Last Tuesday, the Conference of Prime Ministers not only approved an extension of the lockdown and a tightening of the mask requirement, but also a tax break directly related to the pandemic: computers and software can be written off immediately.
No more stretching over three years
Previously, computers, software and related accessories had to be depreciated over three years if certain price limits were exceeded during purchase. In concrete terms, this meant that the costs could not be deducted from taxes immediately, but split over three years, which was a burden for some people. This regulation has now been changed. The reason for this is not only the significant increase in expenditure on such products associated with the pandemic, which not infrequently occurred together with a loss of income, but also the rapid decline in the value of the said products. For this reason, the scheme should be maintained permanently, if possible, and not just during the pandemic.
Who will benefit from the new regulation?
The new regulation primarily benefits self-employed persons, who must deduct their operating costs from their taxes year after year. In addition, employees can also benefit, provided that their expenses exceed the advertising allowance of 1,000 euros, which can be claimed without further justification. Here, therefore, the new regulation primarily affects all those who had particularly high advertising expenses this year.
From when does the regulation apply?
The change has not yet come into force. It is to apply retroactively from January 1, 2021. It is expected to be implemented in the next few days, as this does not involve too much bureaucracy. A parliamentary process is not necessary; a proclamation by the Federal Ministry of Finance is sufficient to bring it into force.
