B2 · 40 Wörter

Tax and deductions

What comes off the wage before it arrives, and what some of it can be got back.

Three things about German tax surprise almost everybody who arrives from an English-speaking country. Tax on wages is taken at source as die Lohnsteuer, so an employee may never file anything at all. Die Steuerklasse — there are six — decides how much comes off each month but not what is owed for the year, so changing it changes the cash flow and not the bill. And die Werbungskosten has nothing whatever to do with die Werbung: it is what was spent in order to earn the income, and it is the line most people leave money on.

Die Wörter

Verb (4)

absetzento deduct, to write offVerbB2

Die Fahrtkosten kann man von der Steuer absetzen.You can deduct travel costs from your tax.

Separable: setzt ab. Also means to put something down.

aufbewahrento keep, to retainVerbB2

Man sollte die Belege einige Jahre aufbewahren.You should keep the receipts for some years.

Separable: bewahrt auf.

hinterziehento evade (tax)VerbC1

Wer Steuern hinterzieht, macht sich strafbar.Anyone who evades tax is committing an offence.

Inseparable, and used almost only with Steuern.

abführento pay over, to remitVerbC1

Der Arbeitgeber führt die Beiträge ab.The employer pays the contributions over.

Separable: führt ab. The money goes to an authority, not a person.

Adverb (2)

bruttogrossAdverbB1

Brutto klingt das Gehalt besser als netto.The salary sounds better gross than net.

Used uninflected: das Bruttogehalt, but er verdient brutto …

nettonetAdverbB1

Netto bleibt weniger übrig, als man denkt.Net there is less left over than you think.

The first question at a German job interview is usually about brutto.

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