Tips on tax class and tax exemptions
Salary calculator: This is how much net remains from the gross and so you can optimize your salary
How to get more net out of your gross salary.
© Leonsbox / Getty Images
The gross salary still looks generous, but in the end the net wage is pretty low? With a few tips you can optimize the salary so that a little more net of the gross remains.
3975 euros – that’s that Average gross wage with a full-time job in Germany. Men tend to earn more, around 4100 euros. Full-time women tend to receive less, not even 3600 euros.
But the social security contributions and taxes still have to be deducted from this average wage. A 40-year-old man in tax class I who has neither children nor is in church, but has statutory health insurance and pays into the pension fund as an employee, has a tax burden of 653 euros. The social contributions (i.e. health insurance, pension and unemployment insurance) amount to 794.01 euros. The man has 2527.58 euros as net wages, according to the result of the net-gross calculator of “Stiftung Warentest“.
This example is not exemplary, because who pays which taxes and in what amount depends on the living conditions. Are there any children? Then allowances can be claimed. Are you a member of the Church? Then taxes have to be paid for it. But with a few tricks you can alleviate your own tax burden.
The tax class check
Married couples or registered civil partnerships should check the combination of tax brackets. There are a total of six tax classes: “ I and II for unmarried people, for married couples the combinations III and V; IV and IV; IV + factor and IV + factor. The highest tax class VI applies to part-time jobs subject to wage tax, “write the product testers Wage and tax calculator of the Federal Ministry of Finance helps with optimization. For couples in whom part of them earns at least 60 percent of the household income, it is worth switching to tax brackets III / V. “In addition, the number of child allowances plays a role in terms of taxation. Single parents should apply for tax class II so that the special relief amount has an effect on income tax,” advise the experts from Warentest.
Couples and single parents can change their tax class once a year – for the current year until November 30th. Then check whether the bill of exchange has been correctly entered on your pay slip.
Household services or craftsmen
Do you have a cleaning service? Or do you hire craftsmen from time to time? Great, you can deduct these expenses with tax deductions. Attention: The so-called household-related services include: babysitting, gardening, housekeeping, window cleaning or care services. “You can claim a fifth of labor and travel costs up to a maximum of 20,000 euros per year in your tax return. This results in a direct tax deduction of a maximum of 4,000 euros per year,” according to the experts’ advice. The work such as roof or asbestos removal, painting or assembly work or furniture construction are among the craftsmen’s services. Here “you can deduct 20 percent of the labor costs as well as travel costs and consumables directly from your tax burden. You can bill a maximum of 6,000 euros per year. This results in a maximum tax saving of 1,200 euros per year”, according to the product testers. Tenants can also deduct part of the utility bill in this way to reduce taxes.
A tip from the product testers: “The tax reduction for craftsmen, household-related services and the employment of mini-jobbers can be claimed side by side, i.e. deducted from the tax. This results in a maximum tax bonus of 5710 euros per year.” You can find more information on this at www.test.de.
Use advertising expenses
Expenses for the way to work, for training and work equipment can be deducted. The tax office automatically deducts expenses of 1000 euros, up to this amount no proof of the income-related expenses has to be made. Important to know: only every euro that is added also lowers the tax burden.
It is worth investing a little more time with the advertising costs, because the flat rate is quickly exceeded: Is there a job-related move? What are the costs for the way to work? Have you subscribed to trade magazines? Have you made business trips? Has new technology been purchased to equip the home office? Computer? Telephones? The Stiftung Warentest provides an overviewwhich points may be billed under “advertising expenses”.
The lump sum for income-related expenses is valid for one year, even if one was not employed all the time during that year. And: The 1000 euros are only incurred once, so no additional lump sums for second and third jobs.
The corona crisis brings an innovation to taxpayers: the home office flat rate. “For every day in the home office you can claim 5 euros, for a maximum of 120 days per year – a maximum of 600 euros in total. You can only deduct higher costs with a recognized office”, according to the product testers.
