Pensioners also face penalties when filing their taxes.
Only those who really knew nothing about their obligation to pay the fee are protected.
Hamburg – Pensions and poverty in old age are also sensitive issues in Germany.
For many people, the money is barely enough to live on, not least because of the record high inflation, and pensioners in particular are affected.
The only advantage of a small pension is that you don't have to pay any tax on it.
After the tax reform, even fewer retirees will pay taxes in 2023 than before.
In some cases, retirees may not even need to file a tax return.
Who has to file a tax return? | Anyone with income above the basic allowance |
Basic allowance for 2023 | 10,908 euros |
Below the base allowance | Tax account can be deleted |
If you fail to submit your tax return | penalties per month |
However, this is not the case for all retirees.
Which pensioners have to file a tax return and which don't depends on the amount of the pension and other income values.
But if you don't submit a tax return, even though you have to, you may have to expect penalties.
This is reported by
24hamburg.de
.
Tax return, yes or no?
Which pensioners have to report to the tax office
In principle, the pension is considered income in the tax return and the basic allowance applies.
This is 9,744 euros for the 2021 tax return and 10,347 euros for the 2022 tax return, for which pensioners have until October 31, 2023.
The basic allowance for 2023 is currently 10,908 euros for individuals.
Everything above that has to be taxed.
Those who are below the basic allowance can be exempted from the obligation to file a tax return.
In such a case, the tax office can have the tax account deleted.
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If pensioners submit their tax returns too late, they have to reckon with hefty fees.
(24hamburg.de assembly)
© IMAGO Images/Shotshop & Christian Klose/dpa
In the case of pensions, only part of the income has to be taxed.
Depending on the year in which the pensioner retires, a certain percentage is set as tax-free.
Anyone who retired in 2019, for example, only has to pay tax on 78 percent of their pension.
In the second year of receipt of the pension, the individual allowance of 22 percent is calculated using this percentage.
This sum then remains tax-free annually for the rest of your life.
Anyone who is above the basic allowance must submit a tax return in which the individual allowance is then included.
If you end up below the basic allowance again after deducting this amount, you still have to submit your tax return, but no taxes are due.
Penalty for late tax returns: Pensioners have to reckon with this
Anyone who has to submit a tax return because the income from the pension is above the basic allowance or there is additional income from any part-time jobs for pensioners or, for example, from rental income, should also comply with this obligation.
Pensioners who do not submit their tax return are usually asked by the tax office to comply with this obligation.
Even here it can be that the tax office charges a fee of 25 euros per month that the declaration is submitted too late.
If there are no taxes to pay, the fee is not quite as high because the tax office is not allowed to charge 25 euros per month.
However, such an omission is usually not in vain.
Exception for the tax return: Anyone who knew nothing about their obligation is protected
If the tax office asks the pensioner to file a tax return in the event of a delay, but the pensioner had no idea that he was subject to this obligation, then no fees can be charged.
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This can be the case, for example, when changing from salary to pension.
If the pensioner does not submit a tax return in the first year of retirement because he assumed that he was no longer subject to the tax liability, then no fine may be demanded for the time being.
However, the situation must be believable.
On the other hand, anyone who has already received a request from the tax office or has previously submitted tax returns during retirement can no longer plead ignorance.
List of rubrics: © IMAGO Images/Shotshop & Christian Klose/dpa