[Glossary](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/) · Income and taxes # Tax reliefs **In short:** Tax reliefs are legal ways to reduce your taxable base or your tax if you meet conditions — for example for children, a young family's mortgage or voluntary pension contributions. **Simply put:** A relief does not arrive by itself — you usually claim it in your annual return or through your employer. Each has conditions and a cap that change by year. A missed relief is not refunded automatically. A relief lowers tax; it does not make a purchase or investment better in itself. **Example:** A €12,000 annual taxable base and €1,200 of voluntary pension contributions (within a 10 % cap). The base falls to €10,800 and the tax by €120. **General rule:** Reliefs are national and change often. > **Example: Bulgaria** — the Personal Income Tax Act: children (Article 22c), a child with a disability (Article 22d), young families with a mortgage (Article 22a), voluntary pension contributions up to 10 % of the base (Article 19), contributions for missing service (Article 20). Only for people with no enforceable public debts (Article 23(2)). > > **Check in your country** — Which reliefs exist this year and their conditions, at the tax authority. **Source:** Personal Income Tax Act (Bulgaria): https://lex.bg/laws/ldoc/2135538631 · Your Europe — Taxes: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/taxes/index_en.htm ## In depth in the modules - [Module 25](https://pecuvo.eu/en/modules/pensions-three-pillars/) - [Module 27](https://pecuvo.eu/en/modules/taxes-and-public-spending/) - [Module 6](https://pecuvo.eu/en/modules/alternatives-to-money/) ## Related terms - [Personal income tax](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/personal-income-tax/) - [Annual tax return](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/annual-tax-return/) - [Third pillar (voluntary pension)](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/third-pillar/) - [Child benefits](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/child-benefits/) - [Mortgage](https://pecuvo.eu/en/glossary/mortgage/)