Tax Law > Income and Wealth Taxes of Natural Persons > Income Tax > General Deductions

Art. 38 para. 1 StG/BE

From the income, private interest expenses can be deducted up to the extent of the taxable asset earnings under Articles 24, 24a, and 25 and another 50,000 francs. Not deductible are interest expenses for loans granted by a capital company to a natural person who is significantly involved in its capital or closely related to it under conditions that deviate considerably from those customary in business transactions between third parties, the permanent burdens, as well as 40 percent of the paid annuities, alimony contributions to the divorced spouse, spouses living separately by court order or actually, as well as alimony contributions to a parent for children under their care, but not benefits in fulfillment of other family law support or aid obligations, the periodic and one-time contributions made under federal legislation for acquiring claims from old-age, survivor, and disability insurance and from occupational pension schemes, deposits, premiums, and contributions for acquiring contractual claims from recognized forms of tied self-provision up to the amounts permissible under federal law, the premiums and contributions for the income replacement scheme, unemployment insurance, and mandatory accident insurance, for contributions to health insurance, accident and disability insurance, for private old-age and survivor provision, life insurance, and suchlike, as well as for interest on savings capital for married couples in legally and actually undivided marriage totaling 4,900 francs, for other taxable persons 2,450 francs, for taxpayers who do not deduct contributions to occupational pension schemes or recognized forms of tied self-provision, the deduction for married couples is increased to a maximum of 7,200 francs and for the other taxable persons to a maximum of 3,600 francs, for each child for whom a child deduction is permissible, 700 francs can be deducted. … the disability-related costs of the taxable person and the persons with disabilities supported by them within the meaning of the Federal Act of December 13, 2002 on the Elimination of Disadvantages for Persons with Disabilities (Disability Equality Act, BehiG), provided that the taxable person bears the costs themselves, … the proven costs up to a maximum of 16,000 francs for third-party care for each child who has not yet reached the age of 14 and lives in the same household as the taxable person who provides for their maintenance, to the extent that these costs are directly causally related to the gainful employment, training, or incapacity to work of the taxable person, the membership fees and donations up to a total of 5,300 francs to political parties registered in the party register according to Article 76a of the Federal Act of December 17, 1976 on Political Rights (BPR), are represented in a cantonal parliament or achieved at least three percent of the votes in a canton in the last elections of the cantonal parliament, the costs of vocational training and further education, including retraining costs, up to a total of 12,500 francs, provided that a first qualification at the secondary level II is presented or the age of 20 is completed and it does not involve the training costs up to the first qualification at the secondary level II.

Art. 38 para. 2 StG/BE

In legally and actually undivided marriage, two percent of the earned income of both spouses may be deducted, but not more than 9,500 francs, if both spouses are independently employed; this deduction shall not exceed the smaller earned income after considering the acquisition costs (Art. 31–35) and the deductions according to paragraph 1 letters d to f; if one spouse regularly and significantly collaborates in the profession or business of the other spouse.