Which pension expenses can I deduct in the tax return?

Pension expenses are expenditures with which you provide for your future. Pension expenses are divided into health and nursing care insurance, retirement provision, and other insurance.

Retirement pension expenses mainly include contributions to the statutory pension insurance, a Riester pension, or a private Rürup pension (funded pension). Contributions to occupational pension schemes are also included if they provide benefits comparable to statutory pension insurance. This mainly applies to employees and self-employed members of professional chambers, e.g. doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, tax consultants, lawyers, auditors, notaries, architects, engineers.

There is a separate maximum amount for payments into a Riester contract. Therefore, you can claim contributions to the specially subsidised Riester pension separately. For this, there is the "Anlage AV", in which the Riester contributions must be entered. This must then be submitted to the tax office together with the provider's certificate.

Contributions to statutory and private basic health insurance as well as statutory nursing care insurance (i.e. social nursing care insurance and private compulsory nursing care insurance) are deductible as special expenses in their actual amount and unlimited.

Other pension expenses mainly include contributions to unemployment insurance, occupational disability, accident, and liability insurance, term life insurance, private health insurance (beyond basic cover), and private nursing care insurance. Capital life insurance and pension insurance with a capital option (considered at 88%) as well as pension insurance without a capital option concluded before 2005 are also included here.

Insurance that does not serve to provide for the future is not deductible as pension expenses. This includes, for example, property insurance, such as household or legal protection insurance or comprehensive car insurance.

Also not deductible as pension expenses are contributions to direct insurance, a pension fund, or a pension scheme if they are tax-advantaged. Insurance amounts and other pension expenses do not fall under the "special expenses allowance" because they are not unlimited deductible special expenses.

The maximum pension amount is usually already exhausted by health and nursing care insurance and retirement pension expenses. Therefore, other pension expenses (see above) often have no tax effect.

For this reason, it is advisable to claim occupational insurance not covered by the employer as income-related expenses. In practice, a deduction in Anlage N (section "Employees > Income-related expenses") is mainly possible for professional liability insurance and professional legal protection insurance.

Since accident insurance usually covers both private and occupational risks, the contributions are partly deductible as income-related expenses and partly as special expenses. Claim 50% of the contributions as income-related expenses and 50% as special expenses ("other insurance"). However, if you have a hazardous occupation and the occupational risk share is greater than 50%, you should have this certified by the insurance company. Claim the certified share as income-related expenses and attach the certificate to your tax return.

Which pension expenses can I deduct in the tax return?

Up to what amount can I deduct pension expenses?

Pension expenses (e.g. contributions to the statutory pension insurance, professional pension schemes, and Rürup pension insurance) are tax-deductible up to a maximum amount. Since 2023, these expenses are 100 per cent deductible as special expenses (Section 10 (3) sentence 6 EStG, amended by the "Annual Tax Act 2022").

Maximum amounts 2024:

• 27.566 Euro for single persons
• 55.132 Euro for married couples

Other pension expenses:

• If you receive tax-free subsidies for your health insurance or allowances for medical expenses, you can deduct other pension expenses up to 1.900 Euro.
• Without these subsidies, up to 2.800 Euro can be claimed.

Health and nursing care insurance:

The tax office always considers contributions to basic health insurance and nursing care insurance at their actual amount, even if they exceed the maximum amount of 1.900 Euro or 2.800 Euro. Other insurance contributions, such as contributions to unemployment insurance or liability insurance, can only be deducted if the maximum amount has not been exhausted by health and nursing care insurance contributions.

Tip:

If your contributions to health and nursing care insurance are below the maximum amount, you have leeway to claim further insurance contributions.

Up to what amount can I deduct pension expenses?

Which pension contributions can I enter as pension expenses?

Pension expenses refer to contributions to the state pension insurance, Rürup pension, agricultural pension fund, and occupational pension schemes. Employees can also claim voluntary contributions to the state pension insurance and the agricultural pension fund.

Employer's contribution to pension insurance:

As the employer's contribution to the state pension insurance is also taken into account, the deductible special expenses are often lower. Pension expenses can be claimed up to a maximum amount, which is linked to the maximum contribution to the miners' pension insurance.

Maximum amounts 2024:

• 27.566 Euro for single persons
• 55.132 Euro for married couples

Since 2023, these contributions have been 100% tax-deductible.

Other insurance expenses:

Additionally, other insurance expenses such as contributions to health and long-term care insurance can be deducted:

• Up to 1.900 Euro if you receive tax-free subsidies for health insurance.
• Up to 2.800 Euro if you do not receive tax-free subsidies.

Which pension contributions can I enter as pension expenses?

What can I claim as special expenses in my tax return?

Special expenses are personal living expenses that are exceptionally eligible for tax relief. The special expenses you can declare in your tax return are divided into two groups: pension expenses and other special expenses.

The other special expenses referred to on this input page are automatically taken into account by the tax office with the special expenses allowance. The special expenses allowance is set very low at 36 Euro for single persons and 72 Euro for married couples. It is therefore relatively easy to exceed this amount. These include, in particular, church tax paid, donations, childcare costs, and maintenance payments to an ex-spouse.

Pension expenses include contributions to basic health insurance and compulsory long-term care insurance, as well as private pension schemes and contributions to certain private insurance policies, such as private liability, accident, and disability insurance.

The special expenses allowance does not apply to pension expenses. These are not unlimited deductible special expenses but are only deductible up to a maximum amount.

The second part of the special expenses, pension expenses, is divided into pension contributions, contributions to basic health and long-term care insurance, and other insurance. Pension contributions mainly include contributions to the statutory pension insurance or a private Rürup pension (funded pension scheme).

Other insurance includes contributions to health and long-term care insurance (beyond basic cover), unemployment insurance, accident and liability insurance, term life insurance, disability insurance, as well as capital life and pension insurance policies taken out before 2005.

Please enter the pension expenses in the “pension expenses” section of our tax return.

What can I claim as special expenses in my tax return?