Insurance broker / Insurance questions / Personal liability

Can I deduct liability insurance from my taxes in Germany?

In short

Yes, as other provident expenses (sonstige Vorsorgeaufwendungen) in the Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand of your German tax return. The cap is EUR 1,900 for employees, civil servants, pensioners and students and EUR 2,800 for the self-employed. Health and care insurance usually use up the cap, so liability insurance then saves nothing.

Request a quote +49 3375 29 12 77

Can I deduct liability insurance from my taxes in Germany?

What it costs

What liability insurance costs and the most you can save in tax.

Example	Typical range
Personal liability, single	about EUR 40 to 120 a year
Personal liability, family	about EUR 60 to 180 a year
Tax saving on a EUR 80 premium, cap already used	EUR 0
Tax saving on a EUR 80 premium, cap free, tax rate 14 to 42 percent	about EUR 11 to 34

Premium ranges from publicly quoted tariff examples, as of September 2026. The tax saving is our own worked example without solidarity surcharge and church tax; in an individual case your tax adviser decides.

Worked example

Employee, EUR 45,000 gross, public health insurance

This is the calculation when only her own share of health and care insurance counts.

Own share of health and care insurance	about EUR 4,500 to 5,000
Cap for other provident expenses	EUR 1,900
Personal liability	EUR 80
Tax effect of that	EUR 0

The liability insurance saves nothing here. Health insurance still counts in full.

Why liability insurance rarely saves tax

Personal liability insurance shares its cap with health and care insurance, unemployment insurance, accident and disability insurance. Contributions to basic health and care insurance always count in full, even above the cap. For the other policies nothing is left.

For an employee on an average salary, their own share of health and care insurance alone is well above EUR 1,900. Entering the liability premium does no harm, though: the tax office (Finanzamt) calculates the better option for you.

What is different if you come from abroad

In the UK and US, personal insurance premiums are usually not deductible at all, so the German form can be surprising. Many employees in Germany are not required to file a return, but filing voluntarily often pays off for other reasons, for example commuting costs or moving costs for a new job.

In your first and last year in Germany special rules may apply, for example if you were only taxed here for part of the year or have income abroad. If you do not live in Germany and only pay tax on German income, many of these deductions are limited. In these cases a tax adviser (Steuerberater) or an income tax help association (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein) is worth it.

When it does pay off

There can only be an effect if your contributions to basic health and care insurance stay below the cap. That can happen with a very low income, but then the tax you pay is often so low that the saving is a few euros at most.

The right category matters much more for professional liability insurance. It is not a provident expense but income related expenses (Werbungskosten) or business expenses (Betriebsausgaben), and deductible without this cap.

Insurance	Where in the tax return	Effect
Personal liability	other provident expenses	usually none
Dog and horse liability	other provident expenses	usually none
Liability part of boat insurance	other provident expenses	usually none
Professional liability	income related or business expenses	full, no cap
Liability for a rented out property	expenses for rental income	full

Splitting combined policies

If you have liability and contents insurance in one policy, only the liability share counts as a provident expense. Contents insurance protects things and is not deductible for private use. The share is usually shown on the premium invoice.

The same applies to boat insurance: the liability part counts as a provident expense, the hull cover does not.

When you can skip the effort

If you are employed and in public health insurance, entering personal liability usually changes nothing. The cap is full. If you use tax software or the official portal (ELSTER), you will see this in the calculation straight away.

The better question is whether the tariff is good. Switching an old policy often saves more than any tax benefit.

Step by step

Collect the premium invoices for all policies of the year.
Separate personal from professional liability.
Enter personal liability in the Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand.
Enter professional liability as income related or business expenses.
For combined policies, use only the liability share.

Checklist

Only the liability share of a combined policy entered
Professional liability not listed as a provident expense
Liability for a rented out flat listed with rental income
Premiums paid in the calendar year, not the policy year
Receipts kept

Common mistakes

Entering contents or car hull insurance as a provident expense
Hiding professional liability among provident expenses and losing the deduction
Planning with a tax saving that does not come because the cap is full
Assuming the rules from your home country apply

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Is it worth entering liability insurance at all?

It does no harm. For most employees in public health insurance it does not change the result.

Is dog liability insurance deductible?

It counts as another provident expense like personal liability and usually has no effect. Dogs used for work are different.

What about students?

The EUR 1,900 cap applies. Without significant income there is usually no tax to reduce anyway.

And car liability insurance?

It also counts as another provident expense. Hull cover and breakdown cover do not.

I am only in Germany for two years. Does this change anything?

The same categories apply while you are taxed here as a resident. For the years you arrive and leave, special rules can apply, so ask a tax adviser.

Can I deduct part of it for a home office?

No, personal liability is not linked to the flat. At most the contents insurance can be deducted in part, if the conditions for a home office are met.

Sources

NAMMERT insurance broker

Request a quote: Personal liability

We compare several insurers and come back with a proposal. Free for you; the insurer pays our fee. You can write in English.

1Who is it for?

Personal My company

2Which insurance?

Choose as many as you like. For each one, the details an insurer needs for a quote appear below.

Personal

Business

Please review all my existing policies

3Details

Personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht)

Who should be covered? * Year of birth of the oldest person * Do you work in the public sector? Liability claims in the last five years * What matters to you For example work keys, a drone, a small boat, documents in English

4Your current policy

Current insurer Policy ends on What matters more to you?

5How can we reach you?

Name * Email * Phone Postcode Town Preferred contact Anything else we should know