Sending money from Germany to Ukraine: deduction for supporting parents, taxes and bank

You can send money to your parents in Ukraine and get part of the tax back in Germany. Here is the deduction for supporting relatives of up to 3,087 euros a year, German gift tax, transfer details and the recipient's tax in Ukraine.

In detail

Money from Germany to Ukraine mostly goes to parents: every month for living costs, medicine or repairs. Few people know that the German tax office gives back part of the tax for this support - if the transfers are made the right way.

Below: how to claim the deduction for supporting relatives in Ukraine, when a transfer to family falls under German gift tax, what the bank includes in the payment and what the recipient pays in Ukraine.

Deduction for supporting relatives in Ukraine: up to 3,087 euros a year

If you pay tax in Germany and support your parents in Ukraine, these costs reduce your taxable income. The law allows a deduction up to the basic tax-free allowance: 12,348 euros (about $14,000) a year per person in 2026.

For recipients abroad, the amount is adjusted to prices in their country. The German Ministry of Finance sorts countries into four groups; Ukraine is in the fourth, so a quarter of the amount counts. In 2026 that is up to 3,087 euros (about $3,500) per recipient.

The deduction covers people you are legally obliged to support under German law: parents, children and a spouse. Brothers and sisters do not qualify. The tax office usually does not accept support for adults of working age, so the deduction works best for retired parents.

If the recipient has their own income, such as a pension, above 156 euros (about $180) a year, the maximum is reduced by the excess. The tax office also takes your own income into account in the final figure.

How to prove support for your parents to the German tax office

Money counts only if it was transferred to the recipient's own account. A transfer to someone else's account or to an e-wallet linked to a phone number usually does not qualify. Transfer fees are not part of the deduction.

If your parents live together, you can transfer to one of them: the tax office splits the amount between the two.

A separate support declaration is completed for each recipient. The recipient signs it, and a local authority in Ukraine confirms the details on family and income. The German tax administration issues bilingual forms for this.

The tax office converts hryvnia amounts into euros at the European Central Bank rate at the end of September of the previous year.

German gift tax: when a transfer to family is free

If you live in Germany, German gift tax applies to any gift you make, wherever the recipient lives. But most transfers to family are not caught by it.

Money for the recipient's reasonable living costs and education is not subject to this tax at all. Usual occasional gifts - for a holiday or a birthday - are also free.

Larger gifts have tax-free amounts per giver over 10 years:

• spouse - 500,000 euros (about $560,000);
• children - 400,000 euros (about $450,000);
• grandchildren - 200,000 euros (about $230,000);
• parents, brothers and sisters - 20,000 euros (about $23,000).

For gifts, parents fall into the second tax class, so their limit is 20,000 euros over 10 years. Money for living costs does not count towards this limit.

A large gift is reported to the tax office within 3 months - by both the giver and the recipient. Germany and Ukraine have no treaty on gift tax, so German rules apply on their own. A manager will work out how this applies to your amount in advance.

What a German bank sends along with the payment

Ukraine is not yet in the European single euro payments area, so money from Germany leaves as an international transfer.

Under EU rules, a transfer outside the EU of up to 1,000 euros (about $1,200) carries only the names and account numbers of the sender and recipient. For a larger amount, the bank adds your address and document number or date and place of birth - it already has these details from opening your account.

German anti-money laundering law allows the bank to compare transactions with what it knows about the origin of your money. For a large transfer, keep a salary statement or sale contract at hand.

A basic account in Germany for a Ukrainian citizen

Everyone legally present in the EU is entitled to an account at a German bank, including people without a permanent address - a postal address is enough to open it. The bank must offer a contract no later than 10 business days after the application.

A basic account comes with transfers, standing orders and a card. The bank handles transfers outside Europe in the same way as for other clients. On temporary protection status, see Section 24 in Germany.

Money for family in Ukraine: tax for the recipient

A transfer from a son or daughter in Germany to their parents is taxed at 0% in Ukraine if the sender remains a Ukrainian tax resident. The same applies to a spouse, children, brothers and sisters, grandparents and grandchildren.

Living in Germany for more than 183 days does not by itself change Ukrainian residency, and a person determines their status themselves. If the sender has become a non-resident, the recipient pays 18% tax and a 5% military levy and files a return.

Euros are credited to the recipient's currency account in full, with no mandatory exchange into hryvnias.

Supporting your parents from Germany: the steps

1. Ask your parents to open an account at a Ukrainian bank in their own name - a transfer to someone else's account does not qualify for the deduction.
2. Transfer money from your German account to that account and keep the statements.
3. At the end of the year, get a support declaration signed by your parents and certified by the local authority.
4. Enter the costs in your German tax return and attach the statements and the declaration.
5. Check large gifts beyond living costs against the 10-year limit.

More on money between Germany and Ukraine

• From Poland to Ukraine - gift tax and Polish bank checks
• How to send money to Ukraine - to a card or account from different countries
• How to move money out of Ukraine - legal routes and limits
• Capital relocation - a plan for a large amount

Supporting your parents every month or sending a large amount? Write to us in the chat: a manager will find transfer terms for your amount and timing.

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