In short and in plain language
You get help with technology in your own home. Then you get an invoice.
This post explains what matters for home help in your income tax return. It shows what belongs on the invoice. It also covers how you pay.
The post does not replace tax advice. If you are unsure, ask an expert.
We set up your technology in your own home.
An invoice for a technology appointment in your own home looks like any other expense at first. In your German income tax return it can be more than that: for work carried out inside the household, the law lets you deduct part of the cost directly from the tax itself, not from your income. That makes the effect larger than most people expect. Anyone who knows the rule sets two things in motion during the appointment: an invoice that shows the labour share separately, and payment by bank transfer instead of cash. Neither costs anything extra, and both decide later whether the tax office accepts the reduction. This article explains the rule behind it, how much can add up in a single year, why materials never count, and where the amount goes in the return. It does not replace tax advice: your tax office decides each individual case, and if you are unsure, ask a tax adviser or an income tax assistance association.
Key takeaways
- 20 per cent of the expenses reduce the income tax on application under section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG. The amount comes off the tax, not off your income.
- There are two separate pots: household related services with 4,000 euros a year (section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG) and tradesperson services with 1,200 euros a year (section 35a paragraph 3 sentence 1 EStG).
- Only labour costs qualify, because section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 2 EStG limits the deduction to them explicitly. Materials stay outside entirely.
- Without an invoice and without payment into the account of the person providing the service the reduction is gone: section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 3 EStG names both conditions in one sentence.
- The service has to be provided in a household located in the European Union or the European Economic Area (section 35a paragraph 4 sentence 1 EStG). An appointment in your home meets that.
Why work in your own home counts
Section 35a of the German Income Tax Act, the Einkommensteuergesetz, is headed „tax reduction for expenses for household related employment, household related services and tradesperson services“. The word reduction is the decisive one. Work related expenses and special expenses lower your taxable income; here the amount comes off the tax that has already been calculated. Under section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG the income tax is reduced on application by 20 per cent of the expenses. One euro of reduction is therefore one euro less tax, whatever marginal rate you happen to sit in.
The condition is that the work takes place in the household. Section 35a paragraph 4 sentence 1 EStG requires the service or the tradesperson work to be carried out in a household of the taxpayer located in the European Union or the European Economic Area. An appointment in your flat or your house meets that; whether you own the place or rent it makes no difference. If two single people share one household there is a special rule: under section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 4 EStG they can claim the maximum amounts only once between them.
Paying cash costs you the whole reduction
Two pots: household related service or tradesperson service
Section 35a contains three groups of paragraphs with three different ceilings. Two of them matter for most households. Paragraph 2 covers household related services, that is, tasks usually done by members of the household but bought in for a fee here. Paragraph 3 covers tradesperson services for renovation, maintenance and modernisation measures, so work on the home itself and on permanently installed technology. The distinction decides the size of the ceiling, not the rate: 20 per cent applies in both cases.
The ceilings differ considerably. For household related services the tax is reduced under section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG by 20 per cent of the expenses, up to 4,000 euros a year. For tradesperson services section 35a paragraph 3 sentence 1 EStG also gives 20 per cent, but only up to 1,200 euros a year. The third case covers marginal employment in a private household, that is, a registered mini job: there the reduction is 20 per cent, up to 510 euros (section 35a paragraph 1 EStG). What counts as such a mini job is defined in section 8a of the Fourth Book of the German Social Code: marginal employment in a private household exists where it is created by a private household and where the activity would otherwise usually be carried out by members of that household.
- The work happens in your household; a home visit meets that (section 35a paragraph 4 sentence 1 EStG).
- You have received an invoice showing the labour separately from the materials.
- The amount went to the provider's bank account by transfer, not in cash.
- The bank statement with the entry is filed together with the invoice.
- You know which of the two pots the service falls into, because the ceiling depends on it.
- The expenses are not already claimed as business expenses or work related expenses (section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 1 EStG).
Household related service
Tasks that someone in the household would otherwise do themselves. 20 per cent of the labour costs, up to 4,000 euros a year (section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG).
