Any taxpayer with net income from a salaried occupation may deduct upskilling costs as business expenses (frais d'obtention) from his/her taxable income from the salaried occupation.
The upskilling costs must:
Professional training costs (Ausbildungskosten), which cover expenses incurred in order to gain the knowledge required for a future profession or a change of profession, are non-deductible.
Eligible expenses include:
The location in which the training is held is not taken into consideration.
The employee must deduct the upskilling expenses in the context of the tax return relating to the tax year during which the expenses were incurred.
Example: If in October 2022 someone pays all of the registration fees for a training course that lasts for two years, he/she can only claim these expenses on his/her tax return for the 2022 financial year.
Upskilling expenses are classed as business expenses (frais d'obtention) and can be declared in the corresponding section of the tax return.
Each employee automatically benefits from a minimum lump sum of € 540 for each tax year, in order to cover business expenses.
If jointly taxpaying spouses both receive income from salaried employment, each will benefit from the minimum sum of € 540. Should all of the actual business expenses exceed the lump sum minimum, the employee may deduct them upon request.
It is recommended that the employee briefly explains to the tax office how the training can help him/her to progress in his/her professional career and to provide the tax office with supporting documents proving payment of the registration fees and participation in the continuing training.