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Income Tax Return

Optimal Tax Advisory for Individuals

Both tax law and personal circumstances are constantly changing. We accompany you through future challenges and your upcoming personal and professional steps.

Whether it’s a private home purchase, buying real estate as a strategic investment, rental and leasing, changing jobs, declaring work-related expenses, mileage logs, distance allowances, or severance pay from your employer, we offer you individualized tax advice. You can be confident that we will achieve the best possible outcome for you with the tax authorities, not just this year, but every year as your reliable and long-term tax advisor.

Your Income Tax Return as a Central Element

A crucial part of optimal tax advisory is the preparation of your annual income tax return. Since your personal income tax is determined based on the calculation of your income, it is vital to provide complete and accurate information in the return. To achieve the best tax outcome for you, it is very important that we understand your personal circumstances. Besides income, the tax return also includes reporting donations, medical expenses, craftsmen’s services, household services, and maintenance expenses. These expenses can significantly reduce your tax burden.

Capital Gains, Rental Income & Tax Assessment

We advise and represent individuals with assets both domestically and abroad. For calculating capital gains, we draw on our extensive experience, including the disclosure of foreign bank accounts (voluntary disclosure). We are familiar with a wide range of documents from foreign private and large banks, as well as insurance companies and foundations. Our clients have accounts in Switzerland, Austria, and Luxembourg, among other places.

Rental income is also a significant part of income tax returns. Due to the frequent changes in case law regarding income from rental and leasing, it is essential to consider the current legal situation and accurately determine your income.

Our services include not only the preparation of your income tax return but also the subsequent review of your tax assessment notice, filing objections if necessary, and representing you in tax court proceedings if the tax authorities have a different legal view on the determination of the tax base.

Expertise in Tax Advisory

Additional Expertise

Sascha Fehsenfeld LL.M. Tax Advisor | Attorney | Specialist Attorney for Tax Law | Specialist Attorney for Inheritance Law | Certified Advisor for International Tax Law

Sascha Fehsenfeld LL.M.

Tax Advisor | Attorney | Specialist Attorney for Tax Law | Specialist Attorney for Inheritance Law | Certified Advisor for International Tax Law

Highlights in the Income Tax Return

Deducting Dog Care Expenses
Do you have your dog cared for during your working hours and thus incur significant expenses? No problem – these costs can be claimed in your income tax return. Activities such as feeding, grooming, and other care fall under tax-deductible household services. Even “dog walking” is considered a household service according to the Hessian Finance Court. However, the tax authorities allow this deduction only if the expenses are incurred within your household. The Finance Court holds the view that “dog walking” is a service with a direct spatial connection to the household, benefiting the household (the household’s pet).
Even the Auditor Has to Use the Bathroom…
When it comes to using a home office, the question often arises as to which areas can be attributed to the office. In a ruling by the Baden-Württemberg Finance Court, the court had to decide on the deductibility of expenses for a toilet used by an auditor in conjunction with a home office. The Finance Court ruled that expenses for a home toilet, which is also used privately, are not deductible as work-related expenses.
Timely Application Secures Child Benefits and Tax Relief
Due to a change in the law effective January 1, 2018, child benefits can only be paid retroactively for the last six months before the month in which the application for child benefits was received. Previously, child benefits could be paid within the four-year assessment period that also applies to income tax. Since the assessment of income tax involves a comparison between the entitlement to child benefits and the child allowance, an application for child benefits submitted after the six-month period can lead to an incorrect result. The law bases the calculation not on the actual payment but on the entitlement to child benefits.
It’s Snowing, It’s Snowing – Come Outside
Expenses incurred for snow shoveling or ice removal on sidewalks adjacent to your residential property can be tax-deductible as household-related services, even if the sidewalk is not technically part of the taxpayer’s household.