This item is a thorn in the side of many when looking at the account statement – the 18.36 euros broadcasting fee that is due each month per household. You can also be exempted from the GEZ. TECHBOOK explains who is eligible and asked a lawyer what happens if you simply don’t pay the GEZ.
At 18.36 euros, the broadcasting fee, which is still colloquially known as GEZ, adds up to a monthly fee – and spread over the entire year to a proud 220.32 euros. A sum that not everyone can or wants to pay – and not everyone has to pay either. In 2021 alone, 2.49 million people were exempt from the GEZ. An exemption from the license fee is therefore permissible under certain circumstances.
TECHBOOK explains in which cases you do not have to pay the GEZ and asks a lawyer whether it is worthwhile for the rest of the payers to take action against the broadcasting fee.
These people can be completely exempted from the GEZ
If you receive social benefits, you can be completely exempt from the broadcasting fee in many cases. This is the case when you…
- … Hartz IV (citizen’s income) or social benefit relates.
- … according to the Federal Supply Act livelihood assistance receives.
- … basic security in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity.
- … as Asylum seekers receives benefits.
- … help for the blind relates.
- … student loans or trainee allowance and no longer lives with his parents.
- … care allowance or care allowances relates or one care assistance as a benefit of War Victims Welfare relates.
Further requirements for an exemption are met if:
- … a person is of legal age and in a stationary facility lives.
- … people in need of care a allowance is awarded.
More details are available on the website broadcasting fee – including information on the relevant legal texts.
Exceptions to the broadcasting fee – exemption from hardship
Anyone who does not receive the social benefits mentioned above can still be exempted from the broadcasting fee under certain circumstances. There must be a case of hardship that justifies an exemption. However, these hardship exemptions should only occur in extremely rare cases. The following exceptions apply:
- If a person none of the social benefits mentioned above receives because the demand limit is just exceeded. In addition may the income does not exceed social needs by more than the amount of the monthly license fee of EUR 18.36.
- The person waives voluntarily on the above social benefits, although there is a claim. The prerequisite for this is a notice of approval from the social security authority and a declaration of waiver from the potential beneficiary.
Also read: GEZ sends letters – if you don’t respond, you pay
Hardship exemption during studies
Students can also make use of the hardship regulation in order to be exempted from the broadcasting fee. This applies, for example, if you are excluded from receiving BAföG although you are still in need:
- … because they are in a second degree.
- … because they have exceeded the maximum funding period.
- … because they changed their major.
- … because they have exceeded the age limit for BAföG funding.
- … because proof of academic performance for BAföG funding was not provided.
You can read exactly when there is a need and what income applies after deduction of housing and health insurance costs here.
Discount for payments upon request
It is also noted there that you may be eligible for a discount can be considered. However, only people with disabilities receive the discount. They then only have to pay a third of the monthly fee of 6.12 euros. This applies to everyone who has a severely disabled pass with the mark “RF”. For deaf-blind people, recipients of assistance for the blind and people who are entitled to special care, a complete exemption from the broadcasting fee can also be considered.
Retrospective exemption from broadcasting fees possible
It is worth taking a close look at a possible exemption from broadcasting fees, because: It is possible to be exempted from the GEZ retrospectively. You can get your money back for up to three years in the past. Important: This only applies to people who would have been entitled to an exemption or reduction for social or medical reasons.
However, if you only forgot to deregister from the GEZ because, for example, you moved into a shared flat that already pays broadcasting fees, then you are not entitled to a refund of the amounts. The only option left is to unsubscribe on the first of the month.
A shared apartment only pays once
Since 2013, the broadcasting fee has been a flat fee that is billed per apartment and not per person. So if you live with others in a flat share or in a cohabitation, not every resident has to pay monthly, but only one.
So if several people in a household pay the broadcasting fee, then all but one can use it online form sign out.
Is a lawsuit worth it?
If you are not one of the groups of people who are exempt from the GEZ, but still do not want to pay, you have legal recourse as a last resort. TECHBOOK asked lawyer Jakob Tschuschke whether there were any prospects of success with a lawsuit.
“Anyone who complains about the broadcasting fee for fundamental reasons needs a lot of staying power because they have to go through all the instances,” explains Tschuschke. “Unfortunately, the case law of the administrative courts has become more and more established that the broadcasting contribution in its current form is constitutional, most recently with the judgments of the Federal Administrative Court on January 25th, 2017.”
Tschuschke therefore assesses the chances of success of a lawsuit against the broadcasting fee as rather low. The case law from 2017 was also confirmed by a judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court in 2018. A lawsuit before the European Court of Justice in the same year also legally confirmed the license fee.
What happens if I just don’t pay?
If you decide to simply refuse to pay the broadcasting license fee, then in extreme cases you have to be prepared for consequences up to and including enforcement or even imprisonment. “If the broadcasting fee is not paid, it will be determined by means of a contribution notice. This contribution notice is already an enforceable title, similar to an enforcement notice and the basis for compulsory enforcement,” explains Jakob Tschuschke to TECHBOOK. “There were also cases in which the ‘refusal’s car’, which was parked on the street, was fixed with a wheel clamp.”
If, in the course of the payment request, you are also summoned to provide asset information and decide to ignore this as well, it can even lead to compulsory detention, says Tschuschke: “If you do not submit the asset information, compulsory detention can also be ordered. This means that you will be detained until you submit the asset report.”
However, the broadcasters do not have more rights to collect the GEZ money than other creditors: “But the broadcaster has no more extensive powers than other creditors and is not allowed to access the non-seizable income and non-seizable things.”
How to apply for an exemption
The easiest way to initiate an exemption from the broadcasting fee is via the corresponding online form. Here you can enter your personal data and print out a completed application for exemption. Now all you have to do is enclose the relevant evidence that entitles you to an exemption and send the documents to the following postal address: ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, contribution service, 50656 Cologne. Important: It is advisable to send the documents as registered mail – this way you can prove later that you actually sent the documents.