The income tax declaration can be a real jungle for investors and private savers, but with the right tips and tricks, it becomes child’s play. Discover how to save money through targeted deduction of advertising costs and extraordinary expenses while keeping an eye on deadlines. Our guide shows you how to efficiently and easily complete the income tax declaration, maximizing your potential tax benefits. The following chapters offer valuable insights into the best tricks for deductions and simplifying the submission of the income tax declaration.
Strategies to Reduce Tax Burden: Properly Utilize Advertising Costs and Extraordinary Expenses
In the income tax declaration 2023, advertising costs and extraordinary expenses offer valuable opportunities to significantly reduce the tax burden. These two categories should be used strategically to save cash. Advertising costs include expenses that are directly related to your professional activity. This particularly includes travel expenses to work. In this case, you can deduct a flat rate of 30 cents per kilometer traveled, and starting from the 21st kilometer, even 38 cents. It’s essential to accurately record the kilometers traveled to correctly calculate the maximum possible flat rate.
You can also deduct costs for a home office, which can provide considerable savings, especially during times of increased remote work. If you can prove the use of your home office, you can deduct both flat rates and specific expenses, such as 20 euros per month for phone and internet costs. Keep in mind that documentation is required for higher deduction amounts.
In job application situations, expenses for resumes, portfolios, or travel can be deducted as advertising costs. The same applies to professional training and specialist literature, which is particularly advantageous for professionals who need to continue their education.
On the other hand, extraordinary expenses include private costs that benefit from favorable tax treatment. These include expenses for health insurance, care, and pensions that fall into the category of pension expenses. Donations and church tax payments also hold particular importance, as they are fully deductible. Childcare expenses allow parents to deduct two-thirds of their costs, but with a maximum of 4,000 euros per child per year.
To ensure complete tax savings, it’s crucial to collect and keep all receipts for extraordinary expenses. This also applies even if immediate submission to the tax office is not necessary. With the help of apps or tax software, it can also be ensured that all possible deductions are correctly considered without wasting time on complicated tax issues. Accurate recording and reporting of these expenses can make a decisive difference for your financial advantage at the end of the year and should be carefully planned.
Deadlines and Digital Submission of the Income Tax Declaration 2023: Efficiency for Tax Success
Adhering strictly to the deadlines for the income tax declaration 2023 is essential to avoid potential penalties and to ensure any tax benefits timely. In Germany, the deadlines are clearly defined: those required to submit a declaration have until September 2, 2024. If a tax consultant is commissioned, this deadline automatically extends to June 2, 2025. Taxpayers who wish to voluntarily submit a declaration have the luxury of doing so until December 31, 2027.
Digitalization has significantly simplified the income tax declaration process. Electronic submission, preferably through the ELSTER portal, is now considered the norm. This platform allows for secure and structured transmission of the relevant data to the tax office. In addition, there are tailored apps and tax software that offer user comfort and efficiency. Renowned applications guide users step by step through the submission process and provide valuable tips to optimize the tax burden. These digital assistants not only save time but also reduce the error rate thanks to automatic plausibility checks.
Despite the digital facilitators, patience is required: after submission, it can take 5 to 8 weeks before the tax notification is issued. Delays may occur, especially if the tax office requires further information. To avoid extensions of deadlines, it is advisable to clarify the financial situation well in advance.
In cases of unforeseen events that make timely submission impossible, an extension of the deadline is only permissible in well-justified exceptional cases. A written request is required, clearly stating the circumstances, such as a prolonged illness. Timely requests for such extensions are therefore of great importance to avoid penalties and to have peace of mind for tax strategies.