Shock call scam: Can you deduct your money from tax?

A shock call - and suddenly €50,000 is gone. This is exactly what happened to one woman. The tax office says: it's your own fault. But now the Federal Fiscal Court is deciding whether you can deduct this loss from your taxes. Find out here why you should definitely lodge an appeal now.
Published by Patricia Lederer PepperPapers Logo Icon 21.04.2026 um 00:27 Uhr

Shock call fraud tax deduction

Imagine you get a phone call. A lawyer gets in touch and says your daughter is in prison. You have to pay 50,000 euros immediately.

This is exactly what happened to a woman from Germany. She paid – and only realized later that it was a scam. 👉 The money was gone.

What happens after a shock call?

Many victims press charges. But in most cases, the perpetrators are never found. 👉 This means: Your money is lost.

This is precisely why many of those affected ask themselves a crucial question: Can I at least deduct the damage from tax?

The current case in court

A 77-year-old woman lost 50,000 euros due to a shock call. She wanted to claim the money as an extraordinary expense in her tax return. The tax office refused.

The woman sued – but the tax court ruled against her. The judges argued that such fraud was part of the “general risk of life”. 👉 The problem: this reasoning is highly controversial and not legally binding. On the contrary: a test case is now pending in the highest instance.

Now the Federal Fiscal Court decides

The case is not yet closed. The court has allowed the appeal. This means: 👉 The Federal Fiscal Court will make a landmark decision.

The central question:

  • Is a shock call an extraordinary burden?
  • Can you claim the loss for tax purposes?
  • Or are you stuck with the damage?

👉 The ruling will affect many people.

Why you absolutely must act now

If you are affected, you should not wait and see. Because: 👉 Without an appeal, your tax assessment becomes legally binding. And then the following applies: ❌ You can no longer benefit from a positive judgment at a later date.

The right strategy: lodge an objection

You have to become active. 👉 This is how you proceed:

  1. You declare the loss in your tax return
  2. The tax office refuses
  3. You file an appeal against the tax assessment notice
  4. You refer to the ongoing test case

👉 Result: The tax office puts your case on hold until the judgment has been made.

Your advantage

If the court decides that such losses are deductible:

👉 You automatically benefit from this

👉 Without an objection, you will lose this opportunity

The simple solution

You don’t have to formulate a complicated text. With the right template, you can create your objection in just a few minutes.

👉 Fill out. Download. Done.

No lawyer necessary.

Act now and secure your chance

If you have lost money due to a shock call or know someone who has:

👉 Don’t wait.

👉 File an objection.

🌶️ Be your own advocate.

👉 You can find the right template here: https://pepperpapers.de/produkt/schockanruf-steuer-absetzen-einspruch/

You can find even more information on this topic in Patricia Lederer’s video 🎬 https://youtu.be/zk5EuZytCvg

Foto Patricia Lederer
Patricia Lederer
Author and managing director of PepperPapers

Patricia Lederer is a specialist lawyer for tax law, commercial and corporate law. Lederer specializes in national and international tax law and criminal tax law. She works in the areas of tax audits, tax investigations and represents clients in court proceedings before the tax courts nationwide, the Federal Fiscal Court, the Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
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