> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.immodio.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.immodio.app/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10120400-streuartikel-werbeartikel-werbegeschenke.md). # Promotional items (giveaways, promotional gifts) Help on the Immodio entry item Promotional items (advertising items, promotional gifts).
You use this category for **low-value advertising items and small promotional gifts** that you hand out to tenants, prospective tenants or other people in connection with your letting activity. Typical promotional items are, for example: * ballpoint pens, * key rings, * notepads, * a calendar, * small bags, * magnets, * small advertising items with your name, logo or contact details, * or comparable low-value items distributed to a larger number of people. The condition is that the expense is actually **economically connected with your letting activity**. Income-related expenditure is expenditure to acquire, secure and maintain income. The deduction restrictions for gifts in Section 4 (5) EStG apply correspondingly to income-related expenditure as well through Section 9 (5) EStG. **What is a promotional item?** For the tax treatment of benefits in kind the tax authorities use an important simplification rule: {% hint style="info" %} Benefits in kind whose **acquisition or production costs do not exceed €10** are treated as **promotional advertising items** when applying Section 37b EStG and do not have to be included in the flat-rate taxation under that provision. {% endhint %} Typical examples are precisely: * simple ballpoint pens, * small calendars, * key rings, * simple notepads, * other low-value advertising items. The €10 limit concerns the **individual** **item**. **Example: ballpoint pens for apartment viewings** You order **100 ballpoint pens** with your contact details. * Total costs: **€300** * Cost per item: **€300 ÷ 100 = €3** You hand out the pens, for example, at viewings or other letting-related appointments. Since the individual item costs only **€3**, this is in principle a typical low-value **promotional advertising item**. Where there is a connection with the letting activity, the **€300** can be posted to the **"**[**Promotional items (advertising items, promotional gifts)**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10120400-streuartikel-werbeartikel-werbegeschenke.md)**"** category. #### **Do not confuse the €10 limit with the €50 gift limit** The distinction is particularly important between: * **promotional advertising items of up to €10** and * **other gifts to individual recipients**. The **€10** is a simplification limit for promotional advertising items in connection with Section 37b EStG. For ordinary gifts to people who are not employees, by contrast, an **exemption threshold of €50 per recipient and financial year** currently applies under Section 4 (5) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG. That rule applies correspondingly in the area of income-related expenditure as well through Section 9 (5) EStG. This is an **exemption threshold**, not a **tax-free allowance**. That means: where the same person receives several gifts in the course of a year, the acquisition or production costs are in principle added together. **Example** A tenant receives within one year: * gift 1: **€20** * gift 2: **€25** Total: **€45**, and the €50 limit is not exceeded. Where the same person later receives another item for **€10**, the total comes to **€55.** The €50 exemption threshold is thereby exceeded. With genuine gifts the deduction as a business expense or as income-related expenditure can then **be lost entirely**. For the typical handing out of small ballpoint pens or calendars in bulk, by contrast, it is precisely the promotional item system that is relevant. #### **Distinguish a promotional item from an individual promotional gift** This category is intended in particular for **low-value, standardised advertising items**. A deliberate higher-value gift to a particular person is something different. **Example** 1. **Case:** you have 200 key rings made for **€4** each and hand them out to interested parties and tenants; that is a typical **promotional item.** 2. **Case:** you give a particular tenant a hamper worth **€45** as a thank you; that is an individual **gift.** {% hint style="info" %} An individual gift can also be relevant for tax where there is a corresponding connection with the letting activity. Because of the **€50 exemption threshold per recipient and year**, however, it should not be treated like any other promotional item. {% endhint %} #### **An advertising item also remains a gift where there is no consideration** A gift in principle requires a **gratuitous benefit**. The fact that with the gift you, for example: * maintain the relationship with a tenant, * appeal positively to prospective tenants, * make your letting activity better known, * or want to advertise for yourself as a landlord in general, does not automatically change its character as a gift. The tax authorities make it expressly clear that the gratuitous nature is not lost because the benefit secures or improves business relationships or pursues advertising purposes. #### **Do not confuse this with donations** A donation is in principle made without a specific consideration for a tax-privileged purpose. Immodio has the **"**[**Other contributions, donations**](/en/anleitung/einnahmen-und-ausgaben/buchhaltung-erweiterung/10116000-sonstige-zuwendungen-spenden.md)**"** category for that\*\*.\*\* #### **Recording promotional items is made easier** With ordinary gifts, the entry or the entry document in principle has to show **who the recipient of the gift was**. For typical low-value advertising items there is, however, a practical simplification. The tax authorities allow a collective entry without naming each individual recipient where, because of: * the nature of the item, for example a **pocket calendar or a ballpoint pen**, * and its low value it can be assumed that the relevant gift limit will not be exceeded for the individual recipient in the financial year. **Example** You buy **500 ballpoint pens at €2 each** for general distribution. You therefore do **not** necessarily have to keep a list of 500 individual recipients where these are clearly typical low-value promotional advertising items. The position is different with a deliberate higher-value gift to a particular tenant or business partner. Here the **recipient should be documented clearly**. #### **Assignment in Immodio** With this category the assignment is to the **owner**. Select the owner whose letting activity the advertising items actually serve. #### **Do not recover from the tenant** Promotional items and promotional gifts are the **owner's advertising or representation expenditure**. They do not constitute running operating costs of the let property. The **"Recoverable in the operating cost statement"** switch therefore has to stay **disabled**. #### **Which documents should you keep?** Keep in particular: * the **invoice or purchase receipt** for the advertising items, * proof of payment, * a description and the number of the items bought, * the **unit price or acquisition costs per item**, * where applicable, evidence of printing or other advertising marking, * with individual gifts, the **name of the recipient**, * with several gifts to the same person, a comprehensible overview of the benefits granted during the year, * and where applicable a short note on the **advertising purpose related to the letting activity**. With typical low-value promotional items such as ballpoint pens or calendars, because of the simplification of the record-keeping for tax, no individual list of recipients is in principle required where the nature and low value of the items practically rule out the gift limit being exceeded for the individual recipient.