(2022)
What is the allowance for voluntary service?
Income from part-time work in charitable, non-profit, or church-related sectors is tax-free up to 840 Euro per year (up to 2020: 720 Euro), provided the trainer's allowance does not apply (§ 3 No. 26a EStG). This benefits individuals who volunteer in non-profit associations and organisations and take on responsibilities. The following conditions apply:
- The work must be part-time.
- The work must promote charitable, benevolent, or church-related purposes.
The tax exemption for expense allowances under § 3 No. 12 EStG cannot be claimed for income from the eligible activity.
Please note that part-time work is defined as work that does not exceed one-third of the working hours of a comparable full-time job over the calendar year.
If you incur business expenses in connection with such work, you can only deduct them if they exceed the allowance.
The COVID-19 vaccination is a mammoth task. Therefore, there should be a tax benefit for those who volunteer in vaccination or test centres or mobile vaccination teams. The dedicated helpers make an important contribution to health protection and combating the pandemic. Already in 2020 and 2021, volunteers in vaccination and test centres could benefit from the so-called trainer's allowance or the volunteer allowance.
Currently, the finance ministries of the federal states and the Federal Ministry of Finance have decided to extend these reliefs for the year 2022 (source: Ministry of Finance Baden-Württemberg, announcement of 7.2.2022). The following regulations apply for the years 2020 to 2022:
- For all those directly involved in vaccination or testing - such as in counselling sessions or the vaccination or testing itself - the trainer's allowance applies. In 2020, the trainer's allowance was 2,400 Euro, and since 2021 it has been 3,000 Euro annually. Those involved in the administration and organisation of vaccination or test centres can claim the volunteer allowance. This was 720 Euro in 2020 and increased to 840 Euro from 2021. This also applies to mobile vaccination and test centres.
- Due to tax regulations, volunteers in test centres can only claim the trainer's or volunteer allowance if the client or employer is a non-profit organisation or a public employer, such as the state or a municipality.
- For vaccination centres, the federal and state governments have agreed that the trainer's and volunteer allowance can also be considered if the vaccination centre is operated on behalf of a legal entity under public law with the involvement of private individuals or entirely by private individuals.
- Both the trainer's and volunteer allowance apply only to remuneration for part-time work. This is usually the case if these activities do not exceed one-third of the working hours of a comparable full-time position or the regular weekly working hours do not exceed 14 hours. This also applies to helpers who do not have a main occupation, such as students or pensioners.
- The allowances are annual amounts granted to volunteers only once per calendar year. For multiple activities to which the trainer's allowance applies (e.g., helper in the vaccination sector and youth team coach), the income must be added together. The same applies to the volunteer allowance.
- If volunteers are part-time in both the vaccination/testing sector and the administration/organisation of vaccination and test centres, both allowances can be considered simultaneously. However, this requires that the activities are agreed upon and remunerated separately.
Doctors' surgeries are not considered COVID-19 vaccination centres in this sense. If doctors pay staff a bonus for additional work, the trainer's or volunteer allowance cannot be claimed. Part-time helpers are generally considered employees and thus earn income from employment.
The occasionally held view that self-employed income may exist is not shared by the tax authorities, as far as can be seen. The allowances of 3,000 Euro or 840 Euro can also be taken into account by the employer when calculating income tax. In this case, however, the employee must confirm in writing to the employer that the respective allowance has not already been "used" elsewhere. The employer must include the declaration in the payroll account.
If pharmaceutical staff were employed in the vaccination centres and received their remuneration from the pharmacy chamber, no income tax deduction was usually made in 2021, as there appear to be special leniency agreements between the tax authorities and pharmacy chambers. The income must then be declared and taxed in the respective employee's tax return. Caution: From 2022, this leniency regulation is no longer expected to apply, meaning that income tax must also be paid for pharmaceutical staff if the tax-free allowances are exceeded.
