The "special church fee": Obligation to pay church tax for a non-denominational spouse.
Church tax liability generally applies only to members of a tax-collecting religious community who have their residence in Germany and within the area of this religious community. The decisive factor is formal membership, not the intensity of faith or participation in religious life. Therefore, anyone who does not belong to a tax-collecting religious community does not have to pay church tax. But does this also apply to spouses?
It is not uncommon for the well-earning spouse to leave the church to save on church tax, while the non-working spouse and children remain members of the church community. However, those who believe that no church tax needs to be paid at all could be mistaken.
If the church member spouse has no income of their own, no "church tax on income" can be levied. However, in mixed-faith marriages, the churches levy the "special church fee" as a special form of church tax, which is mainly used by the Protestant churches.
- The "special church fee" is demanded from the church member spouse who has little or no income and therefore does not have to pay church tax on income. In this case, the special church fee is based on the joint taxable income of both spouses. It is only levied if the joint taxable income is higher than 30.000 Euro, and only in the case of joint assessment, not in the case of individual assessment for spouses.
- According to the Federal Constitutional Court, it is constitutionally acceptable for the "special church fee" to be based on the living expenses of the church member spouse. In the case of joint assessment, the joint taxable income is used as an auxiliary measure. The levying of the special church fee is permissible, even if the income is only earned by the other - non-religious - spouse. In marriage as a living and economic community, each spouse has a half share in the income of the other (BVerfG decision of 28.10.2010, 2 BvR 591/06).
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has recently ruled that the collection of church tax or the special church fee in a mixed-faith marriage does not violate the European Convention on Human Rights and is therefore permissible (ECHR decision of 6.4.2017, complaint no. 10138/11 et al.).
The case: The claimant does not belong to any religious community, his wife is a member of the Protestant Church. The couple applies for joint assessment - with the result that the man has to pay his wife's church tax of 2.220 Euro. This amount was deducted from a tax refund. He and four other complainants therefore argued before the ECHR that
- the assessment of church tax or church fee based on the joint income of spouses violated their rights under Art. 9 ECHR (freedom of religion) in several respects,
- they were required to pay the special church fee for their spouse without being a member of a church themselves,
- they were dependent on financial support from their spouse to pay the church fee and were thus dependent on their spouse in exercising their freedom of religion,
- they were obliged to pay a disproportionately high church tax because the income of the spouse was also taken into account in its assessment.
The Saxon Finance Court currently considers the regulation in Saxony on the special church fee in mixed-faith marriages to be incompatible with the Basic Law, as spouses were disadvantaged without objective reason compared to registered civil partnerships in 2014 and 2015. The regulation violated the general principle of equal treatment (decision of 25.3.2019, 5 K 1549/18).
The Bavarian State Ministry of Finance has recently announced that in Bavaria the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Reformed Church will waive the collection of the special church fee, retroactively from the 2018 tax year (decree of the Bavarian State Ministry of Finance of 21.1.2019, BStBl I 2019 p. 213).
The special church fee comes into play when one spouse does not belong to a tax-collecting church and the other church tax-liable spouse
- does not earn their own income,
- earns their own income that does not trigger income tax and thus no church income tax due to its low amount, or
- earns their own income that already triggers church tax, but results in a higher special church fee being set due to the so-called comparison calculation.
The Federal Finance Court has recently pointed out that even in the third case group, the assessment of the special church fee is constitutionally acceptable, although church tax is already due based on the individual's income (BFH decision of 5.10.2021, I B 65/19). The BFH refers to decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court (e.g. BVerfG decision of 28.10.2010, 2 BvR 591/06).
In this case group, no separate justification is required. The living expenses of the church tax-liable spouse increase "if they have their own income, but the spouse has significantly higher income" (so the judgment of the FG Cologne of 8.6.2005, 11 K 1389/03).
It is also obvious that the permissibility of levying the special church fee in this case group requires a regulation to clarify the relationship between the special church fee and the church income tax; e.g. a regulation to avoid double taxation with both types of tax. Corresponding credit regulations or comparison calculations are contained in the state legal or church tax regulations. They are legally unproblematic and have therefore not been objected to by the specialised courts and the Federal Constitutional Court.
