"Putzhilfe" - How to hire them right and Tax deductions

[Frantic]

I am trying once for all to understand this.
It is my understanding that I have two options:
1) Hiring someone through Minijob
2) Hiring someone who is offering services as private company


In the first case I should register him/her to the MinijobZentral and I will pay around 15% of additional taxes and insurance contribution. Minijob monhtly income limit is 520 euro. Now the questions come.

1a) How I can be sure that the employee is not going over this 520 euro limits ?
1b) From what I have understood looks like that this is a kind of permanent employment where I pay a fixed monthly sum. If the puztenfrau/man got sick i will be refunded 80% of the salary, the same if he/she get injured, etc etc. But what I want is, yes keep paying the taxes and insurance contribution, but not having a permanent salary....but paying this "on demand". It can be one month I will need 20 hours, another 30 hours from her/him. Is this possible and I misunderstood all ?

In the second case I am sure I can have an "on demand" service relationship.
2a) What should I check before hiring someone ? I guess they can'T be registered as freiberufler but as private company. Shall I ask them their TAX Number and then where i check if they are really a private company ?
2b) For tax deduction I understood i can "absetzen" 20% of max 20.000 euro per years. It means max 4000 euro. Is this right ? SO if one year I pay a cleaning private company 4000 euro, i can have returned 800 euro, right ?

[PandaMunich]

In the first case I should register him/her to the MinijobZentral and I will pay around 15% of additional taxes and insurance contribution. Minijob monhtly income limit is 520 euro.

Actually, the limit is 538€ per month in 2024 (the Minijob-Zentrale hasn't yet updated their entire website), and will rise in the following years, for example in 2025 to 556€, since they linked the mini job limit to the minimum wage (this is a Haufe article, all of which resist GoogleTranslate, so just copy the German text into DeepL.com to get it translated into English): https://www.haufe.de/personal/entgelt/m ... 79516.html

Also see in the "Minijobs im Privathaushalt" (mini jobs within a private household) brochure on page 5: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/SharedD ... onFile&v=4

• Wann liegt ein Minijob im Privathaushalt vor?
  Verrichtet eine Person Tätigkeiten für einen Privathaushalt, die normalerweise Familienmitglieder erledigen, handelt es sich um ein Beschäftigungsverhältnis, wenn der Gelderwerb im Vordergrund steht. Beträgt der Verdienst regelmäßig im Monat maximal 538 Euro, handelt es sich um Minijobs in Privathaushalten. Hierzu zählen haushaltsnahe Dienstleistungen wie Kochen, Putzen, Wäsche waschen, Bügeln, Einkaufen und Gartenarbeit. Auch die Betreuung
  von Kindern, kranken, alten und pflegebedürftigen Menschen gehört dazu.
  Handwerkerarbeiten, die üblicherweise Unternehmen durchführen (z. B. Maurer- oder Elektrikerarbeiten), zählen nicht dazu.

• When is it a mini-job in a private household?
  If a person performs work for a private household that is normally carried out by family members, this is an employment relationship if the main purpose is to earn money. If the earnings regularly amount to a maximum of 538 euros per month, this is a mini-job in a private household. This includes household-related services such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, ironing, shopping and gardening. The care of
  care of children, the sick, the elderly and people in need of care are also included.
  Handyman work that is usually carried out by companies (e.g. bricklaying or electrician work) is not included.

1a) How I can be sure that the employee is not going over this 520 euro limits ?

It's 538€.

You cannot be sure, but what you can do is borrow a form from the mini jobs that aren't done within a household.
You would make them fill in and sign a questionnaire beforehand, in which they confirm that they are not over the limit: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/EN/Home ... fbodyText2

• questionnaire in English: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/SharedD ... onFile&v=2

• questionnaire in German: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/SharedD ... onFile&v=6

1b) From what I have understood looks like that this is a kind of permanent employment where I pay a fixed monthly sum. If the puztenfrau/man got sick i will be refunded 80% of the salary, the same if he/she get injured, etc etc.

