{"id":14039,"date":"2025-05-04T20:18:25","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T18:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/?page_id=14039"},"modified":"2026-11-15T03:20:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-15T02:20:54","slug":"income-related-expenses","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.spesenfuchs.de\/en\/glossary\/income-related-expenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Income-related expenses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Income-related expenses (Werbungskosten) are expenses that employees incur in order to earn, secure and maintain their wages (\u00a7 9 EStG). They reduce taxable income and are declared in the tax return. Typical income-related expenses are travel costs<\/a>, work equipment, contributions to professional associations or training.<\/p>\n

Difference to business expenses<\/h2>\n

Income-related expenses exist for income from employment, i.e. for employees. Comparable costs of the self-employed and companies are called business expenses<\/a>. There is no lump sum for income-related expenses for self-employed work; the self-employed prove their costs individually, and a flat-rate business expense allowance is possible for some professions.<\/p>\n

Lump sum for income-related expenses<\/h2>\n

The tax office automatically deducts the employee lump sum of \u20ac1,230 per year (\u00a7 9a EStG). Only if your actual income-related expenses are higher is it worth itemising them in your tax return.<\/p>\n

Typical examples of income-related expenses<\/h2>\n