Conclusion: Even in the third case group, the living expenses of the church member spouse may be taxed by means of the special church fee. For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the special church fee is not levied uniformly throughout Germany.
(2022): The "special church fee": Obligation to pay church tax for a non-denominational spouse.
How much church tax will I save if I leave the church?
If you were to leave the church, you would not actually save the full amount of church tax deducted from your salary over the year. You would also forgo the benefit of deducting the church tax as special expenses from your taxable income.
You are entitled to a special expenses allowance of 36 Euro for the whole year (72 Euro for couples). However, you can claim the full amount of church tax as special expenses. This reduces your taxable income and also your income tax.
Example: If you and your spouse pay 600 Euro in church tax per year, you can additionally claim the amount exceeding the special expenses allowance as special expenses (600 Euro church tax minus 72 Euro special expenses allowance).
528 Euro at a marginal tax rate of 28 percent will give you back 147 Euro in income tax. This reduces your church tax, which is calculated based on income tax, as well as the solidarity surcharge (9 percent or 5.5 percent of 147 Euro). This amounts to around 20 Euro less. Thus, the church tax provides you with a tax benefit of a total of 167 Euro.
You would need to deduct this special expenses benefit from your church tax to calculate what leaving the church would save you. In this example, as a couple, you would save 433 Euro compared to the previous year if you do not pay church tax, but you would also forgo the option of the special expenses deduction.
(2022): How much church tax will I save if I leave the church?
Where can I find my tax ID number?
Your tax identification number was sent to you in writing by the Federal Central Tax Office. The eleven-digit number is valid for life. In this letter, the number is referred to as the "Personal Identification Number", but it is often simply called the "Identification Number" and is usually abbreviated as TIN (Tax Identification Number) or Steuer-ID.
You can usually find your identification number
- on your income tax assessment notice or
- on your payslip
The tax ID is not to be confused with the eTIN, which is also on the payslip and is used by the employer for the transmission of wage data.
After a transition period, the tax identification number is intended to replace the current tax number for income tax. Providing the tax identification number is not a prerequisite for submitting your tax return.
(2022): Where can I find my tax ID number?
When am I required to pay church tax?
The church tax obligation begins with baptism or upon joining or rejoining the religious community. In this case, you must pay the church tax from the beginning of the following month.
If you change religious communities, the obligation to pay church tax also begins at the start of the following month. However, it only starts once you no longer pay church tax to your previous religious community.
In the Jewish community, the church tax obligation is based on descent and faith.
(2022): When am I required to pay church tax?
Who is required to pay church tax?
If you are a member of one of the following religious communities, you must pay church tax:
- Roman Catholic Church
- Protestant regional churches
- Old Catholic Church
- Jewish religious communities
- Israelite religious communities (e.g. in Baden-Württemberg)
- Free religious communities (e.g. in Baden, Württemberg, Mainz, Offenbach, Palatinate)
- French Church in Berlin (Huguenot Church)
- Mennonite congregation in Hamburg-Altona
- Unitarian religious community of free Protestants in Rhineland-Palatinate
The amount of church tax depends on your place of residence. If you live in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, you pay 8 percent, in the other states 9 percent of income tax or wage tax.
(2022): Who is required to pay church tax?
How much is the church tax?
The amount of church tax depends on your place of residence. If you live in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, church members pay 8 percent; in other federal states, it is 9 percent. The basis is the assessed income tax. You therefore pay 8 or 9 percent of your income tax as church tax.
Please note: The church tax is also taken into account at the same percentage rate within the withholding tax.
If you have children or if your taxable income (zvE) includes income from business operations and/or income taxed under the so-called partial income procedure, the zvE is calculated separately for church tax purposes.
If child allowances are entered in employees' electronic wage tax deduction features (ELStAM), the monthly church tax is calculated based on a so-called fictitious wage tax.
You live in Berlin and have a gross monthly salary of 3.000 Euro in tax class IV. Your monthly church tax is 34.31 Euro. Church tax with two child allowances: You live in Berlin and have a gross monthly salary of 3.000 Euro in tax class IV. Your monthly church tax is now 16.74 Euro.
