Is a reward tax-free?

A basic distinction must be made as to whether you received a reward or a finder's reward as a private person or whether you received gifts, attentions or vouchers as an employee. Both are treated differently for tax purposes. Whether the benefits are tax-free or not depends on the amount or the material value. If you receive remuneration for “doing or not doing”, one speaks of a reward which, like the finder's reward, is tax-free.

The reward and finder's reward are tax-free

• You can get rewards for many things. You can receive this payment as a thank you for a service, for example. For example, if you helped your neighbor to carry the heavy shopping up to the fourth floor and she then gave you ten euros, you were rewarded. You can also receive the allowance, for example, for the occasional brokerage of contracts or the rental of private items or taking people with you. If you were rewarded for an omission, this would be possible, for example, because you as the property owner have waived certain rights.
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• You will receive the reward for services that you are not doing on the basis of an employment contract. If you act within the framework of an employment contract, one speaks of income from employment. There must also be no commercial or professional income. For the Tax office For this reason, it is income from other services.
• The income from services is only tax-free up to a certain limit. They must be less than 256 euros a year (as of August 2014). This is legally standardized in Section 22 Clause 2 Number 3 Income Tax Act.
• If the benefits that you have received in one year have exceeded the total of 256 euros, the amounts are fully taxable. You must then mention the amounts on your tax return. To do this, fill out Annex SO page 1.


Fee and tax - when the de minimis limit is exceeded

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• In contrast to a reward, you are entitled to a finder's reward when you have found something and given it to the owner. You can even demand this fee according to the law. The finder's reward is a random payment on which no tax is payable. Random because you cannot influence or plan whether or not you will find something.
• If you can provide clues about crime solving, it is also a service that you can accomplish by chance. No tax is levied precisely because you have no control over this.

Employer gifts and the tax due

• If you as an employee receive gifts, attentions or vouchers, it depends on the value whether the gifts are tax-free or not. The tax exemption limit is lower than for the reward. In principle, gifts and benefits in kind that do not exceed EUR 44 in a month are tax-free (as of August 2014). If the total value in one month is more than 44 euros, the full total amount is taxable.
• If a company grants you an employee discount, you can benefit better. You can then claim the tax exemption of 1,080 euros per year. Taxes only apply when the total discount for a year exceeds the limit.