Tradesperson service
Renovation, maintenance and modernisation of the home and of permanently installed technology. 20 per cent of the labour costs, up to 1,200 euros a year (section 35a paragraph 3 sentence 1 EStG).
Mini job in the household
A registered marginal employment in a private household under section 8a of the Fourth Book of the Social Code. 20 per cent of the expenses, up to 510 euros a year (section 35a paragraph 1 EStG).
Only the labour share counts
Section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 2 EStG is brief: the deduction from the income tax under paragraphs 2 and 3 applies only to labour costs. Materials therefore stay outside, entirely. For an appointment that mostly involves explaining and setting things up this hardly matters, because almost everything on the invoice is working time anyway. For a larger purchase the ratio turns around: if you buy a device and have it installed, you can claim the installation, not the device. For the invoice that means the clearer the lines are separated, the fewer questions arise later.
In practice three items belong apart: the working time on site, the travel and the materials. Travel and machine costs are as a rule treated as part of the labour share, because they belong to the service rather than to the substance; purchased devices and consumables do not. The classification in an individual case is for the tax office to make. An invoice that shows only one total forces an estimate, and the estimate will not necessarily land in your favour. We separate the items from the outset; what is included in the price is on the page Prices and packages.
- Working time on site, including setup, instruction and follow up work.
- Travel to the appointment, where it is charged as part of the service.
- The cost of tools and equipment the business uses during the appointment.
- Not included are purchased devices, cables, mounts and other materials.
- Not included are amounts that an insurer or a subsidy has already reimbursed.
Three lines on one invoice
Invoice and bank transfer: the two hard conditions
Both conditions sit in a single sentence of the law, and both have to be met. Section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 3 EStG requires that the taxpayer has received an invoice for the expenses and that the payment has gone into the account of the person providing the service. A receipt for cash is not a payment into an account, even when it is properly issued. What matters is the cashless payment route; whether a later correction is enough in an individual case is for the tax office to decide.
What an invoice has to look like is governed by VAT law. Section 14 paragraph 4 of the German VAT Act requires, among other things, the quantity and the type of the goods supplied or the scope and the type of the other service, as well as the time of the supply or of the other service. For small amounts it is simpler: under section 33 of the VAT Implementing Ordinance an invoice whose total does not exceed 250 euros needs only a few details, namely the name and address of the supplying business, the date of issue, the scope and type of the service, and the fee and tax amount as one sum. For section 35a that is enough, as long as the labour share remains visible.
- Name and address of the business that carried out the work.
- Your name and address as the recipient of the service.
- The date of issue and the time at which the service was provided (section 14 paragraph 4 UStG).
- The scope and type of the service, that is, what was actually done.
- Working time separated from materials, each with its own amount.
- Fee and tax amount or, for small invoices, both as one sum with the tax rate (section 33 UStDV).
The bank statement is the second document
What a home visit costs after tax
Figures make it concrete. The home visit flat rate is 79 euros including VAT for an appointment of up to 60 minutes, travel within 10 km included; there is no subscription and no minimum term, prices as at September 2026. Because this is pure working time, the whole amount is labour cost within the meaning of section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 2 EStG. What may come on top of it and what can be agreed as a fixed price is set out on the page Prices and packages and in the answer What does a home visit cost?.
| Item on the invoice | Sample amount | Share under section 35a EStG | Effect in the return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working time on site, up to 60 minutes | 79.00 euros | fully eligible | 20 per cent, so 15.80 euros less tax |
| Travel within 10 km | included in the price | as a rule eligible | already covered by the flat rate |
| Purchased accessory, for example a cable | 24.00 euros | not eligible | stays outside (section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 2 EStG) |
| Invoice total | 103.00 euros | of which 79.00 euros labour | 15.80 euros reduction, as a rule |
The worked example is deliberately small, because it shows the mechanics: of a 103 euro invoice total, 79 euros are labour costs; 20 per cent of that under section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG gives 15.80 euros. That amount does not reduce your income, it reduces the income tax assessed. The annual ceiling of 4,000 euros is a long way off for individual appointments: it only bites once the eligible labour costs of all household related services together exceed 20,000 euros in one year.
