The pet off the tax – what you need to know

In 2012, the Münster Finance Court decided that animal owners can deduct “household services” for pets in their income tax return. However, it depends on the service and the task of the animal.

What is a “household -related service”?

A so -called household -related service is a service that you as an animal owner could also do yourself and that is directly related to your household. Specifically, this means that services such as dog sitting, feeding the animal or cleaning a cage can be discontinued. The service must be provided in the household to which the animal belongs. It doesn’t matter how dangerous or demanding the service is: a walk with the dog (which begins and ends at home) is just as much a part of it as cleaning a snake terrarium.
Veterinarian and dog hairdresses cannot usually be deducted from the tax – unless you come to your home. For example, the dog or horse taxes are also not deductible, costs for the purchase of the animal and material costs.

Can insurance be discontinued for the animal?

Basically, it is possible to take out the insurance company from the tax for you as a animal owner. It is very simple to take out a separately completed animal owner liability insurance, as is often taken out for larger animals. Smaller animals such as rabbits, birds or, depending on the insurance, cats are often included in normal private liability insurance. In this case, it makes sense to get in touch with the insurance company and have the proportion of animal insurance confirmed. In the tax return, you can then take this as special expenses, just like the contributions to animal owner liability insurance.

What should you consider?

There are two important prerequisites for the removal of household services that must be met: First of all, it is important that the service provider has a registered trade. Only then can an invoice be issued to you, which your responsible tax office can request at any time to check your tax activities. It is also very important not to reward the service in cash. It is best to transfer the money to the service provider or have it debited by him – tax offices do not accept any expenses paid in the tax return.
The removal of household services can reduce your income tax by up to 20%, but paragraph 35a of the Income Tax Act limits this to € 4,000 annually.

It also understands, of course, that these regulations only apply to normal pets. If your animal is registered as a work animal, for example, police or the blind dog, it gets a lot more discounts and you can even take food and toys from the tax.

Editor finance.net