In 2019, the Federal Fiscal Court unfortunately ruled against the generous stance of the tax authorities, deciding that the tax reduction according to § 35a EStG is only granted for expenses incurred by a taxpayer for their own accommodation in a home or for their own care. However, the tax benefit is excluded for expenses incurred for another person, i.e. if children cover the costs for their parents (BFH ruling of 3.4.2019, VI R 19/17).

A few months after the BFH ruling, the Berlin-Brandenburg Finance Court also dealt with the assumption of care costs for a parent. However, this time it was not about covering the costs for residential care, i.e. accommodation in a home, but about covering the costs for outpatient care. The FG ruled as follows: § 35a EStG favours - if at all - only expenses for the outpatient care of relatives in the taxpayer's own household (i.e. the carer's), not for the outpatient care of relatives in their household (BFH ruling of 11.12.2019, 3 K 3210/19). However, a revision was explicitly allowed at that time. And now the positive ruling of the BFH is available.

Currently, the Federal Fiscal Court has ruled as follows: The tax reduction according to § 35a para. 2 sentence 2 first half-sentence EStG can also be claimed by taxpayers who incur expenses for the outpatient care and support of a third party. Consequently, children can deduct the costs for outpatient care of their parents if they have borne the costs. This also applies if the care and support services are not provided in the taxpayer's own household but in the household of the person being cared for or supported (BFH ruling of 12.4.2022, VI R 2/20).             

However, the BFH also adds a complication, as it upholds its above-mentioned ruling from 2019. It distinguishes between the assumption of costs for residential care (= still not deductible) and the assumption of costs for outpatient care (= deductible), where in the second case it depends on who concluded the care contract. Only if the payer, usually a daughter or son, is contractually obliged, i.e. pays on their own debt, are the costs deductible. If, on the other hand, payment is made on the debt of the person being cared for, i.e. father or mother, because they concluded the care contract, it is a tax-irrelevant third-party expense.