Anyone who submits their tax return often gets money back from the tax office. Sometimes, however, they turn out to be incorrect.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt To err is human. But even when using automated data transmission, errors cannot be ruled out. Many taxpayers notice this every year when they hold their tax assessment in their hands. Because according to information from the taxpayers’ association, one in three of them is incorrect.
However, the error does not always have a negative effect on the taxpayer. If the tax office recognizes its error itself, the correction usually follows immediately by means of a change notice.
The mother of a son also received such a notice of change. In it, the authority corrected the contributions for the boy’s private health insurance that had been erroneously attributed to her in the special editions, but had been paid by the divorced husband.
The health insurance had sent the amount paid to the mother’s tax number by electronic data record. In addition to the total contributions, the data set contained information on the son’s first and last name, address, date of birth and identification number. Also included were the father’s name and date of birth.
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Errors were beneficial to taxpayers
Since the mother did not claim any contributions for the son’s health insurance in her income tax return, these were initially correctly disregarded. After that, however, the tax office issued an amendment notice in which it recognized the payments as special expenses. However, the authority reversed this a short time later with another amended notice, which increased the mother’s income tax again.
She defended herself against the renewed change before the Münster Finance Court. Unlike the plaintiff, the judges saw the conditions for the second correction of the tax assessment as given, since the first amendment assessment was caused by an incorrect evaluation of data.
In its decision, the Federal Fiscal Court confirmed the assessment of the lower court (Az. XR 5/21). The judges pointed out that, in principle, only those health insurance contributions that actually owe and pay them can be deducted as special expenses.
The Federal Fiscal Court rejected the mother’s objection that the legal regulation did not name the decisive data – namely the contributions made and the identification number of the policyholder. In his opinion, the legal basis should be interpreted broadly.
Accordingly, the relevant paragraph 93c AO includes all tax data of a taxpayer that is to be transmitted electronically from the responsible body to the tax authorities. Rather, it is not limited to a specific data set. Instead, it defines a minimum content for the crucial data.
Practical tip: What to do if the tax assessment notice is incorrect
Anyone who receives their tax assessment should always check it thoroughly. If errors are found, those affected should lodge a written objection. The second check at the tax office is free of charge. The period of four weeks must be observed. This begins on the day of the postmark plus three days. The letter to the tax office should make it clear that this is an objection. Therefore, the term should already be mentioned in the subject.
It is also important that the taxpayer justify why they do not agree with the tax assessment they have received. It is helpful to have evidence that supports your own view of things. If there are already court decisions in a comparable matter or if proceedings are currently pending, those affected should state the file number in their letter. If you are unable to enclose suitable documents for justification due to the objection period, these can also be submitted to the tax office afterwards.
After submitting the objection, it usually takes several weeks for taxpayers to receive mail from their tax office. However, the authority can decide on parts of it in advance. These will then automatically become final. If the objection is rejected, the complaint remains with the tax court.
Are you interested in this tax tip? You can find more articles at our cooperation partner Haufe.de.
More: Tax return guide – How to check your tax assessment – step by step