Special expenses and exceptional costs

Special expenses and exceptional costs reduce income.

Special expenses are specifically expenses, not already deductible as business or occupational expenses, for

• Contributions for voluntary continued insurance, including the purchase of additional insurance periods in the statutory pension insurance scheme
• Mandatory contributions to churches and religious societies of up to 600 Euro (up to the year 2023: 400 Euro)
• Private monetary donations up to a maximum of 10 percent of total income, for privileged recipients (e.g. universities, colleges of applied sciences, volunteer fire brigades) (see Section 4a EStG and the list of privileged organisations). Donations provided out of business assets to privileged recipients are deductible as business expenses.
• Costs of tax advice (but only in exceptional circumstances, as costs of tax advice should normally be deducted as business expenses or occupational expenses)
• Annuities (e.g. life annuities) and permanent encumbrances

Exceptional costs include, for example, costs of disabilities, sickness or external vocational training of children. In certain cases (e.g. costs of sickness, although not expenditure due to disability), the costs must exceed an income-related patient’s contribution to have an effect on taxation.

Further links

• The Tax Book (→ BMF)
• What can I claim? (→ BMF)^{German text}
• List of privileged recipients (→ BMF)^{German text}

Legal bases

• Special expenses: section 18 of the Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG)
• Donation benefit: section 4a of the EStG
• Exceptional costs: sections 34, 35 of the EStG