© 2016 Deutscher Bundestag WD 4 - 3000 - 009/16 Number of separate and joint assessments of spouses to income tax EZPWD-Request (bilateral) Sachstand Wissenschaftliche Dienste Ausarbeitungen und andere Informationsangebote der Wissenschaftlichen Dienste geben nicht die Auffassung des Deutschen Bundestages, eines seiner Organe oder der Bundestagsverwaltung wieder. Vielmehr liegen sie in der fachlichen Verantwortung der Verfasserinnen und Verfasser sowie der Fachbereichsleitung. Der Deutsche Bundestag behält sich die Rechte der Veröffentlichung und Verbreitung vor. Beides bedarf der Zustimmung der Leitung der Abteilung W, Platz der Republik 1, 11011 Berlin. Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 4 - 3000 - 009/16 Seite 2 Number of separate and joint assessments of spouses to income tax EZPWD-Request (bilateral) Aktenzeichen: WD 4 - 3000 - 009/16 Abschluss der Arbeit: 01. Februar 2016 Fachbereich: WD 4: Haushalt und Finanzen Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 4 - 3000 - 009/16 Seite 3 1. Assessment of couples under German income tax law Married couples may elect to be assessed either jointly or separately, provided husband and wife are both subject to unlimited tax liability and are not permanently separated; these conditions must be satisfied either at the start of or at some point during the calendar year. If married couples elect to be assessed separately, each spouse is assessed on his or her income. In the case of joint assessment, the net incomes accruing to each spouse are aggregated and the couple treated to all intents and purposes as a single taxpayer. Income tax is then determined using the income splitting method, with tax being computed according to the income tax scale on half of the joint income, and the result being doubled (“Ehegattensplitting”). Expenditure for the support and occupational training of children is taken into account in the family benefits system by the provision of the tax-free child allowance and the allowances covering childcare, child minding and education for a child.1 So in Germany there is no “family splitting”. 2. Number of taxable spouses The Federal Statistical Office provides the numbers of taxable spouses for 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 in a special evaluation (please notice: for official use only). The numbers of taxable spouses from 2011 on are based on estimates of the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT.2 Year taxable spouses - separate assessment taxable spouses - joint assessment 2001 349.093 13.749.218 2004 349.845 13.083.383 2007 433.932 12.752.710 2010 598.825 12.493.516 2011 not specified 12.770.000 2012 not specified 12.800.000 2013 not specified 12.710.000 2014 not specified 12.620.000 2015 not specified 12.540.000 From 2001 to 2010 there were no fundamental change in the law. 1 Ministry of Finance: An ABC of Taxes 2013 Edition, available at: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium .de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Press_Room/Publications/Brochures/2012-10-30-abc-on-taxespdf .pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=12, 1. Februar 2016. 2 Ministry of Finance. Datensammlung zur Steuerpolitik, Februar 2014, page 40, available at: http://www.bundesfinanzministerium .de/Content/DE/Downloads/Broschueren_Bestellservice/2015-03-17-datensammlung-zursteuerpolitik -2014.html, 1. Februar 2016