Energy price flat rate for employees, pensioners, mini-jobbers: How the payment will be taxed in 2022

Created: 02/12/2022, 07:00

The 300 euros of the energy price flat rate were part of the federal relief package.

Nevertheless, they have to be taxed next year.

That's how it's done.

The energy crisis is now clearly noticeable in Germany and is affecting even the smallest household because the prices for electricity, gas and oil are skyrocketing.

This scares a lot of people, especially in winter, but the energy flat rate should provide a little support.

In order to give citizens a little help, the federal government has launched several relief packages, which already include the tank discount and the 9-euro ticket.

The energy price flat rate (EPP), often also simply called energy flat rate, is another component of a package that is intended to help out with the increased costs for heating and electricity.

However, the one-time payment of 300 euros of the lump sum is not entirely free.

They must be taken into account in the next tax return.

Energy price flat rate (symbolic image) © Sascha Steinach/Imago

Energy flat rate: Who gets it and who is not eligible?

All employees subject to income tax receive the energy price flat rate, regardless of which tax class they have.

The requirements are that you are resident in Germany and have earned income in 2022.

This includes employees, part-time or full-time, as well as the self-employed and volunteers within the meaning of the Federal Voluntary Service Act and the Youth Voluntary Service Act, i.e. young people who will do a voluntary social or ecological year or another nationwide, Europe-wide or international voluntary service in 2022.

Low earners in mini, midi jobs and seasonal jobs also benefit from the energy flat rate.

Taxpayers without a habitual abode or place of residence in Germany, on the other hand, do not receive the 300 euros, nor do cross-border commuters.

The reason for this is that Germans who live abroad are not at all affected by the high energy prices in Germany and may already be entitled to offers and help in their respective adopted country.

These include, for example, members of parliament or people who only receive social assistance such as child benefit or wage replacement benefits.

With the decision of the third relief package, retirees and retirees who have no additional income apart from their pension now also receive an energy allowance of 300 euros - regardless of income tax liability.

This also applies to students without a part-time job who only get student loans.

Students should only get 200 euros.

By the way: All taxable employees are entitled to the energy flat rate.

This means that, for example, married couples who are assessed together receive the flat rate as individuals.

If both work for tax purposes, each person receives the 300 euros.

Employees and mini-jobbers: How do you get the energy flat rate?

Whether someone is entitled to receive the energy allowance will be decided with the income tax assessment for 2022.

Anyone who is subject to income tax for the year 2022 will receive the lump sum from the tax office, unless this is already being paid out by the employer.

Anyone who receives the 300 euros from their employer should have it in their account together with their salary in September 2022, provided they are employed and assigned to one of tax classes 1 to 5.

Employees in mini-jobs only receive the energy allowance from the employer if it has been confirmed in writing that this mini-job is their main job and that the employee is registered for wage tax.

The lump sum is then paid out by the employer via the pay slip.

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Anyone who has a mini-job for which there is no income tax registration, for example because they are in marginal or temporary employment where income tax is levied at a flat rate, is also entitled to the energy flat-rate.

You can then get this in the coming year when you submit an income tax return.

Self Employed: Small Business Limits, Advance Payments and Energy Allowance

The self-employed are also entitled to the energy price flat rate.

However, since they do not have an employer, the 300 euros are not paid out, but offset against income tax by the responsible tax office.

For example, anyone who made advance income tax payments four times a year for the next year received a letter in the autumn about a credit of 300 euros.

Accordingly, the advance payment in the third quarter, which was due on September 10, was reduced once by EUR 300.

The self-employed who are below the small business threshold of 22,000 euros per year do not make any advance income tax payments.

Accordingly, the advance payment cannot be reduced by 300 euros.

These self-employed people only benefit from the lump sum in the next year, when the tax is due.

The lump sum is then deducted from income tax.

Incidentally, the same applies to the self-employed whose advance payments are less than 300 euros.

In the third quarter you have to pay taxes in advance of 0 euros and the rest will be taken into account for the next tax.

Energy flat rate and heating subsidy: That's the difference

The words "energy flat rate" and "heating cost surcharge" are often mentioned in the same breath and are taken to be one and the same.

However, these are two different measures of the federal relief packages.

All employees who are subject to income tax receive the energy flat-rate, while only a few specific groups of the population benefit from the heating cost subsidy.

The heating subsidy from the federal government amounts to a total of 2.1 million euros and is primarily intended to help low earners and the needy.

These are the approximately 1.6 million people in Germany who live in around 710,000 households and receive housing benefits from the state.

The approximately 370,000 students who receive student loans also benefit.

The one-off heating allowance for one person is 270 euros.

If two people live in one household, they get 350 euros together.

For each additional person living in the household, 70 euros are added.

Bafög recipients, on the other hand, receive 230 euros and trainees who receive funding receive 230 euros for heating costs.

Energy price flat rate simple: How much money is there for whom?

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Tax the energy flat rate: This is how you proceed with your next tax return

As already mentioned, the energy price flat rate is not purely a gift, but is taxable.

The 300 euros that taxable employees automatically received in September must therefore be taken into account, declared and of course taxed next year in the tax return for the tax year 2022.

In addition to income tax, church tax and solidarity surcharge may also apply to the flat rate.

This also applies to pensioners and students.

For employees, the 300 euros are treated like additional Christmas bonuses or the 13th salary.

They are added to the gross salary as income and then taxed on the total amount.

In the tax return, the figures from the electronic wage tax statement can simply be transferred to the gross wage under line 3, where the energy flat rate should be indicated with the capital letter E.

For reasons of simplicity, mini-jobbers and temporary workers whose wages are taxed at a flat rate do not have to pay tax on the €300 energy flat rate.

For the self-employed, the lump sum is not part of the income, but part of the "income from other services".

The exemption limit of 256 euros, which is usually the case in this category, does not apply to the flat rate.

On the other hand, the energy flat rate is not subject to trade tax because it is not part of the income from profits.

In the end, the recipient does not have the full amount left over from the energy price flat rate.

How much of this (and the rest of the annual income) is tax deductible depends on the tax class, the amount of income and the usual factors (children, expenses, etc.).

The Association of Taxpayers (BdSt) has carried out sample calculations for this purpose: For example, if you are married, have a child, belong to tax class 4 and have a gross income of 45,000 euros per year, you will have around 216 euros after deducting taxes left over from the lump sum.

On the other hand, if you are single, have no children, belong to tax class 1 and have a gross salary of 72,000 euros, you pay more taxes and only have around 181 euros left over in the end.

Only those who remain below the basic tax allowance of 10,347 euros do not have to pay any taxes and thus retain the full amount of the energy flat rate.