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 the child is 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 parent in relation to the relief amount means 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 actually entitled to the relief amount. You benefit from the relief amount for the first time in the year following the separation. However, please note the current legal situation.
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 in a household, the tax office assumes that they share the household 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 be able to prove that you manage 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.
The court has ruled that newly married couples can partially use the single parent relief amount in the year of their wedding, provided they did not live with another adult in the same household before the marriage. (BFH ruling of 28.10.2021, III R 57/20).
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).
The Federal Ministry of Finance currently stipulates that the rulings are to be applied generally (BMF letter of 23.11.2022, BStBl 2022 I p. 1634).
Tip: There are three exceptions to the rule that no other adult may live in the household:
- If the other adult is your biological child, adopted child, foster child, stepchild, or grandchild and you receive the child allowance or child benefit for this child, it is acceptable.
- The relief amount remains if the household member cannot actually contribute to the household due to care needs.
- In 2023, the admission of adult refugees from Ukraine by single parents will not result in the loss of your entitlement to the relief amount. This is for reasons of fairness.
