Basic allowance increased since July 1: When do pensioners have to submit a tax return?

Created: 07/06/2022, 16:59

By: Franziska Kaindl

Pensioners must file a tax return if the taxable part of their pension is above the basic allowance.

The latter was increased on July 1st.

Normally, the joy of the annual pension increase is spoiled by the fact that retirees could be obliged to file a tax return due to the higher contributions.

This year, the increase on July 1 was particularly high: in the west, seniors now receive 5.35 percent more and in the east as much as 6.12 percent.

Unlike usual, however, the

allowance was also increased.

This describes the

and is therefore tax-free.

Thanks to him, pensioners have more left over from the contribution increase.

"This year, fewer pensioners could be subject to tax for the first time and some could even get out of the obligation again, because the basic allowance for 2022 will also be increased in parallel with the pension increase," says Daniela Karbe-Gessler, tax expert at the Association of Taxpayers (BdSt), loudly

.

Thanks to the increase in the basic allowance on July 1, 2022, fewer pensioners may have to file a tax return.

© Imago

When do you have to file a tax return as a pensioner?

For the tax return as a pensioner, it is important to know that part of the pension

is tax-free thanks to the

The remainder is taxable.

How high your pension allowance is depends on the year in which you start your pension, as the Lohnsteuerhilfeverein Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe eV informs you – it is therefore not the same for every pensioner.

If you retire in 2022, you are entitled to a pension allowance of 18 percent.

This means that 18 percent of your pension is tax-free, while the remaining 82 percent is taxable.

The pension allowance remains unchanged for you in the following years.

However, the later you retire, the smaller the pension allowance – from 2040 even 100 percent of the pension will have to be taxed.

The development of the pension allowance at a glance:

Source: United Income Tax Assistance eV

The basic allowance is applied to the remaining, taxable part of the pension.

This means that a part of the pension remains unaffected by the tax.

.

Pensioners can therefore keep income of 862.25 euros per month instead of 812 euros tax-free.

The income includes the statutory pension, income from part-time jobs, capital income, income from renting and leasing and, if applicable, payments from a company or widow's pension.

If all of this income together exceeds the basic allowance, a tax return is due.

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Important to know: "Basically, every pension increase goes into the taxable part of the pension," as Karbe-Gessler explains.

This means that with every pension increase, seniors should check whether their income now exceeds the basic allowance - because the tax-free part of the pension is a fixed amount that is no longer adjusted after the start of the pension.

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"Anyone who is obliged to submit a tax return does not automatically have to pay taxes at the end of the day," reports Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe eV Pensioners can claim numerous expenses, including insurance contributions, medication, dentures, donations or tradesmen.

If the remaining income is then below the basic allowance, you do not have to pay any taxes.