I have faced some confusing issues while submitting the tax-return form for 2008 and 2009.

My parents are partially dependent on me. So I did not transfer money to them regularly. It as on demand basis such

as marriage ceremony of the sisters , medical treatment , etc.

So far , in 2008 I sent around 800 euro .

In 2009, the parents had a special event for which I need to send about 5000 euro wihin a six month period but with irregular intervals.

What should I do to get tax refund on those money ?

In 2008 , I alongwith my wife went to my home country to visit my parents. Can I claim the tax refund for the plane tickets ? If so , under which
category should I mention this ? Under Außergewöhnliche Belastungen ?

Dude, If Finanzamt are going to pay these special events & home visit expenditure from India then soon they will be ....like Greece. Next time you can also claim Beach Holidays too as a Special event journey.

You can support parents under Unterhalts form but then it depends on Xeuros based on the nationality of your parents.

Other expenditure is most unlikely to be considered but you never know.. just apply in Aussergewohnn and if lucky it might be taken into account..
nothing wrong in keeping those expenses even though they don't consider but without keeping how would they even know?
That might logically make the officer think that you have many costs last year and might consider your file a bit lenient..its all how the officer thinks on such extra stuff..

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@ Rambalram

Dude, If Finanzamt are going to pay these special events & home visit expenditure from India then soon they will be ....like Greece. Next time you can also claim Beach Holidays too as a Special event journey.
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I think , German tax system is not suitable for people like us who were brought up in family-centric culture.

We have many social obligations towards our parents and other close relatives.So visiting parents in India is not a pure holiday !!

Sending money to a relative for special events like marriage or medical treatments is not like investing in a business. Rather its a good social norm which is incomprehensible to German tax officials who think that charity begins at paying to some charity organizations !!!!!!!

May be somebody should teach them that charity begins at home !!

there is some thing you can do for Eleternhilfe.

Its a big saving of 1000 Euro on 5000 euro help.Contact a taxlawyer. i am doing it my self

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@HaveHope
there is some thing you can do for Eleternhilfe.

Its a big saving of 1000 Euro on 5000 euro help.Contact a taxlawyer. i am doing it my self

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Due to some reasons, I want to avoid the high fee of the tax-lawyer. So I also want to fill in the tax-return form myself.

What should I write on the tax-return form about this donation ? In which category should I mention this ? Under Außergewöhnliche Belastungen ?

Please share your insight.

Hai, you can claim the money that you are sending to your parents. no doubts !
It is called Eltern helfe geld..or somthing like that. But in order to proove that your parenst are depending on you, you have to produce a letter from your contry ( normally gives the official authorities in the local area where your parents are living). This you can do it with a good tax practitioner ( it may charge around 150 euro only).
Definitely, you can also claim the flight expense to your home country. Many people are doing it.
which country r u from ?
Where you stay in NRW? May be I can give you in formations about good tax practitioner.

Best,
Suma

Hi Suma ,

Thanks a lot for your feedback. The problem with parent support money is that it need to be sent to the parents in reqular intervals , for example , in every quarter.

In my case, I sent the money ( 5000 euro ) to my parents in irregular intervals . So, German tax authority will not consider my parents dependent on me. I mean, I need to find a way to convince the Finanzamt that although my parents are not dependent on me for their monthly living expenses , still they need help from me for special events such as medical treatment, sister's marriage etc.


I am wondering if there is any legal trick to do that.

Hi Suma,

Can you help me in finding a good tax consultant as I want to file my tax returns for the year 2011. I stay in Cologne. My indian collegues do it with the help of ISAR e.V consultant group which charges 75 € but not so happy with them. Or, can I directly submit the details online to Finanzamt? What do you suggest? 

I had visited India in the year 2011, also have sent money to my parents every month (I have Unterhaltserklärung form filled and notary signed from India). I started to work from March 2011. I have salary slips from my employer in India for Jan & Feb 2011. Lets say I have sent more than 5000 € to my parents then how much part of it will I get back (just a rough estimation)?

I have also heard that in some cases instead of getting money back from Finanzamt we might be asked to pay them instead. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!