Field help:
Have you paid maintenance to the divorced or permanently separated spouse?
Maintenance payments to your divorced or permanently separated spouse can be deducted either as special expenses or extraordinary burdens.
For higher maintenance payments, it is advisable to deduct them as special expenses, as the maximum tax saving may be higher. The person obliged to pay maintenance can deduct up to 13.805 Euro per year plus health and nursing care insurance contributions (for the recipient's coverage). However, the recipient must give their consent and fully tax the income.
Important: The decision then applies to your entire maintenance payment, meaning you cannot enter part as special expenses and part as extraordinary burdens in the tax return. Which decision is better depends on the individual case.
