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It is worth examining tax assessments carefully and filing an objection if necessary.
Many employees submit a tax return every year and hope for a substantial repayment. But when the decision arrives, an additional payment of several hundred euros is sometimes required. The financial administration does not recognize items that have been claimed. Then the taxpayers should take action. We asked experts what to look out for when checking the notification.
Check the notice
“Read the entire notice carefully” – that’s what Marieke Einbrodt, tax expert at Stiftung Warentest, recommends. The focus often wanders to where the greatest deviations are. “But the tax return is important for many questions,” she says. An example: the taxable income. If the tax office sets this higher than the employees, this can affect the children’s possible Bafög entitlements, child care payments or loan applications. It is therefore worthwhile to go through the notice from start to finish.
“Transfer errors are relatively rare in income tax assessments because they are created digitally,” says Daniela Karbe-Gessler, head of tax law and tax policy at the Taxpayers’ Association. The program marks items that deviate from the normal range or values from the previous year. These would then be checked by a tax officer. Occasionally it happens that an item is overlooked.
Compare the submission and notification
Computer programs help here – above all Elster, the online software of the financial administration. “Anyone who makes their tax return in it has the opportunity to have the notice and the submitted return compared,” says Einbrodt. The deviations become clear at the click of a mouse. Some computer programs for preparing the tax return also offer this option – especially those that have interfaces to Elster. What no program can filter out: “Transposed digits or items that the taxpayer forgot when preparing the tax return,” says Einbrodt. So also take a close look at your own information if the decision is not as hoped.
Study the fine print
Deviations from the submitted declaration are listed in the small print at the end of the notification, in the so-called explanations. “Here, for example, it is explained whether all income-related expenses have been recognized or amounts applied for have been canceled,” says Karbe-Gessler. Einbrodt points out that the explanations are not always easy to understand. “Tax German isn’t easy,” she says. Sometimes the quickest way to determine which item failed the tax office is to look at the canceled amount.
Provisional tax assessment
In addition to the rejection of a submitted item, there is also the variant that the tax office has questions about an item. For example, the existence of a study may be questioned. This can lead to the tax assessment being classified as provisional. Taxpayers can submit information here that proves their calculation, such as a floor plan of the apartment on which the study has been identified.
object
If, on the other hand, the tax office specifically rejects an item, taxpayers have one month to lodge an objection. The period starts three days after the notification has been sent. Then it is considered announced. If this day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the period begins on the following Monday. “If you can prove that you received the notice later, the day of delivery is considered notification,” says Einbrodt. After one month, the objection must be submitted to the tax office. Since there are often misunderstandings on this point, Stiftung Warentest has put a digital calculator on its website to determine the objection period.
“In the objection, the taxpayer should explain why he thinks the decision is incorrect,” says Karbe-Gessler. The objection can be filed online via the Elster website. “Most of the time, however, it is submitted in writing by post,” she says. Incidentally, mistakes made by taxpayers themselves when submitting the application can also be corrected by appeal.
ride costs
The submitted travel expenses are an item on the income tax return that is often questioned by the tax office. According to the law, 30 cents are charged per kilometer of the one-way route, from kilometer 21 it is 35 cents. “It’s the shortest route to work that counts. If you take detours to avoid traffic jams or roadblocks, you can drop off the rest of the way,” says Einbrodt. If you come to work by public transport and have more expenses for the ticket than you would be reimbursed for the travel costs, you can deduct these costs.
work equipment
Something has changed in the costs of work equipment such as computers, laptops and the like. Since 2021, they can be written off completely in the year of purchase – no longer staggered as before. The tax office describes them as digital assets. This includes tablets, computers, laptops and associated devices such as printers or monitors. But not the mobile phone, even though many people use it at work. The useful life is one year – after that, a new device can be purchased and claimed for tax purposes again. The technical devices are included in the tax assessment as “expenses for work equipment”. “If you only use your laptop half for work, you can only sell half of it,” says Einbrodt.
Donate
They are listed in the notification under “unrestrictedly deductible special expenses” under “benefits paid, paragraph 10b EStG”. Check here that all donations are mentioned. Up to 300 euros, you no longer need to keep a receipt, but can prove the donation with a bank statement or transfer receipt if the tax office asks. However, only donations to church, religious and scientific organizations are accepted, not to private individuals.
rejection of the objection
Processing an appeal can take a long time. In the answer, the tax office can accept the objection or reject it. “In this case, the taxpayer is asked to withdraw the objection,” says Einbrodt. “Anyone who does not agree can file a lawsuit,” says Karbe-Gessler, “if you do not feel sufficiently secure, support from a tax consultant or lawyer is advisable.”