Assumption of the costs for the home placement of one parent

Residential care – Residential care expenses constitute maintenance expenses.

Often the financial means of the parents are not sufficient for a home placement and the children pay for the (remaining) home costs. The expenses borne for the parents may have a tax-reducing effect for the children. In principle, the costs constitute maintenance expenses within the meaning of Section 33a of the German Income Tax Act (EStG). According to this, up to 9,168 euros in a calendar year (for 2019) can be taken into account, but the supported parent’s own income and emoluments are counted to the extent that they exceed 624 euros per year.

If children bear expenses for their parents due to an illness-related accommodation due to need of care (from care degree 1) and if a consideration as maintenance expenses is not possible, these can be deducted for the children in principle as extraordinary expenses according to § 33 EStG. However, these only have an effect to the extent that they exceed the reasonable burden. In contrast, according to the tax authorities, the costs of age-related accommodation do not constitute extraordinary expenses.

Insofar as own expenses – due to the reasonable burden or an age-related accommodation – are not taken into account as extraordinary expenses, the home resident can in principle claim the tax reduction for household-related care services according to § 35a EStG. It has not yet been clarified whether this also applies to costs assumed by children.

The Federal Fiscal Court denied this for the expenses assumed by the children. The tax reduction can be claimed only by the resident of the home himself, who incurs expenses because of his own placement in the home or his own care. No tax reduction is available for expenses incurred in connection with the accommodation or care of other persons.