Year-end spurt: save money now - taxes, remaining vacation time, Christmas bonus
Created: 12/16/2022, 12:15 p.m
By: Stella Henrich
Are you entitled to a Christmas bonus?
Bonus for statutory health insurance benefits?
Car insurance? Repayments at the bank?
Consumers still have work to do before the end of the year.
Munich – The Christmas tree is up, baubles and colorful tinsel are already hanging from the branches.
The gifts for loved ones are already wrapped and the invitations for the party have already been sent.
You have thought of everything for a celebratory Christmas with the family.
But there are a few more dates that you as a consumer should not miss before the end of the year to ensure that 2022 ends on a perfect note.
So don't miss a deadline now!
Consumers should now check these dates:
Check holiday entitlement | Take now or no later than March 31, 2023 |
Entitlement to a dental prosthesis bonus | Has your bonus booklet for 2022 been filled out completely? |
car insurance | Check mileage and have overpaid money refunded |
Pay off bank debt now | Save interest if you have agreed on a special repayment |
Save taxes in 2022 | Crack the advertising fee |
Don't miss the statute of limitations on debt | Claims from 2019 expire |
Check doctor and pharmacy receipts | Apply for exemption from co-payment |
Change active contracts | Check notice periods for insurance companies, sports studios and energy suppliers |
Check entitlement to Christmas bonuses | Special payment, but: There is still a bonus at the end of the year |
End-of-the-year sprint for consumers: Now transfer the remaining vacation time to the following year and check the bonus booklet
Perhaps not all workers have taken their annual leave yet.
So that the remaining days do not expire, consumers should now carry them over into the new year.
They do not expire until March 31, 2023. In principle, however, vacation days can only be carried over to the following year if urgent personal or urgent business reasons justify this.
These can be, for example, your own inability to work or the illness of a relative.
Those who maintain their bonus booklet have an advantage when it comes to dentures.
(symbol image) © IMAGO
Those who keep their bonus booklet without gaps have an advantage.
These insured persons are entitled to subsidies for bridges, crowns or prostheses from the statutory health insurance.
It can therefore be worthwhile for consumers to quickly make an appointment with a dentist - if the entry in the booklet for the year 2022 is missing.
Since October 2020, those who can prove with their
bonus booklet
that they have been to the dentist every year for check-ups have also received a higher bonus.
Cash subsidy has increased, from 60 to 70 percent for a five-year bonus booklet and from 65 to 75 percent for a ten-year bonus booklet.
(Source:
Consumer Center NRW
)
End-of-year sprint for consumers: check car insurance and special repayments
If you drove less car in 2022 than you told your insurance company, you should inform your insurance company of the odometer reading before the end of the year.
Experience has shown that many insurers retrospectively adjust the kilometers actually driven to the contributions and reimburse the customer for the excess money paid.
A deviation of more than 1,000 kilometers and more than 10 percent of the agreed transit time is usually considered a significant change.
It is therefore in the interest of the insured person if they fall below this limit, as this allows them to save on contributions.
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Consumers also save money now if they repay a loan agreement early or have agreed on a special repayment with their bank in addition to the additional repayment installment.
In some contracts, such special repayments can be made up to a certain amount and often only once a year, explains attorney Nicole Mutschke at
Bild
.
Consumers should therefore read their contract carefully to see whether such a special repayment is possible.
Because this ultimately saves money that would be incurred for high interest rates.
End-of-the-year sprint for consumers: make full use of the flat-rate advertising fee now and don't miss the statute of limitations on debts
Since this year, the
flat rate for advertising costs has been 1200 euros
.
In order to get more out of his income-related expenses in the tax return, consumers must exceed this amount.
So anyone who is already close to this limit in 2022 for job-related expenses - such as costs for applications, work materials, further training, work clothes and office equipment - should consider whether necessary investments should be brought forward now.
Anyone who postpones the purchase to the following year and then stays below the flat rate gives away the tax savings.
You can find out how consumers can save further taxes by the end of the year here: Our 10 tips.
Consumers should not miss this deadline either: the statute of limitations for 2019. Claims for money owed end on December 31, 2022. According to Nicole Mutschke, the money can be collected by initiating legal proceedings, for example.
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End-of-year sprint for consumers: Check receipts, change contracts now and check your Christmas bonus entitlement
In order to avoid unnecessary co-payments for medicines, you should keep an eye on the co-payments and keep the receipts.
The
co-payment exemption is only valid for one calendar year
and must therefore be applied for again and again.
However, if consumers have to pay for medicines, it is advisable to keep the receipts for the year 2022 for your tax return.
You can deduct the receipts as an
extraordinary burden
in the upcoming tax return.
Prescription drug co-payment or exemption
The load limit for co-payments is two percent of the annual gross income for living expenses, ie anyone who has to spend more money on co-payments can be exempted from the co-payments for the rest of the year.
For the chronically ill, the limit is one percent of annual gross income.
According to consumer advocates, the personal stress limit is recalculated every year and must be requested from the health insurance company.
(Source. Federal Ministry of Health)
In principle, all existing contracts should also be checked before the end of the year.
Every now and then it can still be worth changing an insurance company or the current energy supplier.
But beware: Consumers should observe the notice periods of existing contracts in order to get out of a contract now.
A look at the employment contract can now also be financially worthwhile.
It is true that not every employee is entitled to the
special payment "Christmas bonus"
.
Because only if the employment contract provides for it, the money goes to the employee's account.
However, a claim can arise as a result of an "operational practice" if the employer simply pays the Christmas bonus without this being contractually regulated.
According to the lawyer Mutschke, “if the employer has paid this fee three years in a row.
Then the employee can be entitled to it.”