The special church money
The special church fee applies to married couples and partners of different faiths, where both partners file a tax return together. “Different in faith” in this context means that one person has left the Church while the other remains in it. In such circumstances, the contribution of the church member is measured against the wage and income tax of the jointly assessed income. As a result, the partner who has already left the church is indirectly taxed and still forced to finance the church. However, this special church fee is only due if it exceeds the church income tax of the partner who is subject to church tax.
The tax office carries out a comparative calculation to determine both values. The higher amount will then be charged by the authorities. As a result, the special church fee only affects couples who can be assessed together for tax purposes and where the church member has very little or no income. If the “top earner” has left the church while the “low earner” remains a member, the leaving of a partner does not lead to a reduction in the couple’s total church tax burden. Rather, the unilateral exit can even result in an additional burden, since the special church fee is staggered according to different income levels.
Although all federal states have regulations regarding the special church fee in their church tax laws, according to the website “kirchenaustritt.de” not all churches and religious communities make use of it. Catholic bishops are more likely to forgo a survey than Protestant districts, which almost without exception claim the special church fee. So before a partner leaves the church, couples should find out about the exact situation in their region in order to avoid a nasty surprise.
This is something to keep in mind when leaving the church
In addition to the special church fee, there are other things that you should consider to ensure that you can leave the church without any problems. While leaving is a quick and easy process of paying a fee and filling out a form with the appropriate authority, you should also make sure that the change takes effect for tax purposes. It is advisable to check the next tax assessment carefully. After leaving, the church tax liability ends at the end of the month in which it took place. The church tax may therefore only be calculated up to this point in the year in the tax assessment. If this is not the case, there may be a corresponding note missing on your own wage tax card, which prevents further collection. Former church members can easily effect this with the certificate of resignation. After that, paying church tax should be a thing of the past.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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