Allowable DE tax deductible insurance payments

[Emkay]

I’d be very grateful for some guidance on this. I’m struggling to comprehend some tax return issues whilst my husband is away in Reha. Our tax advisor is about to submit our 2022 tax return and I wonder if some ‘Sonderausgaben als sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen’ might have been omitted. Maximum for employees, 1900€ per annum.

I’m not sure if I’ve understood my Google efforts properly. My husband has a capital life insurance with quite high monthly payments. Well, I think that’s what it is; upon policy end, which is soon, a capital amount can be paid out as a lump sum or, a monthly amount guaranteed for xx number of years. The description is ‘Kapitalbildende Lebensversicherung’. Is it correct that these monthly payments are tax deductible up to 1900€ for a policy that started prior to 2005? The same looks to apply for private use car insurance. I guess the maximum is 1900€ for all such deductibles rather than for each? What I don’t know yet is if anything else has already been declared towards this sum. Maybe it’s all been used up by other tax deductibles. My husband has no recollection of any of these aspects being mentioned before when he meets his tax advisor.

Just another quick question….if the 2022 tax return has already just been submitted, are amendments possible?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[PandaMunich]

I’d be very grateful for some guidance on this. I’m struggling to comprehend some tax return issues whilst my husband is away in Reha. Our tax advisor is about to submit our 2022 tax return and I wonder if some ‘Sonderausgaben als sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen’ might have been omitted. Maximum for employees, 1900€ per annum.

I’m not sure if I’ve understood my Google efforts properly. My husband has a capital life insurance with quite high monthly payments. Well, I think that’s what it is; upon policy end, which is soon, a capital amount can be paid out as a lump sum or, a monthly amount guaranteed for xx number of years. The description is ‘Kapitalbildende Lebensversicherung’. Is it correct that these monthly payments are tax deductible up to 1900€ for a policy that started prior to 2005? The same looks to apply for private use car insurance. I guess the maximum is 1900€ for all such deductibles rather than for each? What I don’t know yet is if anything else has already been declared towards this sum. Maybe it’s all been used up by other tax deductibles.

Yes, in theory, pre-2005 life insurances and all kinds of liability insurance (private, car, dog) are tax deductible.
But in practice, nobody has any "space left" under that 1,900€ per year limit for employees or 2,800€ for self-employed, since everybody has that limit already "eaten up" by their health insurance contributions, which are much higher than that limit.

Just another quick question….if the 2022 tax return has already just been submitted, are amendments possible?

Yes, up to 1 month after the Bescheid gets issued, you can put in deductibles that you had forgotten.

[Emkay]

I’d be very grateful for some guidance on this. I’m struggling to comprehend some tax return issues whilst my husband is away in Reha. Our tax advisor is about to submit our 2022 tax return and I wonder if some ‘Sonderausgaben als sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen’ might have been omitted. Maximum for employees, 1900€ per annum.

I’m not sure if I’ve understood my Google efforts properly. My husband has a capital life insurance with quite high monthly payments. Well, I think that’s what it is; upon policy end, which is soon, a capital amount can be paid out as a lump sum or, a monthly amount guaranteed for xx number of years. The description is ‘Kapitalbildende Lebensversicherung’. Is it correct that these monthly payments are tax deductible up to 1900€ for a policy that started prior to 2005? The same looks to apply for private use car insurance. I guess the maximum is 1900€ for all such deductibles rather than for each? What I don’t know yet is if anything else has already been declared towards this sum. Maybe it’s all been used up by other tax deductibles.

Yes, in theory, pre-2005 life insurances and all kinds of liability insurance (private, car, dog) are tax deductible.
But in practice, nobody has any "space left" under that 1,900€ per year limit for employees or 2,800€ for self-employed, since everybody has that limit already "eaten up" by their health insurance contributions, which are much higher than that limit.

Just another quick question….if the 2022 tax return has already just been submitted, are amendments possible?

Yes, up to 1 month after the Bescheid gets issued, you can put in deductibles that you had forgotten.

Many thanks for the clarification. Indeed, the ‘practice’ must apply if health insurance is included in that category of taxable deductions.

I’m sure this is wishful thinking, though I’ll ask anyway if I may…..now that my UK property rental income is subject to DE Progressionsvorbehalt, could my private use car insurance be tax deductible?

Another thought, probably from next year….my UK rental income is likely to exceed the Krankenkasse income allowed as Familienversichert. If/when I have to pay for my own Krankenversicherung, would that be tax deductible against my UK rental income?

Also, I’ll soon have a UK private pension payout that will be in part DE taxable. Would this qualify me more than a progressionsvorbehalt payer in order to deduct insurance etc payments?

I’m certainly grasping at straws, if there are any, especially as after my husband’s Reha, he may not be able to work again. Every little may help

Many thanks again.

[PandaMunich]

I’m sure this is wishful thinking, though I’ll ask anyway if I may…..now that my UK property rental income is subject to DE Progressionsvorbehalt, could my private use car insurance be tax deductible?

No, since your husband's yearly health insurance contribution exceeds:

• 1,900€ for Emkay's husband + 1,900€ for Emkay = 3,800€

Another thought, probably from next year….my UK rental income is likely to exceed the Krankenkasse income allowed as Familienversichert. If/when I have to pay for my own Krankenversicherung, would that be tax deductible against my UK rental income?

Not against your UK rental income, since that isn't taxable by Germany.
Yes, I know Progressionsvorbehalt means more tax, but it is tax on your family's other income.
--> your own public health insurance contributions will lower your family's taxable income, i.e. your husband's salary.

Also, I’ll soon have a UK private pension payout that will be in part DE taxable. Would this qualify me more than a progressionsvorbehalt payer in order to deduct insurance etc payments?

Yes.
But as you see above, it is not a problem that these public health insurance contributions are "yours", you get taxed jointly as a married couple, so it's a case of "my expense is your expense", they don't care which one of you incurred the expense.

[Emkay]

I’m sure this is wishful thinking, though I’ll ask anyway if I may…..now that my UK property rental income is subject to DE Progressionsvorbehalt, could my private use car insurance be tax deductible?

No, since your husband's yearly health insurance contribution exceeds:

• 1,900€ for Emkay's husband + 1,900€ for Emkay = 3,800€

Another thought, probably from next year….my UK rental income is likely to exceed the Krankenkasse income allowed as Familienversichert. If/when I have to pay for my own Krankenversicherung, would that be tax deductible against my UK rental income?

Not against your UK rental income, since that isn't taxable by Germany.
Yes, I know Progressionsvorbehalt means more tax, but it is tax on your family's other income.
--> your own public health insurance contributions will lower your family's taxable income, i.e. your husband's salary.

Also, I’ll soon have a UK private pension payout that will be in part DE taxable. Would this qualify me more than a progressionsvorbehalt payer in order to deduct insurance etc payments?

Yes.
But as you see above, it is not a problem that these public health insurance contributions are "yours", you get taxed jointly as a married couple, so it's a case of "my expense is your expense", they don't care which one of you incurred the expense.

Many thanks for explaining @PandaMunich

[Krieg]

Yes, in theory, pre-2005 life insurances and all kinds of liability insurance (private, car, dog) are tax deductible.
But in practice, nobody has any "space left" under that 1,900€ per year limit for employees or 2,800€ for self-employed, since everybody has that limit already "eaten up" by their health insurance contributions, which are much higher than that limit.

This explains why always when I put the insurances in our tax program it never showed any difference to the point that I stopped bothering long time ago. Thanks Panda.