SteuerGo FAQs

(2022) What are the conditions for the tax relief?

You are entitled to the relief amount if at least one minor or adult child lives in your household for whom you are entitled to child benefit or the child allowance. The tax office assumes that the child belongs to the household if they are registered at your address with either a primary or secondary residence.

If the child is registered with several people, the relief amount goes to the person receiving the child benefit.

The allowance is only considered once, even if you have several children. Exception: If you are separated from your partner, both parties can receive the relief amount if at least one child lives with the father or mother and the child benefit is paid to them.

Single means in the context of the relief amount that you do not meet the conditions for the application of the splitting tariff.

The conditions for the splitting tariff are not met if the parents were not married or if they were still married in the tax year but had been permanently separated since the previous year. Parents who did not live separately for even one day in the year are therefore not entitled to the relief amount (see below for current case law). You benefit from the relief amount for the first time in the year following the separation.

Furthermore, as a single parent, you must not live in a household with another adult, unless they are children for whom you receive child benefit. If you live with another adult, the tax office assumes that they share finances with you. This generally applies if you live with a partner, but also for parents, grandparents, or siblings.

In the case of shared accommodation without joint household management, the entitlement to the relief amount remains. However, you must prove that you manage finances separately. An exception is also possible if the other adult is almost penniless and cannot contribute to the household. This does not apply to partners.

 

Currently, the Federal Fiscal Court has ruled that jointly assessed spouses can also claim the relief amount for single parents on a pro-rata basis in the year of marriage, provided they did not live in a household with another adult before the marriage (BFH ruling of 28.10.2021, III R 57/20).

Currently, the Federal Fiscal Court has also ruled that in the year of separation, the relief amount is to be granted on a pro-rata basis for the months after the separation if individual assessment is chosen and no other adult lives in the household (BFH ruling of 28.10.2021, III R 17/20). Note: The ruling states: "Taxpayers who are individually assessed for income tax as spouses under §§ 26, 26a EStG can claim the relief amount for single parents on a pro-rata basis in the year of separation ...".

It can be concluded that the pro-rata granting is only considered if individual assessment is chosen. However, looking at the BFH ruling III R 57/20 of the same day (see above), it can be inferred that the pro-rata relief amount should also be granted if joint assessment is chosen in the year of separation. It would have been desirable for the BFH to express this more clearly.