Tax return: These five mistakes can cost a lot of money

Struggling with tax returns is no fun. But it’s worth it. Because the vast majority of working people get money back from the tax office: According to the Federal Statistical Office, the average tax refund is 1072 euros. However, a small minority also has to pay income tax afterwards – on average 1152 euros.

How much money you get out of the tax return depends largely on whether you have deducted all relevant items. If you make mistakes here, you can quickly give away hundreds or thousands of euros, as calculated. In a recent article, the consumer portal names nine typical mistakes – and had a tax expert calculate how expensive they are for a model household.

The tips are not only relevant for those who do their own explanation. Even a tax consultant can only work with the documents that their clients give them. The following points are for that “financial test”-Example family, double earner with three children, each worth three to four digit sums.

1. Properly settle the study

A lot of money is involved, for example, in the correct removal of the study. Anyone who does not have an extra room for the home office can only deduct up to 600 euros via the home office flat rate in the tax year 2022 (120 home office days x 5 euros). Anyone who has their own study and uses it occasionally (and has no other workplace available during this time) can deduct actual costs of up to 1250 euros. And if the study is the focus of the entire professional activity, you can even deduct unlimited expenses. In extreme cases, it can be several thousand euros, like “financial test” executes Because even an expensive house roof renovation could be deducted proportionately.

2. Deduct maintenance for adult children

Also expensive, but often not known: Significant support payments can be deducted for persons entitled to maintenance. The example family of “financial test” For example, a 27-year-old daughter who still lives at home is studying and has no income of her own. The parents can deduct the maximum maintenance amount of 10,347 euros plus health and nursing care insurance contributions for them for 2022 – the bottom line is a four-digit tax saving.

3. Deduct the children’s health insurance contributions

Even in the event that the adult offspring is already earning money as an apprentice, it can be worth deducting the child’s social security contributions in the parents’ tax return. Although trainees can also deduct contributions for pension, health, nursing care and unemployment insurance, the costs often do not affect the child’s tax return due to the low income. Parents, on the other hand, can reduce their tax burden by deducting the costs.

4. Company car – taxed too much?

The taxation of the company car is also worth a closer look. Basically, the use as a pecuniary advantage must be taxed in addition to the salary. But if you only drive very rarely (e.g. because you work from home), you may have taxed too many trips and can repeat this money on your tax return. In the example of “financial test” that makes more than 3000 euros tax savings.

5. Collect meal allowance

Employees who travel at least eight hours a day away from their actual company for work, for example visiting customers, can include flat-rate meals in their tax return. For absences of more than eight hours, including travel to and from work and a lunch break, there is a fee of 14 euros. The master roofer from “financial test”-Example comes to 180 such construction site days and could therefore deduct 14 x 180 = 2520 euros. This reduces his tax burden by several hundred euros.

You can find the whole article with even more tax tips at