Volunteer & Trainer Tax Allowance Germany 2026

You coach the youth team, lead the choir, serve as a club board member, or volunteer in care support. For this volunteer effort there are two allowances that are often combinable and make up to €4,140 per year tax- and social-security-free. This guide explains which allowance applies to which activity.

In short: Übungsleiterpauschale (§3 Nr. 26 EStG): €3,300/year for pedagogical, care, educational, or artistic part-time activities at non-profit organisations. Ehrenamtspauschale (§3 Nr. 26a EStG): €840/year for all other volunteer activities. Combinable for two distinct activities. Both are tax AND social-security-free.

The two allowances compared

	Übungsleiterpauschale	Ehrenamtspauschale
Paragraph	§3 Nr. 26 EStG	§3 Nr. 26a EStG
2026 cap	€3,300/year	€840/year
For whom	Trainers, educators, instructors, caregivers, choir leaders	All other volunteers: board, secretary, treasurer, groundskeeper, helpers
Time limit	Max 14 h/week (part-time)	Max 14 h/week
Organisation	Non-profit, charitable, religious, legal person of public law	Same

Both allowances are tax- and social-security-free.

The Übungsleiterpauschale — for pedagogical activities

Who gets it?

• Trainers (sports, fitness, yoga, dance)
• Educators and caregivers in youth camps, scouts, voluntary services
• Lecturers at adult education schools, music schools, language schools (part-time)
• Choir directors, orchestra conductors
• Caregivers in outpatient care at non-profit providers
• Instructors in first-aid courses, swimming courses

Activity requirements

• Pedagogical (teaching, educating, caring) or care-related
• At a non-profit organisation (e.V., foundation, public institution)
• Part-time (max 14 h/week)

Examples

Activity	Annual income	Tax treatment
Youth trainer at sports club	€1,800	tax-free
Part-time adult-ed lecturer	€2,500	tax-free
Part-time trainer + extra courses	€4,200	€3,300 free, €900 taxable

The Ehrenamtspauschale — for general activities

Who gets it?

• Board members in clubs
• Secretary, treasurer
• Groundskeeper, caretaker (part-time at club)
• Youth group leaders without pedagogical element (e.g. pure organisation)
• Volunteer helpers at events, trips, church services

Activity requirements

• For a non-profit organisation
• Part-time

The Ehrenamtspauschale is the “catch-all” paragraph — it covers everything that doesn’t fit Übungsleiter but is still volunteer engagement.

Combination: both together

You can use both allowances in parallel if you have two clearly different activities at the same or different organisations.

Example

Ina is a trainer (€2,800/year) and board member (€600/year) at the same sports club:

• Trainer: under Übungsleiterpauschale €3,300 → fully tax-free
• Board: under Ehrenamtspauschale €840 → fully tax-free
• Total: €3,400 tax-free per year

Not for the same activity

If you get €4,000 as a trainer, you can’t say: €3,300 Übungsleiter + €700 Ehrenamt. Per activity only one allowance applies.

The excess (€700) is then taxable.

What counts as “non-profit”?

The organisation must have recognised non-profit status:

• Registered association (e.V.) with non-profit certificate
• Foundation with statutes
• Legal person of public law (schools, universities, churches)
• Non-profit limited company (gGmbH)

Verification via

• Tax-exemption notice from the Finanzamt (held by the organisation, ask there)
• Non-profit register (being expanded)
• Statutes with non-profit purposes

Not non-profit

• Private commercial fitness studios
• For-profit companies
• “Tennis club, but as GmbH” without non-profit status → no allowance

Time limit: “part-time”

• Maximum 14 hours per week (annual average)
• Above that, the activity counts as main occupation → different rules (normal self-employment taxation)

In practice, most club activities are clearly below (2-5 h/week).

Handling the excess

If you exceed an allowance:

• Only the excess is taxable, NOT the entire amount
• Enter on Anlage S (self-employment income)
• Offset with related business expenses (e.g. travel to the club)

Example

Trainer with €4,800 annual compensation:

• €3,300 tax-free (Übungsleiterpauschale)
• €1,500 on Anlage S
• Minus travel to club (e.g. €300) = €1,200 taxable profit

At 30% marginal rate: ~€360 tax.

Documentation

The club usually gives you an annual compensation certificate showing:

• Your name
• The organisation
• Type of activity
• Total amount
• Note “Übungsleiter under §3 Nr. 26 EStG” or “Ehrenamt under §3 Nr. 26a EStG”

Keep this document (7 years). Submit only on request.

Related topics

• Freelancer tax deductions — if you have excess over the allowance
• Side business while employed — if your volunteering might scale

Common mistakes

1. Claiming the allowance for commercial fitness studios. Only non-profits qualify.
2. Übungsleiter claimed for non-pedagogical work. Groundskeeper is not an Übungsleiter activity.
3. Both allowances for the same activity. Per activity, only one.
4. Income above the allowance not reported. The excess is taxable — omitting is tax evasion.
5. Over 14 h/week worked. Then main occupation applies — different taxation.

How Restio helps

Volunteer allowances are simple but often misunderstood. Restio ensures no allowance is wasted:

• Club check — tell Restio the organisation and activity; Restio verifies if Übungsleiter or Ehrenamt applies.
• Combination optimiser — for multiple activities, Restio calculates the optimal allowance split.
• Excess tracker — if you approach the allowance, Restio warns you and tells you what to do next.
• Instant answers — “Is my Kita helper work Übungsleiter?”, “My club isn’t non-profit — what now?”, “I have 2 clubs at once” — in English or German.

Volunteering is socially valuable — and the tax law recognises it with clear allowances. Know the two rules and you lose nothing, and keep focusing on what matters: the engagement itself.