In principle, every employee in Germany has to pay taxes, including trainees. Whether these are actually taxable depends on the amount of the training allowance. However, a tax return can definitely be worthwhile.
Stefan Bärenz, training consultant at the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main Chamber of Crafts, estimates that a maximum of ten percent of trainees submit a tax return, as the editorial network Germany (RND) writes. In certain cases it may still make sense to submit a voluntary tax return.
When is it worthwhile for trainees to file a tax return?
Every trainee receives a so-called training allowance during their training. If this is above the annual basic allowance of currently 9,408 euros, income tax will apply. The information about the annual salary can be easily found on the annual tax certificate or the monthly payslip. It can also happen that the training company transfers the church tax or the solidarity surcharge to the tax office; trainees can get these taxes back via their tax return.
Even if the advertising costs add up to over 1,000 euros per year, a tax return can be worthwhile. Advertising costs include all expenses that arise from carrying out a professional activity and that serve to secure or maintain income. This includes, for example, expenses such as travel costs or special work clothing such as safety shoes.
How to prepare a tax return
If you don’t want to prepare your tax return online, you can also collect the documents from the local tax office. However, the easiest way to submit a tax return is via the Elster program. Since trainees generally do not have any additional income from leasing and rentals or similar, Elster’s assistance is often sufficient to be able to prepare an error-free tax return. The transmission to the tax office takes place via the Internet and no documents need to be sent by post.
Although you are obliged to document the expenses listed in your tax return with receipts, these do not have to be sent to the tax office unless the tax office requests this.
Trainees can deduct this in their tax return
The range of expenses that can be deducted on a tax return is wide. For example, the journey to the training center and the journey to the vocational school can be charged a flat rate of 30 cents per kilometer. It doesn’t matter whether the route is taken by car, bus or on foot.
Pens, folders or calculators can also be tax deducted up to 110 euros. Textbooks for vocational school or other further training measures can be declared in the tax return at up to 80 euros per year. The costs for internet connection, moving or job applications can also be stated in a tax return.
It is also important that a kind of credit can be created with the tax office during the training using the so-called loss carryforward. As soon as the first full-time job is accepted and regular taxes have to be paid, the accumulated loss is offset against the taxes paid.
Editorial team finanzen.net