Whether a specific service falls into the pot under paragraph 2 or the one under paragraph 3 is decided by the tax office on the facts of the case; a description on an invoice is not a commitment. We therefore write on the invoice what was actually done and avoid wording that anticipates a tax classification. Questions about the treatment of an individual case belong with a tax adviser or an income tax assistance association: we advise on technology, not on tax.
Where the amount goes in your tax return
The German income tax return has its own annex for these expenses, the Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen. The three cases of section 35a appear there one below the other: marginal employment in a private household, household related services and tradesperson services. What you enter is the amount of the eligible expenses, not the reduction itself; the tax office calculates the 20 per cent (section 35a paragraph 2 sentence 1 EStG).
If you are not obliged to file a return, you can still file one. Section 46 paragraph 2 number 8 EStG provides for an assessment on application expressly; the application is made by filing an income tax return. For employees with nothing else to claim, a single tradesperson invoice can be the reason to do it after all. A subsidy from a care insurance fund works quite differently from a tax reduction, by the way; there is a separate article on that, Home emergency call: the care fund subsidy.
- Collect the invoices and bank statements for the year in which you paid.
- Note the labour share for each invoice, separately from the materials.
- Assign the amounts to the three cases of section 35a: mini job, household related service, tradesperson service.
- Enter the totals in the Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen.
- Keep the documents ready in case the tax office asks for them; as a rule they are not filed with the return.
- If you are unsure about the classification, clarify it with a tax adviser before the return goes out.
Deadlines, evidence and record keeping
For filing, section 149 paragraph 2 of the German Fiscal Code applies: tax returns that relate to a calendar year have to be filed at the latest seven months after the end of that calendar year, unless the tax laws provide otherwise. Anyone filing voluntarily has considerably more time: what matters then is the assessment period, and under section 169 paragraph 2 of the Fiscal Code it is four years for taxes and tax refunds. When exactly that period starts is governed by the Fiscal Code; if in doubt, a tax adviser can say whether filing is still worthwhile.
For record keeping there is a rule many people do not know, and it comes from VAT law rather than income tax law. For certain services connected with a property, the recipient has to keep the invoice, a payment document or other conclusive evidence for two years (section 14b paragraph 1 UStG). For your own tax return a longer filing period makes sense anyway, for as long as the assessment period runs.
Voraussetzung für die Inanspruchnahme der Steuerermäßigungen nach den Absätzen 2 und 3 ist, dass der Steuerpflichtige für die Aufwendungen eine Rechnung erhalten hat und die Zahlung auf das Konto des Erbringers der Leistung erfolgt ist.
One sentence, two conditions, no exception in the wording of the law. That is exactly why it is worth clarifying at every appointment in the household whether an invoice will follow and how payment will be made. With us both are the normal case. The payment routes are set out in the answer How can I pay?, the travel calculation in the answer How is travel calculated?.
How we prepare the document during the appointment
Before the appointment
We record what is to be done and say in advance whether materials are needed. That way it is clear during the appointment which items will later appear separately on the invoice. Fixed amounts for recurring tasks are listed in the answer Are there fixed prices?.
The invoice
Working time, travel and materials appear on separate lines, along with the date and the scope of the service. The labour share is therefore visible without any follow up question, as section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 2 EStG assumes.
The payment
Payment is made by bank transfer to our account. The bank statement is then the second document alongside the invoice that section 35a paragraph 5 sentence 3 EStG requires.
The appointment takes place in your home, in the Hildesheim and Leine valley area. Which tasks are covered is listed under Services, for the town itself there is the page Tech help in Hildesheim, and anyone who wants it calm and step by step will find the right setting under Tech help for seniors. If you are booking the appointment for your parents and live further away, the article Parents live far away helps; if a move is coming up, the article Moving house: internet, router and devices. You can arrange an appointment through Contact.
Sources and legal basis
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