The household cheque procedure is a simplified registration and social security contribution process for private households. You must fill out the household cheque form if you would like to register or de-register domestic employees on a mini-job basis or if you need to send amendments in employment details to the Mini-Job Centre.

Mini-jobs in private households are a special form of marginal employment. They are particularly encouraged by the state through low social security contributions, a flat-rate wage tax and tax relief. 

The employer uses the household cheque form to register the essential details about employees in their private households. On this basis, the Mini-Job Centre calculates the social security contributions, levies and taxes. These amounts are deducted from your account via direct debit every 6 months. The Mini-Job Centre also takes responsibility for registering for statutory accident insurance and collecting accident insurance contributions.

Family members as domestic employees

• A close relative can also do a mini-job as a domestic employee in your household and they must be registered at the Mini-Job Centre. However, there will then be a check as to whether the employment contract has been concluded merely for appearances’ sake or the activity is simply family help. 
• A paid employment relationship between spouses is generally not possible. The same applies to children who carry out services in their parents’ household where they are a member of that household and supported by their parents.

6-month cheque

• If you pay your domestic employee their salary in differing amounts every month instead of the same fixed amount, you should technically submit a new household cheque form each time. 
• To reduce this bureaucratic burden you can use a 6-month cheque form. The form covers a period of half a calendar year. You simply enter the relevant months and certify the varying earnings. 
• If you indicate on the ‘standard’ household cheque form that the paid monthly salary varies, you will automatically receive a 6-month cheque form from the Mini-Job Centre. 

Amendment cheque form

• You must use an amendment cheque form to inform the Mini-Job Centre if you change, for example, your domestic employee’s salary, your bank details or your contact address. 

Registrations and certifications

• At the beginning and end of employment, and at the end of the year, the Mini-Job Centre reports the individual data obtained from the household cheque procedure for each employee to the data centre for pension insurance providers. 
• The domestic employee receives written notification of this. In addition, the Mini-Job Centre sends data about private households to accident insurance providers. 
• Before each due date, the Mini-Job Centre will send you:
  • a notice about the amount of contributions to be paid for the corresponding tax period, and
  • at the end of a calendar year, a certificate for the tax office, showing the period for which pension insurance contributions have been paid, the salary paid in the previous year and the contributions payable on this.

Household cheque calculator

• The contributions to the Mini-Job Centre and the income tax relief can be easily calculated using the household cheque calculator.
• In general, the following applies: for private households, the employer’s contributions to the Mini-Job Centre are at most 14.99 per cent of the gross salary as of 1 October 2020. Monthly maximum: EUR 67.46 (450.00 x 14.99 per cent).
• If the employee chooses the full pension insurance obligation, a share of their salary is also paid to the Mini-Job Centre, at most EUR 61.20 (450.00 x 13.6 per cent) per month.