Important financial news at the start of the year

Opportunities and changes in 2020

If you are reading these lines, congratulations, you have made it and arrived well this year with an extra day. Some also speak again of the new golden twenties full of opportunities, if you know where to find them. We have put together a small selection of important tips for the year 2020.

 
Good news for company pensioners
Company pensioners have to pay fewer contributions to the statutory health insurance scheme. Only from a pension level of 159.25 euros per month do health insurance contributions become due. If you exceed the allowance of 159 euros, you no longer have to pay health insurance contributions on the entire pension, but only on the difference.
 

Cool advantages for existing home ownership
Renovations to your home, such as the insulation of walls or ceilings or the replacement of windows or doors, bring tax benefits for more than three years. A condition is that the property is older than ten years. A maximum of 40,000 euros and 20 percent of the costs can be exempted from tax within three years.

 
Special depreciation for new housing
Real estate owners can claim a special depreciation for new apartments in addition to the regular linear depreciation of two percent. This should amount to up to five percent annually in the year of purchase or manufacture and up to five percent in the following three years.

 
Child allowance increased
The tax-free child allowance rises to 5172 euros.  In 2019 it was still 4980 euros. Parents can receive the tax-free allowance instead of child benefit. The tax office automatically checks with the income tax which allowance is more worthwhile for the parents.

 
Up to 90 percent of the old-age provision deductible
Up to 90 percent of the pension provision expenses can be deducted, according to the Taxpayers' Association, and from 2020 the tax authorities will allow up to 22,541 euros for singles and 45,082 euros for married couples and registered partners. For employees who pay into the statutory pension insurance, the tax-free employer's contribution is deducted from the expenses.

 
Health and nursing care insurance from 1 January:
The maximum income that is taken into account for contributions to the statutory health insurance (GKV) increases from 54,450 Euro to 56,250 Euro. Those who already earn more are fully affected by the increase - for those insured by the GKV the own contribution will rise. Employees with statutory health insurance who wish to take out private health insurance must earn an annual gross income of at least 62,550 euros. Good for privately insured persons: Due to the increase of the social security values, the maximum employer's allowance increases from 351.66 Euro per month to 367.97 Euro.

 
Additional contribution to GKV increases
The average additional contribution to the SHI system will increase by 0.2 percentage points to 1.1 percent.
 

New small business limit
Up to now, a small business is defined as one that did not make more than 17,500 sales in the previous year. This limit will be raised to 22,000 euros according to the Bureaucracy Relief Law III.
 

Concluding remark: We expressly do not provide any services / information / consulting in the sense of the Legal Services Act or tax consulting.