Deducting AC costs: what renters in Germany can actually claim
You can't write off the unit itself, but Germany refunds 20% of the labour cost for installing or servicing an AC in your home. Here is how the § 35a rule works when you rent your flat.
As a private renter in Germany you cannot deduct an air conditioner itself: neither the purchase price nor a monthly rental fee for the unit counts on your tax return. What you can claim is labour. When someone sets up, services or repairs the unit in your flat, that work is a Handwerkerleistung (tradesperson service) under § 35a of the German income tax act, and 20% of the labour cost comes straight off your tax bill, up to €1,200 per year. You need an invoice that shows labour separately, and you have to pay by bank transfer.
The tax credit hidden behind a German compound noun
Germany quietly refunds part of what you pay tradespeople for work done in your home. The rule covers 20% of labour, travel and machine costs including VAT, capped at a €1,200 credit per year. That corresponds to €6,000 of labour, and almost no AC job gets anywhere near the ceiling.
Two details matter if you grew up with a different tax system. First, this is a credit, not a deduction: the amount comes off the tax you owe, so €100 of accepted labour means €20 back whatever your bracket. Second, you do not need to own the flat. Renters qualify explicitly. The law only asks that the work happens in the household you live in.
German tax articles on this topic are mostly written for owners and landlords, who depreciate fixed split systems or set them against rental income. None of that helps a private tenant with a portable unit. Your route is § 35a, and it only ever pays for labour.
Which AC costs count, and which never will?
The dividing line stays the same in every case: labour performed in your flat qualifies, equipment and materials do not. In practice it breaks down like this:
| Cost item | Claimable under § 35a? |
|---|---|
| Buying the unit (monoblock, window unit) | No: equipment and material costs never qualify |
| Renting the unit month to month | No: paying for a device is not paying for labour |
| Labour for setup and installation in your flat | Yes: 20% of the invoiced labour cost |
| On-site maintenance and cleaning | Yes: as long as the work happens in your home |
| A repair done at a workshop | No: the service must be performed in your household |
| The technician's travel charge | Yes: travel costs listed on the invoice count |
What does the Finanzamt require?
Three conditions, and all of them are strict. You need a proper invoice with the labour share listed separately from materials. German trades often quote a single lump sum, and if that is all the invoice shows, the tax office may estimate the labour share or reject the item. Ask for the breakdown before the job is done. You must pay cashlessly: bank transfer, direct debit or card all work, but cash kills the claim completely, even with a signed receipt. And the work has to happen in your household. A technician setting up a unit in your living room qualifies. Sending the unit off to a workshop does not.
You do not attach the invoice to your tax return. Keep it, though. The Finanzamt is allowed to ask for it later.
What about buying or renting the unit itself?
The honest answer: nothing to claim. The purchase price of a monoblock is simply gone for tax purposes, whether it cost €300 or €1,500. A monthly rental fee for a unit is not claimable either. It pays for the machine, and § 35a only rewards work.
That applies to the KlimaLegal Sommer-Abo (Summer Rental) too. The €89 monthly rent on the Standard plan (or €199 on Premium) is not deductible, and we would rather say so than let you find out from a rejected return. The one-off service fees are a different story: €189 for delivery, setup and collection on Standard, €299 for delivery and professional installation by two technicians on Premium. Both contain real installation work performed in your flat. Ask for an invoice that lists the labour share separately, because only that share is even a candidate under § 35a. The same logic covers the €149 Aufbau-Service, where KlimaLegal sets up a unit you bought yourself through a partner link. Labour and travel are the part worth looking at. The seal material never counts.
The home office exception
There is one scenario where the device itself enters the picture: a recognised häusliches Arbeitszimmer, a home office that forms the centre of your entire professional activity. In that case the actual costs of the room count as income-related expenses, and an AC unit cooling exactly that room can, in some cases, belong to them. Sometimes even the device itself, via depreciation.
The bar is high. Since 2023 you can only claim actual room costs if the office is the centre of all your work. The alternative is a flat €1,260 annual amount. If you use the daily home office allowance instead (€6 per day, capped at €1,260 a year), that flat rate covers everything and no AC can be added on top. This corner of German tax law is genuinely fiddly. If real money is at stake, talk to a tax adviser first.
How to claim it in your tax return
The claim itself takes minutes. In ELSTER or your tax app, open the form called Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen and enter the labour amount from your invoice in the line for Handwerkerleistungen. The Finanzamt calculates the 20% for you.
A worked example for scale: a €149 setup invoice lists €110 for labour and travel. Your tax bill drops by €22. Not a fortune, but it is money that otherwise stays on the table, and claiming it costs you two minutes. So whenever a technician's invoice for your AC arrives, check that it shows a separate labour line and pay it by bank transfer. No labour line on the invoice, no credit from the Finanzamt.
FAQ
- Can I deduct the purchase price of an air conditioner in Germany?
- No. For a private renter the purchase price of an air conditioner is not deductible; the device counts as equipment or material. Only labour costs for setting up, servicing or repairing the unit in your home qualify, at 20% under § 35a EStG, up to a €1,200 credit per year.
- Is the installation of a portable AC tax-deductible for renters?
- Yes. The labour cost for installing a portable AC in your flat is a Handwerkerleistung under § 35a EStG: 20% of the invoiced labour and travel costs come off your tax bill. Conditions: an invoice showing labour separately, cashless payment, and the work must be done in your home.
- Can I deduct the monthly rent for an AC unit?
- No. The monthly rental fee for an AC unit pays for the device, not for labour, so it is not a Handwerkerleistung under § 35a EStG. Only the labour share of one-off setup or installation fees can qualify, and only if the invoice lists that share separately.
- What proof does the Finanzamt need for a § 35a claim?
- For a § 35a claim the Finanzamt requires an invoice with the labour costs listed separately from materials and proof of cashless payment, such as a bank transfer. Cash payments are excluded even with a receipt. You keep the documents at home and submit them only if the Finanzamt asks.
- Does § 35a EStG apply to renters or only to owners?
- § 35a EStG applies to renters just as much as to owners. The flat does not have to belong to you; what matters is that the tradesperson's work is performed in the household you live in. Renters claim it through the Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen in their tax return.
