Legal situation up to and including 2020:
Depending on the type and determined degree of disability (GdB), disabled people and their carers can claim increased living expenses for tax purposes from their competent tax office.
For disabled and severely disabled people with a degree of disability between 25 and 100 , a lump sum of € 310 to € 1,420 per year is taken into account in the income tax assessment or the wage tax deduction.
Please note:
If the degree of disability is less than 50 but at least 25, the lump sum can only be taken into account if there is a legal claim to a pension (e.g. accident pension, but not from the statutory pension insurance) or other current payments because of the disability or if the disability has led to a permanent loss of physical mobility or is based on a typical occupational disease.
For severely handicapped persons with the signs Bl (blind) or H (helpless), the lump sum is increased to € 3,700 per year.
The lump sum (only) covers current and typical expenses for help with the usual and regularly recurring activities of everyday life, for care and for increased laundry needs. All other disability-related expenses, e.g. surgery costs as well as medical treatments, cures, medical costs, doctor's fees and travel expenses, can also be taken into account as an extraordinary burden in accordance with § 33 EStG.
If the lump sum due to a disability is due to the employee's spouse/life partner or a child for whom the employee is entitled to an allowance for children or child benefit, and if these persons do not claim the lump sum, it can be linked into the electronic wage tax deduction features (ELStAM). An application is required for this. The lump sum to which a child is entitled is generally transferred to both parents in equal parts. At the joint request of the parents, a different division is possible. If one parent is deceased or does not live in Germany, the lump sum can be transferred in full to the ELStAM of the other parent. For expenses covered by the disability lump sum, there is then no longer an entitlement to claim extraordinary burden according to § 33 EStG in the income tax return.
For the caregiver of a disabled person, there is the possibility to deduct € 924 annually as a lump sum.
Disabled persons with a degree of disability of at least 70 or at least 50 and a considerable impairment of their ability to move in road traffic can - instead of the distance allowance - claim the actual expenses for journeys to the place of work by car of € 0.30 per km actually travelled.
For private journeys, severely disabled persons with the mark G and a degree of disability of at least 70 or a degree of disability of at least 80 can claim expenses of up to 3,000 km at 0.30 Euro each - that is 900 Euro - per year. Severely handicapped persons with the mark aG (extraordinary walking handicap), mark Bl (blind) or mark H (helpless) can claim private journeys up to 15,000 km at 0.30 Euro each - that is 4,500 Euro - per year.
Please note:
All of the above-mentioned tax benefits must be proven to the responsible tax office by submitting the corresponding assessment notices. You can usually obtain the necessary proof from the pension office.
Note
You can also find information about tax benefits in the"Tax tips for people with a disability"