Severance payment - church tax denominationally different
November 4, 2010 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Michael Herrmann
Dear tax advisor,
Next year I will receive a severance payment on which I do not pay church tax because I am not affiliated with any religious denomination. My wife has been unemployed for the past year but is of the Protestant faith.
Now my question:
Do I have to expect a payment for church tax in the joint assessment for 2012?
I have income without affiliation, and my wife has no income but is affiliated with the Protestant church.
What can we expect in the joint assessment?
Dear inquirer,
First of all, thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to answer based on the information provided and in the context of your initial consultation. The response is based on the description of the situation. Missing or incorrect information about the actual circumstances can influence the legal outcome.
If only one spouse belongs to a church that levies taxes in the respective federal state, while the other spouse does not belong to any religious community or belongs to a religious community that does not levy taxes, it is considered a mixed-faith marriage. In the case of spouses in a mixed-faith marriage, when filing joint income tax returns, the church tax is only levied on the spouse who is a member of a tax-collecting religious community.
It is important to distinguish this from the church fee in mixed-faith marriages (so-called special church fee), which is levied on the non-earning or lower-earning spouse of the taxpayer who belongs to the church. Each church member is obligated to support the financing of church tasks according to their ability. The church-affiliated spouse with no income or lower income compared to the other spouse derives their ability to pay from the so-called cost of living or in other words, from the maintenance claim against the higher-earning spouse. Since the cost of living cannot be determined in every individual case, it is typified from the joint taxable income of the spouses.
The rough calculation is done by applying the tax rate to one-third of the taxable income. The resulting amount is the basis for calculating the church tax.
In summary, it is expected that due to your wife's church membership, a church fee will be levied on your joint income.
You should seek advice on the amount based on a specific tax calculation.
I hope that these explanations have given you a sufficient overview of the situation within the scope of your inquiry, and remain
Yours sincerely,
Michael Herrmann
Diploma in Financial Management
Tax consultant
