Read our insights, reports and more

A celebration to send off valued staff members when they leave is to thank them personally, together with their closest family members, and to look back on what you have achieved to-gether. But companies often combine this with practical business goals such as announcing who will take their place or talking to business customers.

In its judgement on 9 September 2025 (file ref. VI R 7/23), the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) answered an important question on company car taxation: can costs for a parking space or garage paid by the employee reduce the non-monetary benefit from the private use of a company car?

Active pensions, electronic allowances, income thresholds, electric cars – as 2026 begins, employers are again facing numerous challenges in payroll and social security. These have come about from recent court decisions, the authorities changing their interpretations and new legal regulations.

On November 20, 2025, the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) made an important decision regarding the tax treatment of parking space costs in the context of double household management during an oral hearing (case no. VI R 4/23). The central question was whether, following the revision of Section 9 (1) sentence 3 no. 5 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), parking space costs should be classified as other additional expenses or as accommodation costs limited to €1,000.

Electromobility continues to gain importance—and there are also significant new developments in tax law: Starting January 1, 2026, the electricity price allowance will come into effect. Its purpose is to enable both employers and employees to settle electricity costs much more easily when the charging of a company car is initially paid privately, for example via a home charging station. The basis for this is the average annual electricity price for private households published by the Federal Statistical Office. In the future, employers can choose between providing proof of actual costs and using the new electricity price allowance. This not only reduces administrative effort but also allows for optimal tax treatment when reimbursing electricity costs.

On October 15, 2025, the German Federal Government issued the draft for the so-called "Flexible Retirement Act" (“Aktivrentengesetz”). The aim of this law is to provide tax relief for employees who continue to work in jobs subject to social security contributions after reaching the statutory retirement age.

The provisional social insurance contribution assessment limits for 2026 have been announced and will now be proposed to the Bundestag. We summarize what employers need to know now.

With the start of 2025, significant changes to the law governing payroll tax and social insurance came into force. From the abolition of the “one fifth rule” for payroll deductions to new long-term care insurance contributions to changes to deadlines for applying for allowances – many rules have a direct influence on everyday accounting. Current case law and tax authority guidelines also offer options for structuring. This article gives you a compact overview of the most important points.

From the start of 2025 new thresholds apply to social insurance. The thresholds have been adjusted to match the trend in income.

Organisations and the self-employed who regularly commission creative or publication services shouldn’t forget an important deadline at the turn of the year – reporting their social insurance contribution for artists for 2024. The contribution deadline is 31 March 2025. In this post we tell you what you need to look out for to comply with your contribution duties properly and on time.

In this article, you can read about the challenges that arise when preparing a purchase price allocation.