Tax tricks 2025: You can now deduct these 9 expenses!

Tax tricks 2025: You can now deduct these 9 expenses!

Every year, taxpayers ask themselves which expenses the tax office recognizes and which costs can be deducted from taxes. A current overview shows that many expenses can be taken into account for tax purposes, which often leads to refunds. Nine specific expenses are particularly relevant and can be claimed in the tax return, as sol.de reports.

The deductible costs include, for example, the **contributions to basic health and nursing care insurance**, which are deductible indefinitely. However, employees must note that their share will be reduced by a flat rate of 4%. This requires an entry in the precautionary expenditure appendix. **Contributions to statutory pension insurance** can also be deducted, with the maximum limit for 2024 being 27,566 euros for single people and 55,132 euros for married couples.

Important expense items

Anyone who makes contributions to **private retirement provision, such as the Riester pension**, can deduct up to 2,100 euros, with the allowances already being deducted. Costs for **child care and school fees** can be tax deductible up to 6,000 euros per year per child. For private schools, 30% of the school fees are deductible up to a maximum of 5,000 euros.

Donations can be tax deductible up to 20% of the total amount of income. Excess amounts may be carried forward to the following year. In addition, **membership fees for trade unions or professional associations** can be deducted, as can **account management fees**, which are deductible at a flat rate of 16 euros. **Craftsman services** are also relevant, with up to 1,200 euros per year being deductible, with a labor cost cap of 6,000 euros.

Other tax-relevant positions

For **domestic helpers** you can deduct 20% of a maximum of 20,000 euros, i.e. up to 4,000 euros per year. These expenses are entered in the budget-related expenses appendix. Many taxpayers are often not aware of the large number of items that come into question for the tax return and that can lead to a higher refund through targeted optimization of expenses.

In order to address the situation of special expenses, two areas must be differentiated: basic care and other precautionary expenses, as finanztip.de explains. For 2024, the maximum amount is 27,566 euros for single people and 55,132 euros for married couples or life partners. From 2023, it will be possible to claim 100% of pension expenses as tax deductions, which has improved compared to previous years.

In the past, a reduced deductible portion had to be taken into account for employees based on the employer's contributions. This also applies to civil servants who can use a reduced maximum amount due to their exemption from pension insurance. It should be particularly noted that the **contributions to basic health and nursing care insurance** have since been deductible in full, but some rules, such as the flat-rate reduction of 4%, remain in effect.