A lot is changing in October: more money for students, a new minimum wage and changes in vaccination status. What you need to know now.
Frankfurt – The energy crisis is currently forcing many people to take major austerity measures. In private households and companies, the rising costs are threatening many livelihoods. This is one of the reasons why there will be many changes and relief for consumers in October 2022 .
In addition, many Germans will benefit from the new minimum wage from October. In addition, WhatsApp will soon no longer work on some devices. Here is an overview of why this is the case.
That changes for students with BAföG in October
From the coming winter semester, which starts in October, BAföG recipients will benefit from the BAföG reform in summer. As the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (bmbf) writes, the maximum funding rate will be increased from 861 euros to 984 euros. This corresponds to an increase of more than eight percent.
Not only BAföG recipients can look forward to an increase. The new minimum wage will also increase from 10.45 euros to 12 euros. Mini-jobs will be increased from 450 euros to 520 euros as the minimum wage and the maximum earnings for a mini-job will be shifted from 1300 to 1600 euros. According to the federal government, over six million people will benefit from the increases.
From October 2022, owners are obliged to carry out a heating test
Energy-saving measures for house and apartment owners were decided back in September. These new measures include owners having to inspect the gas heaters and hot water heaters that are in operation on an annual basis.
The aim of the heating check is to use the devices efficiently. The devices are to be checked by means of a hydraulic balance, which is intended to ensure that the right amount of water flows through the radiators and that the desired temperature is reached.
Planned gas levy: Sales tax on gas is to be reduced from October
To compensate for the planned gas levy, the VAT on gas for the coming heating period from October to March should be reduced from 19 to 7 percent. The plan was to apply the tax rate to the entire natural gas network.
It would then apply to both conventional gas and biogas. Due to the developments of the last few days, however, it is currently unclear whether the planned gas surcharge will be implemented as well as whether the planned reduction in VAT will be implemented.
The deadline for filing the property tax return is October 31st
The deadline for submitting the property tax return in October also applies. By mid-September, however, only around a fifth of the owners had submitted their property tax returns, so an extension of the deadline was requested. The submission of the property tax return is necessary because millions of properties have to be revalued as part of the property tax reform.
A nationwide extension of the deadline was rejected by the Federal Ministry of Finance, but the federal states are still able to extend the deadline at their own discretion. The regular deadline is October 31st.
For many people, vaccination status expires on October 1st
The new Infection Protection Act will come into force on October 1st. It states that people who have only been vaccinated twice against the Corona virus are no longer counted as fully vaccinated.
However, people who have had their third vaccination or who have survived an infection in addition to their two vaccinations are allowed to keep their status.
Changes in October: WhatsApp no longer works for many smartphones
As of October 24, WhatsApp will no longer work on many smartphones. The reason for this is a higher system requirement installed for new functions and features. At least iOS 12 is required as the operating system.
Older smartphones cannot implement the new functions. WhatsApp can no longer be used on the iPhone 5, for example, as reported by WA BetaInfo . Users of this smartphone then either have to buy a more up-to-date device or use another messenger service. (Kilian Bäuml/AFP)
