Your contribution to excellent education

Make a donation

You can make donations to specific projects that are particularly close to your heart. In this case, your donation will be earmarked for a specific purpose, and we will take your project request in account. General donations, however, will be used where they are most needed. Donations can be made once or at regular intervals (e.g. monthly or annually)

Giving with heart and mind: Motivate others to donate!

Are you celebration a milestone birthday, an anniversary, or your retirement but you don´t have any special wishes? How about asking your guests to donate to educational equality and equal opportunities at the University of Cologne? Find out more HERE (in German only).

Tax advantages

• You can deduct up to 20 per cent of your total income each year as a special expense. If your donations exceed this amount in any given year, you can carry forward the excess and deduct it at a later date. This is known as a donation carryforward. The tax office will automatically calculate this in the subsequent years. In the case of married couples, each spouse is entitled to the deduction.
• TIPP: Donations of up to 300 Euro can be reported to the tax office without an official donation receipt (Section 50 (4) No. 2 EStDV). Alles was Sie dafür brauchen, ist eine Kopie Ihres Kontoauszuges. All you need is a copy of your bank statement.

Remember the University of Cologne in your will

If you feel a special connection to the University of Cologne, you can make a bequest in your will to promote equal opportunities and education after your death. If you want to remember family and friends while also supporting young people´s education, this is a good option!

Donate your inheritance

You can alos support education with your inheritance. If you receive a large inheritance, this can also help to reduce your tax burden. For example if you donate or endow assets from your inheritance to the University of Cologne within 24 months, the inheritance tax is then only levied on the assets that you keep as an heir.

Tax advantages

If inherited assets are transfered to a charitable foundation such as the Cologne University Foundation or the Studies and Teaching Foundation within 24 months of the inheritance, no inhertiance tx is payable on that amount. If the founder has already paid inheritance tax, they will recieve a refund.

Donate to a university foundation´s capital stock

You can donate to the capital stock of either the Cologne University Foundation or the Study and Teaching Foundation. With this type of endowment, your donation remains intact, with only the interest gains and dividends being used to finance educational projects at the University of Cologne. This is a good option if you want your money to have a lasting impact across generations.

Tax advantages

Steuerliche Vorteile

Gem. § 10b Abs. 1a S. 1 EStG können Zustiftungen in den Vermögensstock einer gemeinnützigen Stiftung auf Antrag im Jahr der Zuwendung und in den folgenden neun Jahren bis zu einem Betrag von 1 Million Euro abgezogen werden. Diese Möglichkeit besteht zusätzlich zum steuerlichen Spendenabzug. Bei Verheirateten steht der Abzugsbetrag jedem Ehegatten zu. Sollten Sie die Beträge innerhalb des 10-Jahreszeitraums nicht in Abzug bringen können, gehen diese danach in den allgemeinen unbefristeten Spendenvortrag über.

Tax advantages

According to Section 10b(1a) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG), contributions to the assets of a charitable foundation can be deducted upon application in the year of the donation and in the following nine years, up to an amount of 1 million euros. This option is in addition to the tax deduction for donations. In the case of married couples, each spouse is entitled to the deduction. If the amounts cannot be deducted within the 10-year period, they will be transferred to the general unlimited donation carryforward.