What is the Employee Lump Sum? (Arbeitnehmerpauschbetrag)
The so-called employee lump sum makes a major contribution.
What the Employee Lump Sum (Arbeitnehmerpauschbetrag) Is All About
Anyone who takes a look at the treasury will find that not everything is unfair. The so-called employee lump sum makes a major contribution. Admittedly, the term sounds extremely unwieldy at first glance, but in principle, there is something good behind it from which every taxpayer can only profit.
What is the employee lump sum?
The so-called employee lump sum is granted to everyone in Germany. In principle, this is considered an income-related expense. 1,000 EUR is deducted from the income, which ultimately means that the tax burden to be paid decreases. This process is based on § 9a No.1 EStG. Documents, proofs and the like are not required for it.
Since 2011, the employee lump sum, also known as the Werbungskostenpauschbetrag, has been 1,000 EUR per calendar year.
The employee lump sum (Arbeitnehmerpauschbetrag) in your tax return
Whoever submits a tax return to the tax office automatically receives the employee flat-rate amount, for which, as already described, no supporting documents are required. This also means that the lump sum does not have to be applied for separately.
Of course, there are many taxpayers who had far higher income-related expenses than the 1,000 EUR. If more costs are estimated, corresponding receipts must also be kept, since the tax office can ask for these.
Note: From a tax point of view, costs always arise when they have actually flowed.
Deduct income-related costs (Werbungskosten) in advance
It is also possible to reduce the tax payable during the calendar year. In the case of a registered tax-free allowance (Freibetrag), a tax deduction is already granted on a monthly basis, in contrast to the employee lump sum, which is granted after submission of the income tax return. The tax allowance can be applied for at the tax office if the income-related expenses in the previous tax year were higher than the flat-rate amount. The tax-free allowance applies automatically from the following month.