Craftsmen bonus is also available if someone else pays

A mother received a lifelong right of residence in her son's house as a so-called "old age" (Altersteil). She can claim tradesmen's invoices as a tax deduction.

This article is part of the special topic Tax bonus for tradesmen's invoices: What you should know

Even if she doesn't pay them herself. This is the ruling of the Lower Saxony Finance Court. Her son had assumed the bills as part of his retirement plan. He claimed his payments as a permanent expense on his tax return. This was credited to the mother as taxable income.

She argued that this had at least indirectly impacted her with the tradesmen's services. The court agreed with her and corrected the tax assessment: the tradesmen's services were taken into account as a tax deduction.

Background: What is an old-age pension? Often, older people transfer their property to their children and, in return, receive a so-called "old age portion." The contract then stipulates that the parents will receive the right of residence, support, and care from their children.

Lower Saxony Finance Court, judgment of 16 January 2013, Ref. No.: 2 K 239/12