ISH is recognized as an "allgemeinbildende Ergänzungsschule" (a private, independent school providing general primary and secondary education). 

The following tax regulations could be of interest to you.

If you have children in the: 

Early Childhood Centre (ECC), there are two regulations:

1. Expenses deductible from your taxable income:

Whether the school fees are paid by you privately or by your employer, the following applies:

2/3 of the childcare costs, up to a maximum of EUR 4,000 per child per year, are tax-deductible as "Sonderausgaben" (§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 5 EStG—deductible expenses)

Either as part of your salary or by reimbursing you—both are processed as taxable income by the employer (geldwerter Vorteil/Sachbezug = as an extra benefit/countervailing benefit) 

2. Kindergarten Allowance

A different option is the kindergarten allowance (§ 3 Nr. 33 EStG—tax-free benefit).

The kindergarten allowance is exempt from tax and social charges.   

The kindergarten allowance covers only the provision of care (space, meals and supervision), except for instructional costs of transportation.

It applies under the following conditions:

- At least one parent must be employed and subject to income tax.

- The employer of the tax-paying parent agrees to provide the required school fees as a separate kindergarten allowance together with the regular monthly salary.

- The school fees may be paid by the employer directly to the school, or the employer can reimburse the fees to the employee upon presentation of the school's invoice paid by the employee.

- The fees paid to ISH consist only of expenses for the accommodation and supervision of children (transportation or instructional costs do not apply to the above).

Grades 1–12, there is one regulation:

-  Additional expenses to your taxable income

Whether the school fees are paid by you privately or by your employer, the following applies:  
30% of fees (tuition, application fee), up to a maximum of EUR 5,000 per child per year, are tax-deductible as "Sonderausgaben" (§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 9 EStG – deductible expenses)

Either as part of your salary or by reimbursing you—both are processed as taxable income by the employer (geldwerter Vorteil/Sachbezug = as an extra benefit/countervailing benefit) 

If you employ the services of a tax advisor, they will advise you further, or you are welcome to call our Business Director, Ms. Vera Behrning, at +49 (0) 40 8000 50 126.