Caring for Relatives in Germany 2026: Tax Deductions

You care for a parent, a partner, or a sibling — often for years, often unpaid. The tax system recognises this effort through multiple deductions: the Pflegepauschbetrag, extraordinary burdens, and household services. Combined, this can add up to several thousand euros per year — if you know which lever applies to you.

In short: Three deduction paths: (1) Pflegepauschbetrag (€600/€1,100/€1,800 depending on care level), (2) Extraordinary burdens for concrete care and home costs (§33 EStG), (3) §35a household services for care-portion of home fees and external care services (20%, max €4,000 relief). Paths can usually be combined.

The three deduction paths at a glance

Path	When it applies	Amount
Pflegepauschbetrag	You care yourself (unpaid), PG 2+	€600-€1,800 / year
Extraordinary burdens (§33)	Actual costs minus zumutbare Belastung	Variable
§35a household service	External care service, home fees (care portion)	20%, max €4,000 relief

Path 1: The Pflegepauschbetrag

The simplest deduction — if you provide the care yourself.

Amounts 2026

Pflegegrad	Flat rate
PG 2	€600/year
PG 3	€1,100/year
PG 4	€1,800/year
PG 5	€1,800/year
Helpless person (H)	€1,800/year

Requirements

• You care for the person yourself — no paid professional
• Care happens in your or their home within the EU/EEA
• You receive no payment (passed-through Pflegegeld from “moral duty” is okay)
• Pflegegrad at least 2

Multiple caregivers

The flat rate is divided among all caregivers — unless you agree in writing that one person gets the full amount.

Example: 3 siblings care for their mother (PG 4):

• Default: each gets €600 (€1,800 ÷ 3)
• With written agreement: one gets €1,800, others €0

Entry

• Main form of tax return, Anlage Außergewöhnliche Belastungen
• Proof: the Pflegegrad decision from the care insurance
• Name and Steuer-ID of the cared-for person

Path 2: Extraordinary burdens (§33 EStG)

If you have high actual costs (home, external care, modifications, medication), this path applies additionally or instead of the flat rate.

What’s deductible

• Nursing-home fees (your share after pension/own contribution of the cared-for person)
• Outpatient care service
• Medication and aids (walker, care bed, stair lift)
• Home modifications for care (accessible bathroom, ramp)
• Transport to doctors and pharmacies (€0.30/km)
• Hospital and rehab costs

Deductions

• Haushaltsersparnis: If the cared-for person lives in a home, their daily living is “replaced” there. For 2026: €10,908 per year is subtracted from the home costs.
• Zumutbare Belastung (§33 Abs. 3): depending on income and family status, 1-7% of income — stepped calculation (see Medical expenses deduction).

Worked example

Anna (married, €80k income) pays €16,800 for her father’s nursing home (own share after his pension).

• Home costs: €16,800
• Minus Haushaltsersparnis: €10,908
• = Extraordinary burden: €5,892
• Zumutbare Belastung (married, €80k): ~€3,500
• Deductible: €2,392
• At 40% marginal rate: ~€957 tax saving

Combined with §35a (see below), the total effect is often much larger.

Path 3: §35a for home fees and external care

Often the strongest lever for home or ambulatory care.

Rule

• The care portion of a home invoice (not board + lodging) qualifies as a household service
• 20% of these costs is direct tax relief
• Cap: €4,000 relief per year (equivalent to €20,000 in care-portion costs)

What you need

• Invoice breakdown from the nursing home or care service: “care portion” separately identified
• If not shown: request from the home (usually possible, often on move-in)

Template letter to the care home

Dear Sir or Madam,

for my 2026 tax return, I kindly request an invoice breakdown separately identifying the care portion (§35a EStG). This allows me to claim the care service as a household service.

If already evident from the monthly statement, a short written confirmation with the annual total value is sufficient.

Best regards …

Combination with extraordinary burden

You can’t use the same cost twice — but you can split components:

• Care portion → §35a (direct 20% relief)
• Board/lodging → extraordinary burden (after Haushaltsersparnis deduction)

This significantly increases total savings.

Practical tips

Flat rate or itemised?

The Pflegepauschbetrag (€600-€1,800) is flat — no itemisation. Those with high actual costs (above €2,000/year) are often better off with §33 EStG.

Best practice: calculate both paths. The Finanzamt applies whichever is more favourable — but only if you enter both on the return.

Pflegegeld

• Pflegegeld from care insurance (paid to the care recipient) is tax-free for them.
• When passed to the caregiver under “moral duty to care”, it stays tax-free for you (§3 Nr. 36 EStG) — up to the statutory Pflegegeld amount.
• But: if Pflegegeld is treated as payment (formal contract, higher amount), the Pflegepauschbetrag is denied.

Pflegegrad pending, no decision yet

• Pflegepauschbetrag: not possible without the formal decision
• Extraordinary burden: actual incurred costs are still deductible (with receipts)
• Retroactively: once the Pflegegrad is approved, old tax returns can be amended (§175 AO, new facts)

Common mistakes

1. Pflegepauschbetrag claimed without Pflegegrad. Doesn’t work — PG 2 or higher is required.
2. Full home invoice as extraordinary burden. Haushaltsersparnis must be subtracted (€10,908).
3. §35a lever not used. The care portion of a home invoice can bring 20% direct relief — often the largest single effect.
4. Multiple caregivers each claiming full flat rate. Automatically divided — unless written agreement.
5. Cash payment to ambulatory care. Under §35a, no deduction without bank transfer.
6. Only flat rate despite higher actual costs. Always compare.

Related topics

• Medical expenses deduction 2026 — for medical costs of the cared-for person
• Handyman deduction §35a — for home modifications and household services
• Inheritance & gift tax 2026 — when inheritance follows care

How Restio helps

Care is emotionally overwhelming and tax-wise complex — many small receipts, multiple deduction paths, often over years. Restio structures it:

• Deduction-path finder — enter Pflegegrad, home/at-home, costs, Restio compares flat rate vs §33 vs §35a and shows the optimal mix.
• Receipt hub — photos of medication co-payments, home invoices, modification receipts. Restio auto-assigns to the correct path.
• Sibling coordinator — with multiple caregivers, Restio helps draft a distribution agreement and optimises the flat rate split.
• Letter templates — ready-to-send letters to the nursing home for §35a breakdown.
• Instant answers — “Pflegegeld paid to me — does it become taxable?”, “Is the €10k bathroom modification deductible?”, “My father only has PG 1 — what can I do?” — in English or German.

Care is one of the hardest life chapters a family goes through. The tax system will never fully offset the effort — but with the right deductions, substantially more stays with you, freeing real relief.