Self-Employed on Bürgergeld: Business Expenses That the Jobcenter Cuts

You are self-employed (Selbständige) and receive top-up Bürgergeld. Then the decision arrives — and the Jobcenter has simply cut a large part of your business expenses (Betriebsausgaben). Suddenly your studio rent no longer counts, the drives to the customer are deemed "not necessary", your benefit is reduced by hundreds of euros.

This page explains which business expenses as a self-employed person on Bürgergeld are really deductible, what § 11b SGB II and the Alg II Regulation prescribe — and how to defend yourself against flat-rate cuts.

The Most Important Points in 30 Seconds

• What is offset is only the income after deduction of your business expenses (§ 11b SGB II, § 3 Alg II-V).
• Deductible are actually necessary and appropriate expenses — not everything that the tax office accepts.
• For self-employed (Selbständige), the Jobcenter usually issues a provisional approval (§ 41a SGB II); the final assessment follows at the end of the approval period.
• Duty to file the Anlage EKS (quarterly income statement of all receipts and expenses).
• Typical cut candidates: car, home office, advertising, training, travel costs — often with the flat reasoning "not necessary".
• Objection deadline: one month from delivery of the decision.

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Why Does the Jobcenter Cut Your Business Expenses?

If you are self-employed, the Jobcenter does not calculate your offsettable income as it does for an employee, on the basis of a payslip. The basis is § 3 Alg II-V (Regulation on the Calculation of Income). According to it: receipts minus necessary business expenses equal profit. Only this profit is offset as income.

The crux lies in the word "necessary". The tax office accepts very many business expenses (Betriebsausgaben) — the Jobcenter is allowed to check more strictly. § 3 Abs. 3 Alg II-V allows the Jobcenter to cut or strike expenses if they "stand in a striking disproportion to the respective receipts" or "would be wholly or partially avoidable".

Concrete example — Frau M., freelance illustrator:

• Receipts in the quarter: 3,000 €
• Business expenses according to Anlage EKS: 1,800 € (studio rent 900 €, materials 450 €, drives to customers 450 €)
• Profit according to Frau M.: 1,200 € in the quarter = 400 € per month offsettable income

The Jobcenter strikes the studio (home office would suffice) and part of the travel costs. Only 900 € of business expenses are recognised.

• Newly calculated profit: 2,100 € in the quarter = 700 € per month
• Result: Frau M. receives 300 € less Bürgergeld per month — and that retroactively for the entire quarter, via a final assessment.

That is no isolated case. Flat-rate cuts without concrete case-by-case examination are one of the most frequent errors in decisions for the self-employed.

Your Rights in Concrete Terms

A decision that strikes business expenses must justify each individual cut. A sentence like "not necessary" is not enough. Here are the most important levers.

1. Standard: Necessary and Appropriate (§ 3 Abs. 2 Alg II-V)

Deductible are all expenses that were reasonable to obtain the income. The standard is not absolute frugality, but the customary practice in your industry. A graphic designer needs a powerful computer, a mobile carer a reliable car.

2. Car Costs — Proportionally Deductible

If you use your car for both work and private purposes, the costs are proportionally deductible. You have two ways:

• Flat rate: 0.30 € per kilometre driven (purely business). This flat rate is expressly provided for in the Anlage EKS.
• Actual costs: fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation — proportionally according to business use. Only sensible with a logbook.

The Jobcenter may not simply cap the 30 ct/km as "too high". Anyone who drives 400 km to the customer can claim 120 €.

3. Workroom and Home Office

A separately used room in your apartment can run as a proportional business expense — by square-metre share of the total area. The Jobcenter often refuses this flat-rate, with the argument that the rent is already covered by the KdU (housing costs (Kosten der Unterkunft) — your rent paid by the Jobcenter). That is not automatically right: if the room is exclusively used for business and no double deduction arises, recognition can nevertheless be required. This is to be clarified case by case.

4. Advertising, Website, Training

Flyers, website hosting, ads, professional training: all in principle deductible if it concretely serves your business. The Jobcenter often demands proof — invoices, course certificates, order documents. Keep all receipts, even small ones.

5. Provisional Approval and Final Assessment (§ 41a SGB II)

Because your receipts fluctuate, the Jobcenter initially approves provisionally, usually on the basis of your forecast. After the approval period (as a rule 6 or 12 months) comes the final assessment — and with it often a reimbursement claim or back payment. This final assessment is its own decision, against which you can again file an objection.