You do understand that your employee will also have paid holidays?
See here: https://magazin-minijob--zentrale-de.tr ... r_pto=wapp

not having a permanent salary....but paying this "on demand". It can be one month I will need 20 hours, another 30 hours from her/him. Is this possible and I misunderstood all ?

It is possible if you report a half year at once:
https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/fuer ... _node.html

You would mark the section "monatlich schwanked" in the "household mini job" form: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/SharedD ... onFile&v=8

2024-04-22 16_07_29-09 Haushaltsscheck für Privathaushalte.jpg (32.58 KiB) Viewed 118 times

Your tax deduction in case 1 is limited to 20% * expenditure, maximum 510€ tax credit, see § 35a (1) EStG: https://www-gesetze--im--internet-de.tr ... r_pto=wapp

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In the second case I am sure I can have an "on demand" service relationship.
2a) What should I check before hiring someone ? I guess they can'T be registered as freiberufler but as private company. Shall I ask them their TAX Number and then where i check if they are really a private company ?

Why should they have to be a company?
They can be a Gewerbetreibende(r) (= non-Freiberufler self-employed), for details of what that means, please scroll down to the section "What kind of self-employed are you?" here: https://expertise.tax/en/get-a-german-tax-number/

A tax number (Steuernummer) looks like this: 123/456/78901, but you cannot check it.
Just take care they do not state their 11 digit tax identification number on their invoice: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steuerlic ... ionsnummer

2b) For tax deduction I understood i can "absetzen" 20% of max 20.000 euro per years. It means max 4000 euro. Is this right ? SO if one year I pay a cleaning private company 4000 euro, i can have returned 800 euro, right ?

Yes.
Please note that you need proper invoices and you need to have paid them by bank transfer or card, see § 35a (5) Satz 3 EStG: https://www-gesetze--im--internet-de.tr ... r_pto=wapp

• ³The prerequisite for claiming the tax reduction for household-related services in accordance with paragraph 2 or for tradesman services in accordance with paragraph 3 is that the taxpayer has received an invoice for the expenses and the payment has been made to the account of the provider of the service.

[Frantic]

Hi Panda,

thanks for the detailed answer.
Yes I know about the holiday and all. I want to do all clear and be sure he/she is insured but I dont want a employer-employee permanent relationship.
I dont understand, if I do this each semester what changes exactly ? I will just be able to handle the fluctuating monthly salary but all the rest will be the same, I mean he/she will be like an employee of mine (sickness, holiday, etc etc), right ? By the wAy in this case, even if not mandatory, I should also have a work contract signed by me and her/him, probably.

And I read that the amount of holiday per years is the number of working days in the week time 4. If this number of working days fluctuate then also holiday fluctuate ? and this days off are to be considered to be taken among which days ? The days that he/she is supposed to work to me ?
So if for example we have an average of one day per week, he/se will have 4 days off per year and it means that, for example, for 4 months over 12, he/she will come to clean 3 times and not 4 ?

Due to the entity of income and hours of a minijob I thought this was something much more easier and simple, more near to an insured freelance job.

[PandaMunich]

Yes I know about the holiday and all. I want to do all clear and be sure he/she is insured

What do you expect from this insurance?
A mini job does not give your employee any public health insurance - if you want to provide them with that, you would have to hire them in a midi job, i.e. with a salary over the mini job limit, e.g. in 2024, with a monthly gross salary of 538.01€.

Household mini job at 538€ gross salary per month:
In a household mini job, you as the employer pay around 15%, but only the following are not money down the drain (ok, if your cleaner will not have a baby, U2 is also money down the drain).
This is the calculation for a 538€ household mini job: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/fuer ... _node.html

You pay 5% into public pension insurance, your employee can choose to pay another 13.6% (= 18.6% total DRV contribution - 5% paid by you) to actually get a public pension entitlement for this mini job - if they don't, your 5% are also money down the drain.
If your employee does opt to co-pay into public pension insurance, their net salary is only 464.83€.

