Maintenance payments - New proof requirements for cash contributions
Maintenance payments to persons legally entitled to maintenance can be claimed as extraordinary financial burdens for tax purposes under the conditions laid down in Section 33a(1) of the Income Tax Act (Einkommenssteuergesetz, EStG). Besides the substantive legal prerequisites for a tax deduction, formal requirements for the payment mode and the way proof is provided are increasingly gaining in importance here. The 2024 Annual Tax Act expressly stipulated for the first time that, with effect from the 2025 assessment period, cash contributions generally have to be made via electronic bank transfers to the account of the dependent person; the Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen, BMF) has now stated its opinion on the obligations to provide proof that result from this.
In its circulars of 15.10.2025, the BMF substantiated the proof requirements for maintenance payments pursuant to Section 33a(1) EStG, in particular, with respect to cash contributions. According to the legal provision, maintenance payments may be taken into account for tax purposes if the taxpayer is legally obliged to pay maintenance to the person who is being supported, no entitlement to claim child benefit or a child allowance exists for this person, the identification number of the person who is being supported is provided and they have no assets, or only very few. In terms of the amount, the deduction is limited to the respective basic personal tax allowance (for 2025: €12,096). Furthermore, the taxpayer may assume the payment of the contributions for health insurance and long-term care insurance for the dependent person. However, the maximum amount will be reduced by the dependent person’s own income and earnings if they exceed €624 in the calendar year.
In the case of cash contributions, Section 33a(1) EStG (as amended) provides that payment generally has to be made via an electronic bank transfer to the account of the dependent person. In its circulars of 15.10.2025 ( references: IV C 3 – S 2285/00031/001/024 and IV C 3 – S 2285/00031/001/025) the BMF clarified that proof has to be provided of the electronic bank transfers by means of appropriate supporting documents, for example, bank statements or posting confirmations from which the dependent person is clearly identified as the recipient of the payment. The deductible maintenance payments do not include any costs related to the electronic bank transfers that are incurred. In the opinion of the fiscal administration, maintenance payments would normally be excluded from tax deductions if the electronic bank transfer is not made to an account in the name of the dependent person. The BMF recognises an exception solely in cases of the so-called abbreviated way of payment. Accordingly, payments can be taken into account that the taxpayer makes directly to a third party to fulfil a liability of the dependent person, provided that it is a typical maintenance payment and that proof can be provided of the respective liability of the dependent person. Appropriate proof could include, for example, submitting the rental agreement in the name of the dependent person.
