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Maintenance payments

When must I declare maintenance payments in the tax return?

Divorced and permanently separated spouses can deduct maintenance payments to their ex-spouse as special expenses up to 13,805 Euro under income splitting. In return, the recipient must tax the payments as other income.

Income splitting allows the maintenance payer to claim their expenses for tax relief, while the maintenance recipient must declare these as other income. To deduct maintenance payments as special expenses, the payer must apply for the deduction, and the recipient must agree and confirm that they will tax the payments minus any income-related expenses. Consent to income splitting is given by submitting "Anlage U".

The income must be declared in Anlage SO in the line "Maintenance payments, insofar as they were deducted by the maintenance payer as special expenses".

Although maintenance payments are taxable, whether you actually have to pay tax on them depends on the amount of maintenance and other income. If you have little or no other income, the tax allowances and rates mean that not much tax will be due.

As a maintenance recipient, you should make your consent to income splitting conditional on the maintenance payer compensating you for any tax and non-tax disadvantages resulting from the taxation of maintenance payments.

When must I declare maintenance payments in the tax return?

Field help

Total of maintenance payments
Maintenance payments

Total maintenance payments

Designation

Enter a brief description of the maintenance payment here, e.g.

Maintenance from ex-wife according to Form U
Maintenance from separated partner – real splitting

It is important that the description clearly indicates who the payments are from (ex-spouse or separated partner) and that they are made within the framework of real splitting according to Form U.

Income

Enter the total amount of maintenance payments you received in 2024 if you agreed to real splitting (Form U).

If your ex-partner also paid contributions towards health and nursing care insurance, these amounts are also considered taxable income.

Example: In 2024, you received 1.000 Euro per month in maintenance payments from your spouse, from whom you are permanently separated (total 12.000 Euro), plus an additional 300 Euro per month for your basic health and nursing care insurance (total 3.600 Euro). As you agreed to the tax consideration via Form U, you must declare the total amount of 15.600 Euro as income.

Income-related expenses

In this field, enter expenses directly related to receiving your maintenance payments.

If no entry is made, the flat rate of 102 Euro for income-related expenses will automatically be applied.

Possible income-related expenses in connection with maintenance payments:

Tax consultancy fees, e.g. for advice on consent in Form U
Travel expenses to the tax office, tax advisor or court
Postage and telephone costs related to the maintenance arrangement
Court and legal fees with a tax reference, e.g. to clarify consent for Form U
Costs for documents and copies, e.g. copies of Form U, printouts of supporting documents
Specialist literature on the tax treatment of maintenance
Interest on loans, e.g. to enforce or secure the maintenance payment

Important: Only verifiable costs with a clear tax reference are deductible. General divorce or separation costs are not included.

Partial income procedure?

If the maintenance payments are subject to the partial income procedure (TEV), select "yes".

Important: The partial income procedure is an exception and only applies to special situations involving business investments.

The partial income procedure (60% taxation) can only be applied if all the following conditions are met:

You receive maintenance payments related to income from a business investment (e.g. GmbH shares),
and the ex-partner makes the payment directly from their business income,
and you, as the recipient, hold or have held a corresponding investment.

Only in this special case is it possible for you to tax the maintenance payments at only 60% (according to sect. 3 no. 40 of the Income Tax Act (EStG) in conjunction with sect. 3c para. 2 of the Income Tax Act (EStG)).

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Maintenance payments

When must I declare maintenance payments in the tax return?

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Maintenance payments

When must I declare maintenance payments in the tax return?

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