New construction: Are craftsmen services tax-deductible after moving in?

From the web (buhl.de):

The term new construction measure has changed in the meantime:

Until 2013, new construction measures were defined as “all measures related to the creation or expansion of usable or living space” (BMF letter dated 15.02.2010, para. 20). This concerns work for new construction, extension, conversion, or adding an additional floor, since these always involve an expansion or creation of usable or living space. For such craftwork, there was no tax bonus back then.

Since 2014, the term new construction measure has been newly defined: now it includes “all work related to the erection of a household until its completion” (BMF letter dated 10.01.2014, para. 21). This means: from the point of completion, craftwork is tax-privileged, even if it involves an expansion of usable or living space.

What does “completion” mean?
A building is considered completed when the essential construction work has been finished and the building is erected to the extent that moving into the apartments is reasonable or the building is usable for operation in all its essential areas. All work after that is privileged. Thus, builders also benefit who move into their new building first and then have remaining work carried out afterwards.

What does “erection of a household” mean?
Now all work within an existing household is privileged. If you thereby create new living or usable space, it no longer matters. If the construction measures sustainably improve the utility value of the property, this is also harmless for the tax advantage.

Regardless of whether maintenance expenditure or production expenditure
In assessing the privileged work, it therefore makes no difference whether it is classified for tax purposes as maintenance expenditure or production expenditure. The latter is the case when you have something new, previously non-existent, created. Privileged are therefore also the labor wages for the following measures:

[*]subsequent installation of a tiled stove and chimney
[*]installation of a sun awning
[*]initial creation of a garden
[*]planting a hedge
[*]construction of a property wall
[*]renovation of the bathroom
[*]thermal insulation measures.

Furthermore, it does not matter whether you expand the living or usable space after completion of the building. For example, the following measures are privileged:

[*]extension of a conservatory
[*]installation of a dormer window
[*]conversion of the attic
[*]conversion of the basement
[*]installation of a terrace roof
[*]erection of a prefabricated garage

It worked perfectly for us as well. We only had paving work, etc. for just under €6000, the tax office didn't even want to see the invoice. It was quite a hassle until the landscaping contractor had the correct tax formulation on it. If you can manage it, I would at least have the paving done before winter. We had to live with a construction road and pallets for a winter because one landscaping contractor stood us up. If you can avoid that, I would do it, despite having three doormats in a row, there's constantly dirt.

Did you do the tax yourself, can you manage it? U how high should I imagine the wage share of, say, a 40,000 euro garden landscaping? Do I reach the 6000 euros from which I can then deduct 20%, that is 1200 euros tax burden?

Casual. There will be over €15,000 salary in it.

We were even able to deduct expenses even though we had not yet lived in the house. It also went through without any problems. In our case, however, it was renovation and not new construction.

And yes, it is 20% up to a maximum of €1200 per year of the labor costs of the craftsmen, which are proven by invoices and, in our case, the payment slips. For the 2nd tax return after moving in, we no longer had to submit payment slips, the invoices were sufficient then.

Did you do the taxes yourself, is it manageable?
And how high should I estimate the wage portion of, let's say, a 40,000 euro landscaping project? Would I get to the 6,000 euros from which I can then deduct 20%, meaning a tax burden of 1,200 euros?

We did it like in previous years with the WISO software. That makes it pretty easy, but it also works just as well with Elster on its own. Only the convenience with WISO etc. is better. But even with Elster alone, it should just be the entry for paving work + amount and that's it.
In our case, it was 14,000 in total, of which 6,000 were labor costs.