Tuition

About ten percent of parents decide to send their child to a private school. As a rule, school fees must then be paid. It is often calculated on a sliding scale according to the parents' income. This tuition can be claimed against tax to a certain extent. As "special expenses", up to 30 percent of the costs can be deducted, but a maximum of 5,000 euros for each child.

You can deduct 30% of the school fees, max. 5,000 euros per child, from your taxes if

• You are entitled to child benefit or the child allowance for your child,
.
• the school is privately sponsored or predominantly privately financed and
.
• it is a state-recognized school or alternative school.

If your child goes to school abroad, these additional requirements apply:

• The school is located in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway.
• The school attendance leads to a degree that is recognized by the competent state ministry, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder or by a domestic certificate recognition body
.

School tuition includes all amounts that parents pay to the school on a regular basis for your child's tuition and to cover school expenses.

Caution: This does not include accommodation, care and boarding costs. These costs are to be deducted from the school fees paid. Also costs for school books, tutoring, music schools, sports clubs or language courses are not deductible.

School fees may also be due in certain training occupations. This applies, for example, to vocational training that takes place for 18 months in a practice-oriented manner in a training and further education institution and another 18 months in internship companies. You can also deduct these costs as "special expenses" for tax purposes.

Good to know: For health professions, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia has abolished school fees in 2021!

The maximum amount of 5,000 euros per child is granted to the parent couple only once. The costs are taken into account with the parent who paid the school fees. If the parents have shared the costs, each parent can claim costs up to half the maximum amount, i.e. up to 2,500 euros. If parents wish to split costs differently, spouses can agree on a different split with each other.

If parents live separately, costs for a private school can be claimed under certain conditions as additional needs for tax purposes. However, factual reasons for private school attendance must be proven. The choice of a private school is justified, for example, if a state school is not available or the attendance of a private school is better suited to your child due to learning difficulties or disabilities.