Taxpayers who make advance payments on health insurance premiums and thus legally maximize the special expense deduction can easily save four figures a year. This "tax-saving model of the year 2011" is presented in the current February issue of WISO-SteuerBrief.



Günter Göbel, editor in charge of the WISO-SteuerBrief, explains the background to the model - which is still largely unknown even to tax advisors: "In 2010, the legislator improved the special expense deduction for health insurance contributions. If more than the statutory maximum amounts are spent on basic health and compulsory long-term care insurance, the actual expenses can be deducted. However, this does not apply to other pension expenses, such as contributions for unemployment, liability, accident and certain life insurance policies. As a result, the latter payments go unused for tax purposes if the payments for basic health and long-term care insurance are above the maximum amounts. The advance payment for basic health and long-term care insurance now ensures that the special expense deduction for health insurance contributions is maximized in 2011 and the other pension expenses can be deducted as special expenses in 2012 to 2013 up to the maximum amount of EUR 2,800 per year.



According to calculations by WISO-SteuerBrief, this can result in tax savings in the four-digit range per year. A free copy of the WISO-SteuerBrief can be requested here.



The WISO-SteuerBrief is published by IWW Institut für Wirtschaftspublizistik. The IWW is the market leader for ad-free business and tax information services aimed at professional target groups such as doctors, dentists, tax consultants, lawyers and entrepreneurs (B2B). It publishes over 60 information services at three locations in Düsseldorf, Nordkirchen and Würzburg and offers over 10 online information services. As an independently operating company, it belongs to Vogel Business Media, a leading German specialist information provider with around 100 specialist journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities.