Caution: Household services cannot always be deducted
Costs that you have already declared as income-related expenses, business expenses, special expenses, or extraordinary expenses in your tax return cannot also be deducted as household-related services.
You cannot choose how to deduct the costs. If the costs are considered income-related expenses or special expenses, they must be declared as such, the same applies to extraordinary expenses. This applies, for example, to childcare costs, which cannot be deducted as household-related services, even if the maximum amount for childcare costs has already been exceeded.
Also, personal services, such as for a hairdresser or cosmetic treatment, are not considered household-related services, even if they take place in your home.
Services listed in the care insurance service catalogue can, however, be declared.
However, work that is not carried out in your private household is not eligible, for example, if you take your laundry to a cleaning service.
Craftsmen's services for which you receive insurance benefits after a claim (e.g. household or building insurance) cannot be claimed in the tax return. Insurance benefits that you will receive later must also be included.
There is also no tax deduction for household-related services that do not take place in your private household. This includes, for example, the cleaning of an off-site office, a second home, or your company. Such expenses are considered business expenses or income-related expenses. However, costs for a cleaning service that works both in a home office and in your private home can be apportioned pro rata. The business part is considered business expenses or income-related expenses, the private part as household-related services.
If household-related services are carried out both on private property and on public land, this activity is fully tax-privileged according to a BFH ruling. This applies, for example, to snow clearing on public pavements, but not on public roads. The costs for winter services in front of your own property are therefore deductible at 20 percent from the tax liability (BFH ruling of 20.03.2014, VI R 55/12).
However, in 2020, the BFH ruled that expenses for street cleaning in front of the property are not tax-privileged as household-related services according to § 35a para. 2 sentence 1 EStG (BFH ruling of 13.05.2020, VI R 4/18).
Recently, the Federal Ministry of Finance published the following overview regarding the BFH's case law (BMF letter of 01.09.2021, IV C 8 - S 2296-b/21/10002 :001):
| Measure |
Eligible |
Not eligible |
Household-related service |
| Street cleaning |
|
|
|
| – Roadway |
|
X |
|
| – Pavement |
X |
|
X |
| Winter service |
|
|
|
| – Roadway |
|
X |
|
| – Pavement |
X |
|
X |
Furthermore, the BMF stipulates: For craftsmen's services provided by public authorities that benefit not only individual households but all households involved in the public measures, a benefit under § 35a EStG is excluded. In this respect, there is no spatial-functional connection between the craftsmen's services and the household of the individual property owner. This applies, for example, to the expansion of the general supply network or the development of a road. This position corresponds to the BFH ruling of 28.04.2020 (VI R 50/17).
