Energy price flat rate

This is not possible. The assessment is to be made by the employer himself or a representative of the consulting professions or bodies (tax consultants, lawyers, chambers, etc.).

This cannot be answered uniformly. The tax office must check whether the requirements for a "refund" are met. In complex cases, there may be queries that delay processing.

Likewise, there may be other points regarding the income tax return that need to be checked or clarified. This can also lead to queries and possibly cause delays. However, the processing will take place as quickly as possible.

Employers may take the EPP separately from the total amount of payroll tax required to be withheld, which would be

1. For monthly filing periods, by September 12, 2022 (because September 10, 2022 is a Saturday),
2. in the case of a quarterly filing period, by October 10, 2022, and
3. by January 10, 2023, in the case of an annual filing period.

must be filed and remitted.

If the total EPP to be granted exceeds the amount to be remitted in total wage tax, the excess amount will be reimbursed to the employer by the tax office to which the wage tax is to be remitted. Technically, this is handled by means of a so-called minus wage tax declaration. A separate application by the employer is not required. In this case, the refund amount is transferred to the employer's account designated to the tax office.

The EPP is listed in the wage tax declaration with an additional code number. This is for statistical purposes.

Due to the legal requirement, the refinancing cannot be postponed.

Even in the event of a later payment, the cut-off date for the refinancing of the EPP remains September 12, 2022 for applications to be submitted on a monthly basis.

There are cases in which the employee receives the EPP only after filing an income tax return for the year 2022. These are, for example, cases of lump-sum taxation for mini-jobs, where it is not the first employment relationship or the employer is exceptionally not obliged to file an income tax return.

The assessment of whether such a case exists is to be made by the employer himself or a representative of the consulting professions or bodies (tax consultants, lawyers, chambers, etc.).

If all requirements are met, mini-jobbers ("520-euro employees") receive the energy price flat rate from their employer. The employer can be "reimbursed" for the paid flat-rate energy allowance via the income tax return.

The assessment of whether such a case exists is to be made by the employer himself or a representative of the consulting professions or bodies (tax consultants, lawyers, chambers, etc.).

First of all, it is important that the wage tax to be declared is entered in full in the declaration. The energy price flat rate is not to be deducted here. The reduction is made by entering the energy price flat rate to be paid on line 22 a, item 35.

In addition, when calculating the wage tax to be declared, it is important to note that the flat-rate energy price allowance is subject to wage tax, i.e. it may lead to a corresponding increase in wage tax.

The payment of the EPP alone does not require the entry of a higher number of employees on line 15 of the wage tax return. An adjustment is only required here if the number of employees has actually increased compared to the previous month.

In addition to the legal basis (§§ 112 ff. EStG as amended by the Tax Relief Act 2022 of May 23, 2022, BGBl I p. 749), there is the FAQ of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

You will find the link to this under "Further information".