If a "number of child allowances" is entered in the ELStAM, the monthly income tax is not reduced, only the monthly church tax and the monthly solidarity surcharge. This also applies if you receive child benefit during the year.
In the income tax assessment, child allowances only reduce the taxable income if the child benefit is not more favourable than the tax advantage. However, for the calculation of church tax and solidarity surcharge, the child allowances are "fictitiously" deducted.
Advantage: Even if children are only to be considered for part of the year, the full child allowance and BEA allowance are always deducted for the calculation of church tax and solidarity surcharge. This applies in the case of the end of vocational training or the birth of a child.
(2022): How much is the church tax?
What tax benefits are available for disabled persons and bereaved family members?
Disabled individuals can either claim the disability allowance for their disability-related expenses or deduct the expenses as extraordinary burdens with proof, although a reasonable burden is deducted in this case. The disability allowance depends on the degree of disability and ranges from 384 Euro to 7.400 Euro. The allowance covers all so-called typical expenses. Additional so-called atypical expenses can be deducted as extraordinary burdens. This reduces your taxable income.
Bereaved individuals receive a bereavement allowance of 370 Euro upon application if they have been granted ongoing bereavement payments. These must be made according to Section 33 b (4) of the Income Tax Act, under the Federal Pensions Act or another law that declares the provisions of the Federal Pensions Act on bereavement payments to be applicable, under the statutory accident insurance regulations, under civil service regulations to bereaved relatives of a civil servant who died as a result of a service accident, or under the Federal Compensation Act regulations on compensation for damage to life, body, or health.
The bereavement allowance is an annual amount. It is not reduced even if the relevant conditions did not apply throughout the year.
Please note: An orphan receives the bereavement allowance only once, even if both parents are deceased. If there are several bereaved individuals of the same person (e.g. widow and half-orphan), the allowance is granted to each bereaved individual.
(2022): What tax benefits are available for disabled persons and bereaved family members?
Who is entitled to the bereavement allowance?
Bereaved family members, such as widows and orphans, are entitled to the bereavement allowance of 370 Euro in certain cases.
The main requirement is that the taxpayer received bereavement payments for at least one month in the relevant tax year. This also applies if the entitlement to the payments is suspended or if a severance payment was made in the form of a capital sum.
The conditions for the bereavement allowance are regulated in § 33b para. 4 EStG. If the bereavement allowance is due to a child, it can be transferred to the parents upon request.
The bereavement allowance is granted for the following types of payments:
- Payments under the Federal Pensions Act, mainly for victims of the Second World War
- Payments under the Military Pensions Act
- Payments under the Civil Service Act
- Payments under the Prisoner Assistance Act
- Support for relatives of prisoners of war
- Payments under the Federal Police Act
- Payments under the Civil Defence Corps Act
- Payments under the Act regulating the legal status of persons covered by Article 131 of the Basic Law
- Payments under the Act introducing the Federal Pensions Act in Saarland
- Payments under the Infection Protection Act, for example in the event of death as a result of a recommended vaccination
- Payments under the Act on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crimes
- Pension from statutory accident insurance, for example in the event of death due to an industrial accident
- Payments following the death of a civil servant as a result of an occupational accident
- Payments under the Federal Compensation Act for damage to life, body or health.
If the bereavement allowance is due to a child, it can be transferred to the parents upon request.
(2022): Who is entitled to the bereavement allowance?
What is the difference between my tax number and the tax identification number?
The tax number should not be confused with the lifetime and nationally standardised tax identification number.
What is the tax number?
The tax number is issued by the tax office to each taxable natural or legal person and is uniquely assigned to a taxpayer. A person may have several tax numbers during their lifetime. For example, if someone moves and thus falls under the jurisdiction of a different tax office, gets married, or registers as self-employed, they will receive a new tax number.
In the past, tax numbers were based on state-specific codes and consisted of ten or eleven digits, depending on the federal state. With the introduction of the so-called ELSTER procedure (ELektronische STeuerERklärung), the standard scheme for tax numbers was standardised nationwide and now has 13 digits.
Where can I find the tax number?
After submitting the first income tax return or registering a self-employed or commercial activity, the number is determined by the relevant tax office. However, it can also be applied for independently. The tax number can be found at the top left of the income tax assessment notice.
What do I need the tax number for?
The tax number must be provided when submitting a tax return or registering a self-employed or commercial activity, as well as in payment transactions. Freelancers and traders must include it on their invoices if they do not have a VAT identification number. In the future, the tax number will be replaced by the tax identification number. However, both numbers currently exist in parallel.
What is the tax identification number?
The tax identification number (IdNr. or tax ID) has been a nationwide and permanent identification number for citizens registered in Germany for tax purposes since 2008. It is valid for life. Children receive it shortly after birth.
The identification number does not change when moving house or changing the responsible tax office. The data is deleted only when it is no longer needed by the authorities, but no later than 20 years after the taxpayer's death.
The tax ID is also required for child benefit, exemption orders for all bank accounts in Germany, the granting of the care allowance, and the tax deduction for maintenance payments, and is increasingly being requested.
(2022): What is the difference between my tax number and the tax identification number?
Where can I obtain a new tax ID number?
To obtain a new tax identification number, you must contact the Federal Central Tax Office in writing. Please use the following address:
Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, 53221 Bonn,
or by email: [email protected].
You must provide the office with the following personal data:
- First name and surname
- Address (street, house number, postcode and city)
- Date and place of birth
Your number will then be sent to you in writing. For data protection reasons, it is not possible to provide the number by telephone or email.
However, you will usually also find the number on your pay slip or your most recent income tax assessment.
(2022): Where can I obtain a new tax ID number?
From when do you no longer have to pay church tax after leaving the church?
Church tax liability ends:
- at the end of the calendar month if the residence or usual place of abode in Germany is given up.
- at the end of the month of death if the church member dies.
- when the church member declares their resignation from the church. Different authorities are responsible for the declaration of resignation in the various federal states; in most cases, it is made at the registry office, otherwise at the district court; only in the federal state of Bremen also at the church. Depending on the federal state, the resignation from the church is effective from the calendar month in which the resignation was declared, or from the following calendar month.
In the past, there was a so-called "month of repentance" in some federal states, meaning church tax liability ended one month after the month of resignation. This applied to Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia.
However, the month of repentance has now been abolished to standardise church tax regulations across the country, meaning the resignation from the church takes effect in the calendar month in which it is declared.
After resigning from the church, the registration office automatically informs the relevant tax office so that it can change the electronic wage tax deduction features (ELStAM). Therefore, no church tax will be deducted from your monthly salary after your resignation.
The cost of resigning from the church - resignation fees
In Berlin, Brandenburg and Bremen, resignation is free of charge. In other federal states, you must pay between 10 and 60 Euro for the certificate of resignation from the church.
(2022): From when do you no longer have to pay church tax after leaving the church?
Who receives the disability allowance?
You can receive the disability allowance if you can prove a certain degree of disability. A person is considered disabled if their physical, mental, or emotional health is impaired for more than six months.
The degree of disability is usually determined by the pension office. From a degree of disability of 50, you receive a severely disabled pass; up to a degree of 45, the office issues a notice of determination. The tax office is bound by these notices.
You can claim the disability allowance for yourself, your disabled spouse, or your disabled child. It is not possible to transfer the allowance from disabled parents or siblings.
Tip: If the degree of disability is determined retroactively for several years, you can claim the allowance retroactively for the years for which a degree of disability is recognised. You should, however, register your tax claims as soon as possible after the degree of disability is determined, as certain deadlines must be observed.
The disability allowance is an annual amount. It is granted in full even if the disability occurs or ceases during the year. If the degree of disability is increased or decreased during the year, the annual amount is based on the higher degree of disability (R 33b para. 7 EStR).
If multiple disabilities occur for different reasons, the disability that leads to the highest allowance is used. The disability allowance has a full tax-reducing effect, as no reasonable burden is deducted.
The question is whether care-related expenses can be deducted as extraordinary expenses according to § 33 EStG in addition to the disability allowance, or whether the allowance must be waived. Since 2008, the following regulation applies:
If you claim the disability allowance according to § 33b para. 3 EStG, care-related expenses are not additionally recognised as extraordinary expenses according to § 33 EStG. The "either-or principle" applies (R 33.3 para. 4 EStR 2008).
