Happy Easter 🐰

Happy Easter to you and your loved ones! We hope this special holiday brings you joy, renewal, and perhaps a few chocolate treats.

What are your Easter plans?

Whether you're enjoying a traditional family gathering, heading out for a spring vacation, or simply taking some well-deserved rest, we'd love to hear about your celebrations.

Drop us a reply to this newsletter and share your Easter traditions!

Fun Easter Facts from Germany

• In Germany, Easter is called "Ostern" and celebrations often begin on the Thursday before Easter Sunday (Gründonnerstag).
• The Easter tree (Ostereierbaum) is a beloved German tradition where branches or small trees are decorated with colorful painted eggs.
• Easter bonfires (Osterfeuer) are common throughout Germany, symbolizing the end of winter and welcoming spring.
• Germans don't just hide chocolate eggs—they also decorate their fountains and wells (Osterbrunnen) with painted eggs and spring flowers, especially in the Franconia region.

Special Easter Offer (Promotion)

We're offering a special treat to celebrate this spring season: 50% off all GermanPedia products until 22 April.

Simply use the coupon code: EASTER50 at checkout. This is a subscriber-exclusive offer.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter holiday!

Summary of everything you must know about 2024 tax returns

Tax allowances vs Flat rates

• Tax allowance is the amount up to which you pay no taxes. You pay taxes on the income that exceeds the tax allowance.
• Flat rates are the expenses you can enter in your tax return without proof.

Expenses you can deduct without showing proof

The work-related costs (Werbungskosten) you can deduct without proof from your income tax return.

• Bank account fees: The German tax authorities accept 16 euros per year as bank account fees without proof. So, you claim it even if you have a free bank account.
• ​Home office lump sum: You can claim up to 1260€ without proof if you worked from home.
• Travel from home to the office: You can claim up to 4500 € without proof.
• Internet and phone costs: Claim up to 240 €.
• ​Relocation flat rate: Claim up to 964 € plus 643 € per additional person (from March 2024) if you relocate for professional reasons.
• Cost of work equipment: Everything you use at least 10% of the time for professional purposes is considered work equipment. E.g., bookshelf, laptop, desk, chair, etc. If you don’t have the receipts, you can try claiming a flat rate of 110€. Many tax offices accept this, but you have no legal entitlement to it.

Other expenses you can deduct

• Insurance costs: You can deduct the costs of work-related insurance from your taxes. This includes work-related accident insurance, liability insurance, legal insurance, etc.
• Cost of applying or looking for jobs, such as subscription to a job portal, travel expenses, etc.
• Educational costs: Did you take a training or a language course in 2024? You can deduct its costs from your taxes.
• ​Capital gains up to 1000€ remain tax-free. This applies to stocks, crypto, and any other private sales.
• Donations: You get a flat rate of 36 € for special expenses for singles or 72 € for married couples. As the flat rate for special expenses is quite low, you can deduct expenses such as donations, childcare expenses, maintenance payments, etc.

You can also download the checklist that lists all the expenses you can deduct from your taxes.

Key tax benefits for the Self-Employed

• Simpler Rules for Small Businesses: You don't need to collect VAT if your turnover is less than 25,000€.
• Higher Limits for Cash Accounting: Businesses with turnover up to €800,000 (was €600,000) can use cash-based accounting.
• "December Aid 2022" Still Tax-Free: Money received for high heating costs in 2022 remains tax-free.
• Bigger Business Gifts Allowed: You can now deduct gifts to business partners worth up to €50 (was €35).
• Better Write-Offs for Investments: Small businesses (profits up to €200,000) can now write off 40% of investments (was 20%).
• An e-invoice is not mandatory for small business owners, but you must be able to receive e-invoices.

Sources: 1, 2​

How to file a tax return? (Promotion)

• Yourself: You can use tax software to help you file the tax return. They are the most cost-effective way to file a tax return. We find Wundertax*, SteuerGo*, and WISO Steuer* (German) among the best tax software out there.
• Tax advisor: Tax advisors are expensive in Germany. They cost between 600€ and 2000€, depending on your income and complexity. You can request a free quote from a tax advisor here*.

The deadline for filing 2024 tax returns

• You file the tax yourself: 31.07.2025
• You hire a tax advisor: 30.04.2026

Changes we made based on your feedback

• Site sources: We always cite sources when creating content. We have now started citing sources more prominently in our newsletters.
• Redesigned the homepage to prioritize content over other products.
• Revised our content guidelines. We limited how often the affiliate links, GermanPedia's products and services, appear in the guides and website. We have more than 150 guides. So, reviewing and updating them based on our new guidelines will take some time. We ask for your understanding.
• Make content guidelines public. We'll soon publish our content guidelines to improve transparency.
• We'll create separate guides explaining the selection criteria for each product or service.
• Added "Promotion" text along with the astrix "*" in the newsletter to highlight affiliate and promotional content.
• We'll now prefer sharing positive content/news over negative.

Your feedback helps us improve and make GermanPedia a valuable resource for you and others. Feel free to reply to this email and share your feedback with us.

As you may have noticed, we have also redesigned our newsletter. Please let us know how you found it.

Latest News

• The ECB cut its main interest rate to 2.25%. The move was inspired by slow economic growth and US tariffs. [1]
• 90-day pause on higher tariffs: The U.S. implemented a 10% baseline tariff on most foreign imports starting April 5, 2025, with a 90-day pause on higher tariffs (e.g., 20% on EU goods) to allow negotiations. The EU suspended its planned 25% retaliatory tariffs on €21 billion of U.S. goods to facilitate talks, but progress has been limited. [1][2]
• Germany is making strides in adding wind power. It has approved over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of new onshore wind power capacity. Moreover, in Q1 2025, Germany added more than 1,000 MW of wind energy. Germany aims to cover 80% of its electricity needs with renewables by 2030. [1]
• Global Health Leadership: Germany is one of the biggest donors to the WHO, contributing a total of $317 million for 2024/2025. German health minister said - "The World Health Organization is indispensable - for worldwide health monitoring, pandemic prevention, disease control and equitable access to health care." [1]
• New Government with Economic Focus: Germany’s incoming coalition government has promised economic and tax reforms to revive the German economy. They plan to boost housing construction to address shortages, cut corporate taxes, and accelerate infrastructure projects. [1]
• Germany ranked second in the world in the number of patents filed in 2024, with 25,000 patents. The USA took the first spot with 48,000 patent applications. Japan is in third place with 21,000 patents, and China is in fourth place with 20,000 patent applications. [1]

A Request 🙏

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Community Shoutouts! 📣

• We gave our first interview, which will air on Tuesday, 22nd at 7 pm on Jazzradio 106.8 FM. 🥳
• Thanks for all of your support. We'll soon reach the 3000 subscribers count. 🎊
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Whether it's a must-visit place, a life hack, or an inspiring story, we’d love to hear from you.

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