Registering the hiring of domestic help on a mini-job basis

If you employ domestic employees on a mini-job basis, you must register this using the household cheque procedure.

The household cheque procedure is a simplified registration and contribution procedure for social insurance for private households. You use the household check to register a domestic help on a mini-job basis. You can also use the household cheque to make changes to the employment relationship or to deregister. Mini-jobs in private households are a special form of marginal employment. They are particularly subsidized by the state through low social security contributions, a flat-rate wage tax and a tax reduction.

With the information on employment and pay that you submit with the household cheque, the Minijob-Zentrale calculates the

• social security contributions,
• levies and
• taxes.

These contributions are then collected from your account every six months by direct debit.

Employment of family members as domestic help

If you register a close relative as a domestic helper, this must not be a case of family assistance.

A paid employment relationship between spouses is therefore generally not possible. This also applies to children who help in their parents' household as long as they live there and are cared for by their parents.

Half-yearly check:

If your earnings fluctuate, you can submit a half-yearly check:

If you pay your household help a different amount of pay each month, you would legally have to submit a new household check each time. You can use a half-yearly check to relieve yourself of this bureaucratic obligation. You enter the relevant months and certify the changing earnings. If you already indicate on the normal household cheque when you register that the pay you receive fluctuates each month, you will automatically receive a half-yearly cheque from the Minijob-Zentrale.

Change check: With the change check, you inform the Minijob-Zentrale if, for example, the amount of your domestic help's earnings, your bank details or a contact address changes.

The mini-job center takes care of notifications, certificates and collections, such as

• Notification of the domestic help at the start and end of employment and at the end of the year to the pension insurance provider :
  • The domestic help receives written notification of this.
• Notification of domestic help and transmission of data on the private household to the statutory accident insurance.
• Collection of accident insurance contributions
• Payment of the flat-rate tax to the tax authorities
• Notification of the amount of tax to be collected for the relevant tax period
  • Certificate after the end of a calendar year for the tax office with the following information:
    • Period for which pension insurance contributions were paid and
    • the amount of remuneration paid in the previous year and the taxes payable on it.

Budget check calculator:

• You can use the household check calculator to determine the amount of contributions to the mini-job center and the reduction in income tax.
• Since January 1, 2025, the employer's contributions to the Minijob Central Office for private households have amounted to a maximum of 14.92% of gross pay.
  • With maximum earnings of EUR 556.00, this amounts to EUR 82.96 per month.
• If the employee opts for the full pension insurance contribution, a proportion of their salary is also paid to the Minijob Central Office.
  • This amounts to a maximum of EUR 75.62 per month.
• The household cheque calculator enables you to make precise calculations.

• "Household cheque for private households" or "Half-yearly cheque for private households" form

• On average, you comply with the remuneration limit for marginal part-time employees
  • EUR 556.00 per month
• You are a private household
• This is household-related work that is normally carried out by members of the household, such as
  • cooking
  • cleaning,
  • washing clothes,
  • ironing,
  • shopping,
  • gardening,
  • looking after animals,
  • looking after children, senior citizens, sick people, people in need of care and people with disabilities.

• Objection
  • Further information on how to lodge an objection can be found in the notification.

You can register your domestic help online, by telephone or by post.

If you register your domestic help online:

• Call up the online service for registering your domestic help on the Minijob-Zentrale website
• Fill out the form
• Submit the form
• You will receive a confirmation

If you register your domestic help by post:

• Call up the form for registering your domestic help on the Minijob-Zentrale website.
• Download the form
• Print out the form.
• Complete the form and sign it.
• Send the form by post to the mini-job center

Alternatively, you can register your domestic help with the mini-job center by telephone.

• the staff at the Minijob Center will take all the necessary data for registration over the phone
• You will receive confirmation of the registered data

When you register a domestic help for the first time, you will receive a company number from the Minijob-Zentrale as the employer. This is also valid for all subsequent registrations and for further employment. You should keep the company number in a safe place.

You can manage your registered mini-jobs via the Minijob Manager:

• First register with the Minijob-Manager on the Minijob-Zentrale website by entering your company number
• Upload all future applications, certificates or notifications directly via the Minijob Manager
• You can receive notifications via your mailbox in the Minijob Manager.

Note: The pension insurance number for domestic help is issued by the German Pension Insurance (DRV). If this is not known, enter the employee's name at birth, date of birth, gender and place of birth in the household check.

Due dates for proving the payment of social security contributions with constant earnings:

• on July 31 for the first half of the year and
• on January 31 for the previous second half-year.

Due dates for the half-yearly cheque to prove payment of social security contributions for monthly fluctuating earnings:

• by June 30 for the first half of the year and
• by December 31 for the second half of the year.

None

If you do not report the employment to the mini-job center, this can be punished with a fine of up to EUR 5,000.