You must decide: Either you apply for the disability allowance, or you claim the care-related costs as extraordinary expenses with proof. When providing proof, the care allowance from the care insurance must be deducted, and the tax office will also deduct the reasonable burden from the remaining amount. Therefore, for consideration according to § 33 EStG to be more advantageous, the expenses must be higher than the disability allowance, the care allowance received, and the reasonable burden.
But no rule or exception:
You can, for example, claim the following special expenses in addition to the allowance:
- extraordinary medical expenses caused by an acute event, such as costs of an operation, medical treatment, medication, and doctor’s fees,
- expenses for a health cure carried out based on a medical certificate issued before the start of the cure (the medical certificate from a medical service of the health insurance is equivalent to the official medical certificate),
- disability-related conversion costs for a car,
- disability-related renovation costs for the home,
- disability-related travel allowance (from 2021):
Up to and including 2020, travel costs related to a disability could be considered at 0.30 Euro per kilometre driven up to certain maximum amounts. This consideration regularly required proof of the kilometres driven. This proof is no longer required from 2021.
The disability-related travel allowance is:
- 900 Euro: for people with a degree of disability of at least 80 or a degree of disability of at least 70 and the mark "G" for walking disabled
- 4.500 Euro: for people with exceptional walking disability (mark "aG"), blind people (mark "BI"), deaf-blind people (mark "TBI"), helpless people (mark "H") or people for whom care level 4 or 5 has been determined.
The following special feature must be observed when considering the disability-related travel allowance:
Disability-related travel costs are part of the general extraordinary expenses. When calculating your income tax, the reduction by the reasonable burden is deducted from the total amount of extraordinary expenses, which also includes the disability-related travel allowance.
(2022): Who receives the disability allowance?
When does a joint property agreement apply?
In joint property, there are different types of assets: the joint property of both partners, as well as the separate property and reserved property of each individual partner. This particular regulation of the marital property regime is complex and rarely agreed upon.
Without a marriage contract, joint property applies. Without a marriage contract or other agreements, the legal regulations automatically apply. This includes the legal property regime of a marriage - joint property. This means: What each individual brought into the marriage remains theirs; the principle of separate property applies. This also means that one partner does not have to pay for the other's debts. What is added to the original assets of each spouse during the marriage is the accrued gain. Since this can be different for each partner, it is divided in the divorce proceedings, which is the so-called equalisation of accrued gains.
If you want to agree on a different property regime than joint property, such as joint property or separation of property, you must regulate this in a marriage contract. You can also exclude certain parts of the assets from the accrued gain, e.g. a self-employed person's business, so that they do not have to endanger their company through the equalisation of accrued gains in the event of a divorce.
(2022): When does a joint property agreement apply?
What is the advantage of capping the church tax?
The amount of church tax depends on your place of residence. If you live in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, you pay 8 percent; in other federal states, you pay 9 percent. The basis is the assessed income tax. So you pay 9 percent of your income tax as church tax.
The higher your income, the higher the income tax and thus the higher the church tax. However, there is an option to apply for a cap on the church tax. This means: The church tax is no longer calculated based on the "income tax" but on the "taxable income". The cap rate varies between federal states and is between 2.75 and 4 percent of the taxable income.
Most church tax laws provide for a cap on income tax for high incomes. However, you should check whether the cap is granted automatically or only upon application in your federal state. There are different regulations:
- A cap without application is automatic in the federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia.
- The cap only with application is available in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland.
- In Bavaria, no cap on church tax is possible.
Check whether a cap is already beneficial for your income. If so, submit an (informal) application for a cap on church tax (plus a copy of the latest tax assessment) to your diocese or regional church.
In Berlin, a cap rate of 3 percent applies. So the church tax is limited to 3 percent of the taxable income.
2020 taxable income: 150.000 Euro
income tax under the basic rate: 53.863 Euro
church tax payable (9 percent): 4.848 Euro.
With a cap of 3 percent of the income, only 4.500 Euro church tax would have to be paid.
(2022): What is the advantage of capping the church tax?
