden.

Ein Ehepaar zahlt im Jahr ohne Krankengeld insgesamt 4.600 Euro an Beiträgen für die Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung. Damit übersteigen die Beiträge die gemeinsame Höchstsumme von 3.800 Euro (zweimal 1.900 Euro). Dennoch sind sie in dieser Höhe als Sonderausgaben absetzbar, doch weitere Versicherungsbeiträge, wie Unfall- oder Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung, können nun nicht mehr abgesetzt werden.

Da der allgemeine Beitragssatz bei gesetzlich Versicherten das Krankengeld mit absichert, werden die Beiträge pauschal um 4 % gekürzt. Die Kürzung erfolgt nur dann, wenn im Krankheitsfall ein Anspruch auf Krankengeld besteht. Die Kürzung wird vom Finanzamt vorgenommen. Bis 2014 erfolgte die Kürzung nicht vom einkommensunabhängigen Zusatzbeitrag. Seit 2015 gilt folgende Rechtslage: Der neu ausgestaltete kassenindividuelle einkommensabhängige Zusatzbeitrag wird nunmehr als originärer Bestandteil des Krankenversicherungsbeitrags gewertet und ist daher in die Bemessungsgrundlage für die Ermittlung des vierprozentigen Kürzungsbetrags einzubeziehen. Eine Differenzierung des Beitrags in einen Grundbeitrag und den Zusatzbeitrag erfolgt jetzt nicht mehr.

Which health and nursing insurance contributions can I claim?

Contributions to health and nursing care insurance

If you, as the policyholder, have paid contributions to health and nursing care insurance for your child's coverage, these can be deducted as special expenses. This only applies to contributions for basic coverage.

If you have paid contributions to health and nursing care insurance as part of your maintenance obligation, which your child (for whom you are entitled to child benefit or child allowances) owes as the policyholder, these contributions can be deducted as insurance expenses. However, this applies only to contributions for basic coverage. If you claim these amounts, they cannot be deducted as special expenses for your child.

If you are not jointly assessed for income tax with the other parent of your child, only enter the contributions you have paid yourself. Please do not forget to enter your child's identification number.

Contributions to health and nursing care insurance

Must the child's tax identification number be provided?

Parents can deduct their child's health insurance contributions as special expenses if they are entitled to child benefit or the child allowance. This also applies to children in vocational training.

From 1 January 2023, parents must provide their child's tax identification number in their tax return to claim the contributions as special expenses.

Must the child's tax identification number be provided?

How do I correctly deduct my child's health and nursing care insurance contributions?

Since 2010, contributions to statutory and private basic health insurance as well as statutory nursing care insurance can be deducted as special expenses in their actual amount and without limit. Not only contributions for your own coverage are deductible, but also contributions for the coverage of dependent children.

However, correctly claiming contributions for children in the tax return has become very complicated. It depends on whether you are still receiving child benefit for the child and whether you or the child are the policyholder.

(1) You are entitled to child benefit, and you are the policyholder
Contributions to the child's health and nursing care insurance can be deducted as special expenses. Enter the contributions for basic coverage in the "Form Child". Contributions for optional benefits, foreign health insurance, etc. can be deducted under "other insurance" and must also be entered in the "Form Child".

(2) You are entitled to child benefit, and the child is the policyholder
A special legal regulation applies here: If you pay the health insurance contributions for a dependent child for whom you are entitled to child benefit, you can deduct the contributions as special expenses (§ 10 para. 1 no. 3 sentence 2 EStG). Enter the contributions paid in the "Form Child". Contributions for optional benefits, foreign health insurance, etc. can only be deducted by the policyholder - i.e. the child - under "other insurance" as special expenses and must therefore be entered in their tax return in the "Form Pensions and insurance". A deduction of these contribution shares by the parents is not possible.

Note: According to a recent ruling by the Federal Fiscal Court, the tax deduction requires that the parents have actually paid or reimbursed the contributions to the child (BFH ruling of 13.3.2018, X R 25/15). However, this ruling is not recognised by the tax authorities and a legal amendment has since provided clarification. The contributions to the child's (basic) health and nursing care insurance are deductible as special expenses, regardless of whether the parents bear the child's contributions economically as part of their maintenance obligation through cash or in-kind support. It is also irrelevant whether the child has their own income. However, the child must be entitled to maintenance. (§ 10 para. 1 no. 3 sentences 2 and 3 EStG, amended by the "Act on Further Tax Promotion of Electromobility and Amendment of Other Tax Regulations" of 12.12.2019).

(3) You are not entitled to child benefit, and you are the policyholder

If the child is insured with you, you can deduct the contributions you have paid as your special expenses (§ 10 para. 1 no. 3 EStG). Claim the expenses in the "Form Pensions and insurance".

(4) You are not entitled to child benefit, and the child is the policyholder
If the child is the policyholder and you pay the insurance contributions, you cannot deduct the expenses as special expenses. The above special regulation does not apply here. However, you can claim the contributions for basic coverage as extraordinary expenses according to § 33a para. 1 EStG and enter them in the "Form Maintenance". In general, maintenance payments are deductible up to a maximum amount of 10,347 Euro (2022). In this case, however, the maximum amount is increased by the health and nursing care insurance contributions you have paid. A reasonable burden is not taken into account.

How do I correctly deduct my child's health and nursing care insurance contributions?