Receive short-time work benefits?
Many of those affected then also have to submit a tax return.
In some cases there is a risk of additional tax payment.
In other cases there is money back.
Many employees were on
short-time work as a
result of the
Corona crisis
last year and now have to submit a tax return *.
The fact is: Anyone who has received
EUR 410 short-time work allowance
in one year is obliged to submit a tax return and must state the
short-time work allowance in it
, as the wage tax aid association United Wage Tax Aid (VLH) informed in a message dated 23 August.
Actually, it is tax-free, but in certain cases an additional tax payment can arise - because of the progression proviso.
Also read
: Corona bonus for employees - up to 1,500 euros are still there.
Corona year: back tax payment or tax refund after short-time work?
In some cases, a back
tax payment
can arise - often for employees who have received over 50 percent short-time work allowance throughout the year, according to a report by the German Press Agency. According to the VLH, people who only work half a month have to expect an additional tax payment. The employer then usually paid too little wage tax in the course of the year. However, some short-time workers could also receive a
tax refund
- for example if the company was completely closed for three months.
"Depending on whether the working hours of an employee have been
reduced by 100 or 50 percent
and accordingly received
short-time allowance
, you can either expect a tax refund or a tax back payment," says the VLH statement.
The experts give
two examples:
Employees whose company was temporarily closed completely are therefore
100 percent absent
.
If you have received
short-time work allowance for three months
,
for example
, you can
expect
a
tax refund
.
Because - spread over the entire year - too much wage tax was withheld in the months without short-time work.
The opposite applies, for example, to
employees who were 50 percent on short-time work
: If you
only work half a month for
the
entire year
, you usually have to
expect
a back
tax payment
- because the employer usually has too little wage tax to the tax office over the course of the year discharged.
In the end, it always depends on the
individual case
whether those affected can expect a back tax payment or, in the best case, even a refund.
Also read:
Tax return: You can
deduct these costs from the Corona year 2020
Short-time work allowance: How the tax office calculates the tax rate
How does the tax authorities take into account the short-time working allowance when calculating the tax rate?
The VHL explains it in its message: The short-time work allowance itself is tax-free, but is still used by the tax office to calculate the individual tax rate. The tax authorities add the taxable income to the state wage replacement benefits such as short-time work benefits and use this to determine the tax rate.
“After all, this higher tax rate is only applied to taxable income because the short-time work allowance is tax-free;
but in the end it still leads to a higher tax claim on the part of the tax office than without short-time allowance.
This could, for example, affect married couples who are assessed together and from whom only one has received
wage replacement benefits
.
Also read
: Your tax return must be with the tax office by this date at the latest
Short-time work: Can married couples submit their 2020 tax returns separately?
The VLH has one more tip: In
the case of short-time working for married people,
in certain cases there is a possibility of “avoiding any additional payments”: Affected married couples could
submit the
2020 tax return
separately and opt for an individual assessment.
According to the VLH, this would mean that the splitting advantage would be lost, but the decision could still pay off financially.
"Therefore, affected married couples and registered partners should (have) checked carefully whether this variant is worthwhile for them, because the tax office does not calculate the
cheapest
variant."
(Ahu) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
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These seven tips will save you a lot of money in everyday life
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