What expenses are not deductible?

Normal living expenses and expenses for the production or maintenance of tax-exempt income are not deductible as expenses for the production of income. This mean you cannot deduct the following expenses:

  • your family’s expenses, the rent for your apartment, childcare and housekeeping expenses
  • ordinary clothing expenses
  • expenses for leisure activities
  • acquisition costs for consumer electronics (phones, cameras, TVs), even if they are partly used for the production of income
  • subscriptions to newspapers and magazines
  • medical and health care costs – see if you are entitled to a deduction for reduced capacity to pay taxes due to high medical expenses
  • physical exercise expenses, even if your work or employer requires you to have exceptional physical capacity.

Example: If you occasionally pick wild berries and earn tax-exempt income from this work, you cannot deduct the expenses incurred from berry-picking as expenses for the production of wage income.

Please note: The expenses for the production of dividend income are deductible even if the dividend is tax-exempt income.

Page last updated 1/1/2022