How does the tax deductibility of advertising costs work?
June 8, 2024 | 50,00 EUR | answered by Robert Lehmann
Dear tax lawyer,
I have a question regarding the tax deductibility of business expenses. I work as an employee in a company and have incurred various expenses in recent years as part of my professional activities that could be claimed as business expenses. However, I am unsure of how exactly this works and which costs are actually deductible.
Regarding my current situation: I have incurred costs for professional literature, further education, work equipment such as a laptop and office supplies, as well as travel expenses for appointments and meetings. All of these expenses, in my opinion, are necessary to meet the requirements of my job and to successfully carry out my work.
My concern is that I may be missing out on money by not including these business expenses in my tax return. I would like to know how to correctly report these costs and to what extent they are tax deductible. Are there specific limits or requirements that I need to consider? And how can I ensure that I do not make any mistakes and claim all possible business expenses?
I would be very grateful if you could provide me with a detailed explanation and suggest possible solutions. I want to prepare my tax return accurately and efficiently and am counting on your expert help.
Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Heike Ullmann
Dear Mrs. Ullmann,
Thank you for your inquiry regarding the tax deductibility of business expenses. It is understandable that you have uncertainties about how to correctly report your professional expenses in your tax return and which costs are deductible. I would be happy to explain to you in detail how you can proceed.
First and foremost, it is important to know that business expenses are all costs that are incurred for professional reasons and serve to acquire, secure, or maintain income. Business expenses include, for example, costs for professional literature, further education, work equipment such as laptops and office supplies, as well as travel expenses for appointments and meetings.
In order for these costs to be tax deductible, they must be directly related to your professional activity. This means that the expenses must be necessary to generate or secure your income. Additionally, the costs must have actually been incurred and be verifiable.
There are no fixed limits for the deductibility of business expenses, but certain conditions apply. For example, you must declare the costs in your tax return as business expenses and be able to provide receipts or invoices as proof. Furthermore, the expenses must be in a reasonable proportion to your income.
To ensure that you claim all possible business expenses, I recommend creating a detailed list of all costs and indicating them accordingly in your tax return. It may also be helpful to seek advice from a tax advisor or a specialist lawyer in tax law to make sure that you are taking advantage of all opportunities for tax optimization.
I hope that this information is helpful to you and I am at your disposal if you have any further questions. Thank you for your trust and your inquiry.
Best regards,
Robert Lehmann
Tax lawyer
