Which pension expenses can I deduct in the tax return?
Pension expenses are expenditures with which you provide for your future. Pension expenses are divided into health and nursing care insurance, retirement provision, and other insurance.
Retirement pension expenses mainly include contributions to the statutory pension insurance, a Riester pension, or a private Rürup pension (funded pension). Contributions to occupational pension schemes are also included if they provide benefits comparable to statutory pension insurance. This mainly applies to employees and self-employed members of professional chambers, e.g. doctors, dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, tax consultants, lawyers, auditors, notaries, architects, engineers.
There is a separate maximum amount for payments into a Riester contract. Therefore, you can claim contributions to the specially subsidised Riester pension separately. For this, there is the "Anlage AV", in which the Riester contributions must be entered. This must then be submitted to the tax office together with the provider's certificate.
Contributions to statutory and private basic health insurance as well as statutory nursing care insurance (i.e. social nursing care insurance and private compulsory nursing care insurance) are deductible as special expenses in their actual amount and unlimited.
Other pension expenses mainly include contributions to unemployment insurance, occupational disability, accident, and liability insurance, term life insurance, private health insurance (beyond basic cover), and private nursing care insurance. Capital life insurance and pension insurance with a capital option (considered at 88%) as well as pension insurance without a capital option concluded before 2005 are also included here.
Insurance that does not serve to provide for the future is not deductible as pension expenses. This includes, for example, property insurance, such as household or legal protection insurance or comprehensive car insurance.
Also not deductible as pension expenses are contributions to direct insurance, a pension fund, or a pension scheme if they are tax-advantaged. Insurance amounts and other pension expenses do not fall under the "special expenses allowance" because they are not unlimited deductible special expenses.
Occupational insurance
The maximum pension amount is usually already exhausted by health and nursing care insurance and retirement pension expenses. Therefore, other pension expenses (see above) often have no tax effect.
For this reason, it is advisable to claim occupational insurance not covered by the employer as income-related expenses. In practice, a deduction in Anlage N (section "Employees > Income-related expenses") is mainly possible for professional liability insurance and professional legal protection insurance.
Since accident insurance usually covers both private and occupational risks, the contributions are partly deductible as income-related expenses and partly as special expenses. Claim 50% of the contributions as income-related expenses and 50% as special expenses ("other insurance"). However, if you have a hazardous occupation and the occupational risk share is greater than 50%, you should have this certified by the insurance company. Claim the certified share as income-related expenses and attach the certificate to your tax return.
Which pension expenses can I deduct in the tax return?
Bis zu welcher Höhe kann ich Vorsorgeaufwendungen absetzen?
Altersvorsorgeaufwendungen (z. B. Beiträge zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung, zu berufsständischen Versorgungseinrichtungen und zu Rürup-Rentenversicherungen) sind bis zu einem Höchstbetrag steuerlich absetzbar. Seit 2023 sind diese Aufwendungen zu 100 Prozent als Sonderausgaben absetzbar (§ 10 Abs. 3 Satz 6 EStG, geändert durch das "Jahressteuergesetz 2022").
Höchstbeträge 2024:
- 29.344 Euro für Alleinstehende
- 58.688 Euro für Verheiratete
Sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen:
- Wenn Sie steuerfreie Zuschüsse zu Ihrer Krankenversicherung oder Beihilfe zu Krankheitskosten erhalten, können Sie sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen bis zu 1.900 Euro absetzen.
- Ohne diese Zuschüsse können bis zu 2.800 Euro geltend gemacht werden.
Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung:
Beiträge zur Basis-Krankenversicherung und zur Pflegeversicherung berücksichtigt das Finanzamt immer in tatsächlicher Höhe, auch wenn sie den Höchstbetrag von 1.900 Euro bzw. 2.800 Euro übersteigen. Andere Versicherungsbeiträge, wie Beiträge zur Arbeitslosenversicherung oder Haftpflichtversicherungen, können nur abgesetzt werden, wenn der Höchstbetrag durch die Kranken- und Pflegeversicherungsbeiträge nicht ausgeschöpft ist.
Tipp:
Wenn Ihre Beiträge zur Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung unterhalb des Höchstbetrags liegen, haben Sie Spielraum, um weitere Versicherungsbeiträge geltend zu machen.
Bis zu welcher Höhe kann ich Vorsorgeaufwendungen absetzen?
Welche Beiträge zur Altersvorsorge kann ich als Vorsorgeaufwendungen eintragen?
Unter Altersvorsorgeaufwendungen versteht man Beiträge zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung, zur Rürup-Rente, zur landwirtschaftlichen Alterskasse sowie zur berufsständischen Versorgungseinrichtung. Arbeitnehmer können außerdem freiwillige Beiträge zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung und zur landwirtschaftlichen Alterskasse geltend machen.
Arbeitgeberanteil zur Rentenversicherung:
Da auch der Arbeitgeberanteil zur gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung berücksichtigt wird, fallen die abzugsfähigen Sonderausgaben oft niedriger aus. Die Altersvorsorgeaufwendungen können bis zu einem Höchstbetrag geltend gemacht werden, der an den Höchstbeitrag der knappschaftlichen Rentenversicherung gekoppelt ist.
Höchstbeträge 2025:
- 29.344 Euro für Ledige
- 58.688 Euro für Verheiratete
Seit 2023 sind diese Beiträge zu 100 % steuermindernd wirksam.
Sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen:
Zusätzlich können sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen wie Beiträge zur Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung abgesetzt werden:
- Bis zu 1.900 Euro, wenn Sie steuerfreie Zuschüsse zur Krankenversicherung erhalten.
- Bis zu 2.800 Euro, wenn Sie keine steuerfreien Zuschüsse erhalten.
Welche Beiträge zur Altersvorsorge kann ich als Vorsorgeaufwendungen eintragen?
What can I claim as special expenses in my tax return?
Special expenses are personal living expenses that are exceptionally eligible for tax relief. The special expenses you can declare in your tax return are divided into two groups: pension expenses and other special expenses.
The other special expenses referred to on this input page are automatically taken into account by the tax office with the special expenses allowance. The special expenses allowance is set very low at 36 Euro for single persons and 72 Euro for married couples. It is therefore relatively easy to exceed this amount. These include, in particular, church tax paid, donations, childcare costs, and maintenance payments to an ex-spouse.
Pension expenses include contributions to basic health insurance and compulsory long-term care insurance, as well as private pension schemes and contributions to certain private insurance policies, such as private liability, accident, and disability insurance.
Important
The special expenses allowance does not apply to pension expenses. These are not unlimited deductible special expenses but are only deductible up to a maximum amount.
The second part of the special expenses, pension expenses, is divided into pension contributions, contributions to basic health and long-term care insurance, and other insurance. Pension contributions mainly include contributions to the statutory pension insurance or a private Rürup pension (funded pension scheme).
Other insurance includes contributions to health and long-term care insurance (beyond basic cover), unemployment insurance, accident and liability insurance, term life insurance, disability insurance, as well as capital life and pension insurance policies taken out before 2005.
Please enter the pension expenses in the “pension expenses” section of our tax return.
What can I claim as special expenses in my tax return?