2024-04-22 16_53_12-Haushaltsscheck-Rechner - Minijob-Zentrale.jpg (275.54 KiB) Viewed 107 times

--> the mini jobber costs you 575.88€ per month (they divide the 510€ tax stipulated in § 35a (1) EStG that you get back through your tax return by 12 to get 42.50€):

2024-04-22 17_05_11-Haushaltsscheck-Rechner - Minijob-Zentrale.jpg (90.48 KiB) Viewed 107 times

but I dont want a employer-employee permanent relationship.

You may want to read the section "Protection against dismissal for mini-jobs in private households" in here: https://www-minijob--zentrale-de.transl ... r_pto=wapp

I dont understand, if I do this each semester what changes exactly ? I will just be able to handle the fluctuating monthly salary but all the rest will be the same, I mean he/she will be like an employee of mine (sickness, holiday, etc etc), right ?

Yes.

By the way in this case, even if not mandatory, I should also have a work contract signed by me and her/him, probably.

Yes, you can find the sample "household mini job" contract here: https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/SharedD ... 7ff303840e

And I read that the amount of holiday per years is the number of working days in the week time 4. If this number of working days fluctuate then also holiday fluctuate ? and this days off are to be considered to be taken among which days ? The days that he/she is supposed to work to me ?
So if for example we have an average of one day per week, he/she will have 4 days off per year and it means that, for example, for 4 months over 12, he/she will come to clean 3 times and not 4 ?

It means that of the 52 weeks that are in a year, he/she will not appear 4 weeks, but you still have to pay him/her.

Taken from the sample contract:

2024-04-22 17_23_01-Muster - Arbeitsvertrag für geringfügig entlohnte Beschäftigte_ - Adobe Acrobat .jpg (18.58 KiB) Viewed 107 times

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You do also understand that if, for example, your employee always comes to work on Monday, if there is a public holiday (= Feiertag) on a Monday (which means at the very least Easter Monday=Ostermontag and Whit Monday=Pfingstmontag), your employee additionally has that day off at full pay?
See here: https://magazin-minijob--zentrale-de.tr ... r_pto=wapp

[PandaMunich]

Midi job at 538.01€ gross salary per month:

Use the Techniker salary calculator: https://www.tk-lex.tk.de/web/guest/exte ... =HI7546978

This would cost you as the employer around 705€ per month (= 696.75€ Bruttobelastung per month + around 10€ per month for public accident insurance).
Your employee's net salary would be 535.80€ (in tax class I or IV) or 491.39€ (in tax class V, i.e. if they are married to someone in tax class III).

But your employee would get, just like any normal employee:

1. public health insurance (Krankenversicherung)
2. public nursing insurance (Pflegeversicherung)
3. public unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung)
4. public pension insurance (Rentenversicherung). He/she would only get that in the mini job if they co-pay, which would result in a lower net salary in the mini job than here in the midi job.
5. public accident insurance (Unfallversicherung). Ok, he/she would also get that in the mini job.
6. if you go bankrupt: the employee gets up to 3 months of continued pay in the form of Insolvenzgeld: https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.go ... r_pto=wapp

2024-04-22 17_24_32-Lohn-undGehaltsberechnung - Adobe Acrobat Pro.jpg (234.72 KiB) Viewed 105 times

[Frantic]

As stated in my first post, actually my way to go was this 15% taxes/contribution but at least on minijob zentrale this was still a minijob, if it remain under the 5xx euro limit.
Anyway I think i will totally give up the minijob idea, I want to just pay for on demand services and not become an employeer. At the same time I would not like to be on the wrong side of the law if there is an accident during the cleaning.

Do anyone have any suggestions ?

Looks like the only remaining option is to hire someone non-Freiberufler self-employed but this drastically reduce the offer, at least here, 20 km east of Munich.