Most consumers find account management fees annoying, but did you know that you can usually state these in your tax return?
It is common practice at most financial institutions to charge fees for account management - these are also regularly increased *.
Since you as an employee, landlord or pensioner cannot do without an account, you can claim the account management fees on your tax return and thereby get some of the money back.
When can account management fees be stated in the tax return?
The tax authorities allow every employee to declare a
flat rate of 16 euros
for account management fees
in their tax return annually
.
You do not have to send any receipts for the fees, as the tax office usually recognizes the flat rate without proof.
If you have incurred costs beyond the flat rate, you can also include these - for example, in the case of professional transfers, when you pay bills for work equipment.
Attention
: If you have an account without account management fees, you may not claim the flat rate.
Where to enter account management fees in your tax return
Enter your lump sum for the account management fees - or the real amount, if this is higher - in
Appendix N of the tax return
under income-related expenses (lines 46 - 48).
Also interesting
: What is an employee lump sum - and where is it entered in the tax return?
Account management fees in the tax return: This applies to the self-employed, pensioners & Co.
If you are not a traditional employee, other rules may apply to you.
Here is an overview:
Self-employed
: If you use your bank account purely for business purposes, you can deduct all costs associated with it in full as business expenses.
Pensioners
: Pensioners are also allowed to claim an annual flat rate of 16 euros for their account management fees in their tax return.
This is entered in the income-related expenses for the retirement benefits.
Landlord
: If you as the landlord incurred costs for the account management, these are counted as income-related expenses for income from renting and leasing.
If you use your own account for this, you can deduct the full fees from tax.
If the tenant pays into a private current account, you can estimate the proportion of the account management fees and then state more than the flat rate of 16 euros.
If the account management fees are lower, you can specify the flat rate.
Investors
: With the introduction of the final withholding tax in 2009, investors are no longer allowed to claim their account management fees in their tax returns.
Also read
: Five legal tricks for your tax return: It's that easy to get your money back now.
Can the cost of credit cards be stated in the tax return?
You may only state fees that you have incurred through your credit card in the tax if you also used them for
professional purposes
. If, for example, the credit card was used for activities outside of the city or for business trips, you can include these costs in full as income-related expenses. However, if you also use the credit card privately, you must deduct the private usage share. You can prove your professional use with a credit card bill, in which you mark the expenses that you have made for business reasons. The self-employed can claim the fees for the credit card as a business expense.
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