6. Duty to Hear (§ 24 SGB X)

Before a reimbursement demand or a massive cut, the Jobcenter must hear you — you get the chance to present your view. If the hearing is missing, the decision is formally challengeable.

Current Case Law

The Bundessozialgericht (BSG) has clarified in several decisions that the Jobcenter may not, with the self-employed (Selbständige), conduct its own necessity check based on the cash situation. What is decisive is the business-economic sensibleness, not the question of whether a poor person should have allowed themselves that. Cuts must be justified concretely and individually (typical BSG line on § 3 Alg II-V — [URTEIL-REFERENZ]).

The BSG has also affirmed: the Alg II-V is closely tied to the actual inflow. Pre-expenses in one month can stand opposite receipts of a later month — therefore the Jobcenter calculates by the inflow principle within the approval period, not month by month.

Further rulings on individual issues (car flat rate, workroom, reimbursement after final assessment) will be added by the editorial team after internal verification: [URTEIL-REFERENZ].

How to Proceed Now

1. Note the deadline. The delivery date is on the decision. From then on, you have one month for the objection. Write the deadline visibly.
2. Lay the decision and the Anlage EKS side by side. Which position has the Jobcenter cut and how? Mark each cut in colour. Patterns often appear (e.g. all travel costs flat-cut).
3. Sort the receipts. Invoices, bank statements, logbook, customer contracts, lease for the studio or office — anything that supports the necessity of the respective expense.
4. File the objection — informal. "I hereby file an objection against the decision dated [date], file number [Aktenzeichen]. I will submit the reasoning within three weeks." Registered letter with delivery confirmation, or in person against a receipt stamp.
5. Submit a structured reasoning. For each struck position: why was the expense business-necessary? What turnover stands opposite? Which receipt is available?
6. Have it checked. With the self-employed (Selbständige) the legal situation is particularly entangled — especially with a final assessment with reimbursement claim, an external assessment is worthwhile.

Avoiding Typical Mistakes

• Filling in the Anlage EKS too coarsely. Anyone bundling positions ("miscellaneous 450 €") delivers the Jobcenter the reasoning for the cut on a silver platter. Enter every expense with date, purpose, and receipt individually.
• Throwing away receipts. Self-employed on Bürgergeld bear the burden of proof. No receipt = no expense. Keep, alongside the tax-office folder, a separate Jobcenter folder.
• Equating the tax-office decision. The income-tax decision does not count automatically. The Jobcenter checks independently under Alg II-V. A business expense recognised by the tax office can be struck by the Jobcenter — and vice versa.
• Waiting for the final assessment and doing nothing. If your receipts fluctuate strongly during the year, talk to the Jobcenter already during the approval period. A later reimbursement demand of several thousand euros otherwise hits like lightning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I even allowed to receive Bürgergeld as a self-employed person?

Yes. Self-employment does not exclude Bürgergeld. As long as you are in need, you have a claim — top-up or in full. The Jobcenter may also not demand that you give up your self-employment, as long as it is economically sustainable or recognisably aimed at sustainability.

What happens if I earn nothing in a given month?

Nothing dramatic, as long as the overall forecast for the approval period holds up. The Jobcenter calculates over the entire period. Individual zero-months balance out with better months.

Can the Jobcenter demand money back?

Yes, via the final assessment under § 41a SGB II. If it turns out that you earned more than forecast, a reimbursement claim comes. Here too you can file an objection and, in a hardship case, apply for instalment payment or a waiver.

Which travel costs can I claim?

For purely business drives with your own car 0.30 € per kilometre as a flat rate. For public transport, the actual tickets. For the daily drive to the "place of business", special rules apply — having it checked is worthwhile, because it is often calculated wrongly there.

Is a tax adviser's fee deductible?

Yes, as a business expense, insofar as they handle the business taxes (VAT, profit determination). The private income-tax return is in principle not business-related.

Have Your Decision Reviewed Now

Particularly with the self-employed (Selbständige) the music is in the detail: a wrongly struck position, a faulty average calculation, an impermissible flat-rate cut — each of these points can topple a decision and secure you several hundred euros per month.

We review your decision within 5 minutes. Free and non-binding.

Send us a photo of your decision together with the Anlage EKS — we will get back to you with a clear assessment.