(2022)
What are donations and membership fees to promote religious purposes?
If you make donations or membership fees to organisations promoting ecclesiastical purposes, you can deduct these from your taxes. Your donation supports a church organisation if its activities aim to promote a religious community recognised as a public corporation. The religious community must be recognised as a public corporation nationwide or in at least one federal state. This includes not only the religious community itself but also its support associations.
The following examples are considered ecclesiastical purposes:
- Construction and maintenance of churches and church community centres
- Holding church services
- Training of clergy
- Providing religious education
- Funerals and commemoration of the deceased
- Management of church assets
