Mini-jobs and Side-Jobs: Are They taxable in Germany?
What is a mini-job in Germany?
In Germany, the tax system clearly outlines 450-euro-minijobs and short-term mini-jobs. Thus, a mini-job is determined by the wage you receive or by the hours you put into the work.
The 450-euro-minijob requires that the affected person must not earn more than EUR 450 on a regular basis. Throughout the whole year, they may earn a maximum income of EUR 5,400 through the mini-job. As soon as this sum is exceeded, it is not a mini-job any more. That said, in single months you are still allowed to earn more than EUR 450, if you balance the higher wage by earning less in the other months.
This is how your annual income from a mini-job could look:
The short-term employment (kurzfristige Beschäftigung)
A short-term employment, opposed to a 540-Euro-Job, is an activity, which is set for a certain amount of time. This employment is defined by a maximum amount of 3 months if the underlying schedule is a regular 5-day work week. If you work less than 5 days a week, the regulation of maximum 70 working days a year is applicable.
With a short-term job, it doesn’t matter how much money you earn. The job is not meant to be your profession. This means that this job should be of minor significance for the employee’s financial situation. As a result, this job agreement is mostly interesting for pupils and students.
Is a mini-job taxable?
Whether it’s a 450-Euro-Job or short-term employment, both are taxable. Your wages can either be flat-taxed (with a fixed amount) or taxed individually following the data on your electronic annual payslip.
Your employer defines the taxation procedure. If the employing company settles for flat-taxation, the EUR 450 is tax-free for you. In this case, the employer pays the tax, which is 2% of the gross pay. This includes the church tax (Kirchenteuer) and the solidarity tax (Solidaritätszuschlag).
Income from a short-term employment (kurzfristiger Beschäftigung) is taxable. You pay taxes on the full income. The taxation works by either a flat-tax (fixed taxation) or individually.
An individual taxation follows your usual income-tax deduction criteria. The fixed deduction for short-term employments is 20 %, possible only when:
- The employment is occasional only (not recurring)
- The maximum working period lasts for 18 cohesive days
- The wage per day does not exceed EUR 62 (average hourly compensation of max. EUR 12)
