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Animal husbandry and animal welfare

Waiver of dog tax - Financial emergency

If you live on unemployment benefit II, social welfare or a comparably low income, you can apply for a dog tax remission in some cases.

Competent authority

Prerequisites

To apply for a remission, you must fulfil the following requirements:

  • You receive unemployment benefit II, social assistance or have an income of a comparable or lower amount.
  • You have not caused your financial hardship yourself.
  • You have no arrears with the City of Munich or are making serious efforts to pay outstanding debts.

You must also fulfil one of the following conditions:

  • You acquired your dog when the financially difficult situation did not yet exist or was foreseeable.
  • The dog is essential to you for medical reasons. A merely useful or beneficial aspect of dog ownership is not sufficient.
  • You have taken on the dog for particularly important moral reasons - for example, because relatives in need of care or deceased relatives can no longer look after the dog.

Required documents

First-time application
We will be happy to advise you before you submit your application toas to whether a waiver is possible in your case and which documents you need to submit.
As a rule, we require the following documents:

  • informal letter of application with details of your financial situation
  • current social welfare notice or proof of income
  • in the case of medical necessity: medical certificate confirming that your dog has a direct and significant effect on your disability or illness or provides particularly essential assistance that directly alleviates the disadvantages of the specific disability or illness
  • in the case of moral obligation: reasons for adopting the dog
  • Telephone number for quick clarification of queries

Annual follow-up application

  • completed form "Follow-up application for remission of dog tax"
  • current notice of social assistance or proof of income

Links & Downloads

Find out the competent authority

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Related services

Exemption from dog tax - shelter dog

If your dog comes from the Munich animal shelter, you can have it exempted from dog tax for the first year of ownership.

Exemption from dog tax - Special tasks

If you keep your dog for professional, commercial, public or charitable purposes, you can be exempt from dog tax.

Exemption from dog tax - dog licence

If your dog has passed the test at a dog school, you can have it exempted from dog tax for the following year.

Exemption from dog tax - assistance dog

If you are dependent on the assistance of a dog due to a severe disability, you can apply for an exemption from the dog tax.

Loss of or damage to the dog tax tag

If your dog's tax tag has been lost or damaged, you must apply for a replacement tag.

Incidents with dangerous dogs

All incidents involving dangerous dogs, such as "dog bites human" or "dog bites dog", should be reported immediately to the police or the district administration department.

Deregistration of a dog

If your dog has died, you give it up or you move away from Munich, you must deregister your dog from the dog tax within two weeks.

Negative certificate for fighting dogs

The keeping of category 1 fighting dogs is not permitted in Munich. You need a negative certificate for dogs with suspected fighting dog characteristics.