The expenses for the care of a child belonging to the household, for which you are entitled to child benefit or an allowance for children and who has not yet reached the age of 14 or is unable to support himself due to a physical, mental or emotional disability that occurred before the age of 25 (until 31.12.2006 of the 27th year of life), are taken into account as special expenses. The amount of the special expense deduction is limited to 2/3 of the childcare costs, up to a maximum of EUR 4,000 per child. For children living abroad, the maximum amount may be reduced if this is necessary according to the country group classification (depending on the country group reduction of three quarters, half or one quarter).

For further explanation:

What is household affiliation all about?

Taking into account childcare costs presupposes that the child belongs to the taxpayer's household, i.e. it must live in the taxpayer's home or be temporarily accommodated away from home with his or her consent (e.g. in the case of boarding school accommodation). In the case of non-cohabiting parents, the child's declaration of residence is generally decisive for the assignment to the household of one of the parents.

Does the age of the child matter?

Expenses for services for the care of children can be claimed as special expenses if the child has not yet reached the age of 14 or if the child is unable to support himself or herself due to a physical, mental or emotional disability that occurred before the age of 25 (until 31.12.2006 of the age of 27).

Which child care services are eligible?

Beneficiary services are, in particular, expenses for:

• crèche, after-school care or kindergarten places or for day-care centres,
• childminders or all-day care centres,
• the employment of domestic helpers, insofar as they care for a child,
• supervising the child in completing homework.

Expenses for

• tuition (e.g. school fees, tutoring or foreign language lessons),
• teaching special skills (e.g. computer courses, music lessons),
• sports and other leisure activities (e.g. membership of sports clubs, tennis or riding lessons),
• the child's meals or travel expenses.

Which expenses for the care of children are deductible?

In addition to monetary expenses, deductible are also

• benefits in kind, in particular for the accommodation and meals of the caregiver (not for the child being cared for) in the taxpayer's household,
• Reimbursements to the carer, e.g. his/her travel expenses (not those for the child), if the services are specified in the invoice or contract.

How much should childcare costs be taken into account?

Childcare costs are deductible as special expenses in the amount of 2/3 of the expenses, up to a maximum of EUR 4,000 per child and calendar year. The maximum amount is an annual amount which is not reduced pro rata temporis, even if the conditions for the deduction of childcare costs were met only for part of the year.

Hint: If the legal requirements for the deduction of childcare costs are only met for part of the calendar year (e.g. because the child reaches the age of 14 in July of a year), then only 2/3 of the childcare costs incurred in the period from January to July are to be taken into account, possibly limited to the maximum amount of EUR 4,000 (no twelfths).

In the case of unmarried, permanently separated or divorced parents, the parent who has borne the expenses and to whose household the child belongs is entitled to deduct childcare costs. If this applies to both parents, each can only claim their actual expenses up to half the maximum deduction amount (in the amount of EUR 2,000).