Close professional connection required: Streaming services, literature, etc.: Are costs tax deductible?

Close professional connection required Streaming services, literature and co: Costs tax deductible? 26.02.2025, 12:20

If employees incur costs in connection with their job, they can usually deduct these from their taxes. What about streaming and magazine subscriptions?

Whether it's a streaming service, a magazine subscription or buying literature: the tax authorities generally view spending on media consumption as a private matter - and therefore usually do not allow a tax deduction. Only in a few exceptional cases, where the job has a close connection to music, podcasts, films or TV series, can things be different.

The reason: In principle, expenses can only be deducted as advertising costs (for employees) or business expenses (for entrepreneurs) if they are incurred in connection with work. If they are not, they fall under the "general ban on tax deductions for private expenses," says Daniela Karbe-Geßler from the Taxpayers' Association.

But in some professional fields, such a professional connection can actually exist - for example, in the case of freelance composers and streaming services. The only important thing is that professional use must predominate in order to be able to deduct the costs incurred.

Partial deduction possible

The same applies to purchased literature. According to the Taxpayers' Association, this is why it is much easier to deduct specialist literature. In general, the more specific and subject-related the content, the higher the probability that the tax office will recognize the costs as work-related.

In contrast, subscriptions to newspapers or magazines that are not trade journals are rarely recognized for tax purposes - even if a business consultant uses this form of subscription to obtain daily information on finance, politics and the economy as an essential part of his or her work.

If certain services, newspapers or magazines are used both professionally and privately, a proportional deduction of the costs may be possible.

Eight important items: These must be included in your tax return .