Dog ownership - apply for exemption from dog tax or report that a dog is not subject to tax

• You have registered the dog in the dog register or directly with your Finanzamt (tax office). service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/330785/ • For exemption from dog tax (Hundesteuer): tax exemption grounds apply to you or your dog Tax exemption grounds may include: • You have a guide dog for the blind, or • You have a dog to support certain persons (a dog that serves exclusively and necessarily to protect and assist blind, deaf, or otherwise helpless persons), or • You have a dog that is in training as a medical, rescue, or guide dog, or • You have a dog that has passed the examination for medical or rescue dogs and is available for the protection of the civilian population, or • You have a dog from an animal shelter or similar institution (if you have taken in a dog from an animal shelter, animal sanctuary, or similar animal welfare institution, the dog is exempt from dog tax for five calendar years), or • You receive certain social benefits or benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act): if you receive Bürgergeld (citizen's allowance) or benefits for education and participation, assistance with the cost of living, basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity, benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz, or pensions due to age, reduced earning capacity, or death under the Second Section of the Second Chapter of Book Six of the Sozialgesetzbuch (Social Code), keeping a dog is exempt from dog tax. • For notification of non-taxability: dog-keeping by legal persons or for commercial purposes • The dog is kept by a non-natural person (e.g. an association), or • The dog is used to generate income, and the expenses for keeping the dog are recognized for tax purposes as business expenses or income-related expenses. • For online applications: registration/sign-up on the ELSTER portal.

• Application for tax exemption / notification that a dog is not taxable You can submit the application either online, or use the form and submit the application in writing by post or in person. • If submitting by post or in person: please remember to sign the paper form. The form includes a section for notifying a non-taxable dog-keeping arrangement. • Supporting documents Please attach the relevant supporting documents to your application (pension notice, notice from the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency), the dog's training certificate, severely disabled person's ID, transfer agreement with the animal shelter, etc.).

• Application for tax exemption / notification of non-taxability of a dog www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/steuern/downloads/hundesteuer/hun

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• Hundesteuergesetz (HuStG BE, Berlin Dog Tax Act) § 5 gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/jlr-HuStGBEV2P5

• Questions and answers on dog tax in Berlin (Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen, Senate Department for Finance) www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/steuern/informationen-fuer-steuer • Information sheet on dog tax exemption for severe disability (Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen) www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/dokumentendownload/steuern/daten- • Information sheet on dog tax exemption for dogs from animal shelters (Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen) www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/steuern/downloads/hund_15_merkbla • Dog ownership - registering a dog for tax purposes (service) service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/121494/ • Dog register - registration/deregistration of a dog (service) service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/330785/