Apply for an employee savings allowance

Would you like to apply for the employee savings allowance? You can find information here.

The employee savings allowance is used to help employees accumulate assets. It is a state allowance for capital-forming benefits (VL).

VL are cash benefits that your employer invests for you. Depending on the form of investment, they amount to a maximum of 400.00 euros or 470.00 euros per year. Unlike the employee savings allowance itself, they count as taxable wages.

Your employer pays the VL directly into an investment account set up by you. The employer often makes a contribution. The amount of the allowance is determined by a collective agreement, works agreement, salary law or employment contract.

Note: The employer also pays agreed VL allowances for employees who are not entitled to the employee savings allowance (e.g. because they exceed the income limits).

The employee savings allowance amounts to

• 9 percent of the annual VL (maximum EUR 43.00) for building savings contributions, contributions to the acquisition of building and housing cooperative shares, contributions to housing savings contracts and construction financing contracts within the meaning of the Housing Construction Premium Act, as well as for expenses for the construction, acquisition, extension, expansion or debt relief of a residential building
• 20 percent of the annual VL (maximum EUR 80.00) for contributions to certain savings contracts for securities or other asset participations, to securities purchase contracts and participation purchase contracts and participation contracts

You can also conclude 2 different contracts (e.g. a building society savings contract and a securities purchase contract). You can then receive the allowances in parallel.

Tip: Even if you do not receive an allowance for capital-forming benefits from your employer, you can still claim the employee savings allowance. Ask your employer to deduct your contributions from your annual salary and transfer them to the investment account you have set up.

To the tax office responsible for you. You can find this out below.

No documents are required for the application; the data is transmitted electronically to the tax authorities.

The requirements for the savings allowance are

The VL must be invested in eligible forms of investment and your taxable annual income must not exceed certain limits. The following are eligible

• Building savings contributions, contributions to the purchase of building and housing cooperative shares, contributions to housing savings contracts and construction financing contracts within the meaning of the Housing Premium Act, as well as expenses for the construction, acquisition, expansion, extension or debt relief of a residential building up to an annual amount of EUR 470.00. Savings allowances can be claimed for these investments up to a taxable income of EUR 17,900.00 (EUR 35,800.00 for jointly assessed spouses/partners)
• Contributions to certain savings contracts for securities or other asset investments, to securities purchase contracts and participation purchase contracts and participation contracts up to an annual amount of 400.00 euros. Savings allowances can be claimed for these investments up to a taxable income of EUR 20,000.00 (EUR 40,000.00 for jointly assessed spouses/partners)

If you are entitled to tax-free allowances for children (EUR 4,194 per child and parent for 2021), these allowances reduce the taxable income when checking the allowance entitlement, even if the child benefit was more favorable when assessing income tax.

If both spouses/registered partners are employed, both can claim the savings allowance for their own VL.

Tip: Does your income exceed the above limits, but is within the income limits for the housing construction premium (25,600.00 euros, for jointly assessed spouses/registered partners 51,200.00 euros, from 2021: 35,000 euros, for jointly assessed spouses 70,000 euros)? Then you can claim VL paid into a building society savings contract, the purchase of building and housing cooperative shares, a housing savings contract or a construction financing contract as your own payments for the granting of the housing construction premium.

The investment institution transmits the VL data (electronic capital accumulation certificate) to the tax authorities by February 28 of the following year if you have consented to the data transmission. This consent is a prerequisite for entitlement to the employee savings allowance and must be given to the investment institution by the end of the second year following the savings year at the latest; you must also provide your tax identification number. Special rules apply to contracts concluded before 25.5.2018: Your investment institution is obliged to transmit the Electronic Asset Accumulation Certificate if you have not objected to the data transmission in writing. The investment institution will inform you about the content of the transmitted data, e.g. together with the annual account statement. From 2017, you will no longer receive a VL attachment from your investment institution. You must continue to use the forms for your income tax return to apply for the employee savings allowance.

In principle, you will only receive the fixed employee savings allowance

• after expiry of the respective blocking period or repayment period or
• after allocation of the building society contract.
• Exception: Savings allowances for expenses for the construction, acquisition, extension, expansion or debt relief of a residential building are paid out without any special waiting periods.
• In certain cases (e.g. unemployment, disability), the fixed employee savings allowance can be paid out early.

You must apply for the employee savings allowance by the end of the fourth calendar year after the year in which you received VL.

There are no fees.