das Ehegattensplitting
joint taxation for married couples
Definition & meaning
Ehegattensplitting is a German income-tax method for married couples and registered civil partners. Their taxable incomes are added together, divided by two, and the tax is calculated on this half-income. The resulting tax is then doubled.
This method can reduce the couple’s combined tax burden because Germany uses progressive tax rates. The advantage is usually greatest when one partner earns substantially more than the other. If both partners earn roughly the same amount, the effect is small or nonexistent.
Ehegattensplitting is used as part of joint tax assessment, called Zusammenveranlagung .
Grammar & Word origin
- Gender: neuter — das Ehegattensplitting
- Plural: usually not used; it refers to a tax method
- Compound:
- The linking -n in Ehegatten-splitting comes from the inflected form of Ehegatte.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonyms and related terms
- Splittingverfahren — a broader term for a tax-splitting procedure; it is less specific than Ehegattensplitting.
- Ehegattenbesteuerung — taxation of spouses; this can refer generally to the taxation system for married couples and is not always an exact synonym.
- Zusammenveranlagung — joint tax assessment. It is closely connected to Ehegattensplitting, but technically describes the assessment procedure rather than the splitting calculation itself.
Antonyms and contrasting terms
- Einzelveranlagung — separate tax assessment of each spouse; this is the main alternative to joint assessment.
- Individualbesteuerung — taxation based exclusively on each individual’s income, without combining the partners’ incomes.
Common phrases & collocations
- Ehegattensplitting nutzen — to use spouse income splitting
- vom Ehegattensplitting profitieren — to benefit from spouse income splitting
- Ehegattensplitting abschaffen — to abolish spouse income splitting
- steuerlicher Vorteil durch das Ehegattensplitting — tax advantage resulting from spouse income splitting
- gemeinsame Veranlagung [?](vocabuo://word gemeinsamer) — joint tax assessment, often used when discussing the practical application of the system
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Examples
Ehegattensplitting spart oft Steuern.noun
Joint taxation for married couples often saves taxes.
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