Taxation of salary during leave and stay abroad
October 26, 2020 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
Which state has the right to tax?
Russian citizenship, permanent residence permit in Germany. German spouse.
Registered in Germany and Russia, children in Germany and in Russia, spouse only in Germany.
Worked and paid taxes in Germany as a normal employee until 2018.
From 2019 until October on parental leave, afterwards not returning to work but receiving a severance payment and continued salary payments until 2020 with 100% release from work. (Nice employer :-))
In 2019 stayed in Russia for over 200 days, including November and December.
In 2020 expected to stay in Russia almost the entire year. Also now employed in Russia.
In practice, there was payment of salary in Germany without work being performed, while staying in Russia.
Does the right to tax for 2019 and 2020 lie in Russia (due to >183 days) or in Germany (because the activity was related to Germany)?
Thank you ... большое спасибо ;-)
Hello and thank you for using frag-einen.com!
I would like to answer your question as part of an initial consultation.
Basically, the double taxation agreement regulates which country has the right to tax (Art. 15 DTA).
In general, the principle is that income from employment can only be taxed in the country where the work is carried out. So if you are no longer resident in Germany, Russia would generally have the right to tax.
The decisive factor for the assessment is whether you are considered resident in Germany. If you have a residence in both countries, you are considered resident in the country to which you have closer personal and economic ties (center of life interests). So if your spouse only lives in Germany, there may be indications that you are resident in Germany. If this cannot be clearly determined, citizenship may also play a role in the assessment of residency. In case of doubt, the two countries must agree on your residency if other assessments are not possible.
I hope this answers your question, otherwise feel free to ask follow-up questions at no cost.
I would like to point out that this forum cannot replace a detailed and personal tax consultation, but is mainly intended to provide an initial tax assessment. Adding or omitting relevant information could lead to a different legal assessment of your issue.
Best regards,
Knut Christiansen
Tax consultant
