Ah taxes… Don’t we just all love it?
Probably one of the most boring topics to deal with but also one of the most essential ones, especially in Germany. There are many factors impacting on your income tax rate; few of them are more important than your tax class.
In this post, we will go over what it all means and if you think it’s relevant to your situation, how to change your tax class in Germany.
Table of contents
- Tax classes in Germany: TL;DR
- Quick overview
- How to change tax classes in Germany
- FAQ
- How many times can i change tax classes in Germany ?
- What events can be cause of a tax class change?
- Can the tax benefit apply retroactively if i change tax classes?
- Is worth it for me and my partner to make a change?
- I just got divorced/separated, what do i do now to change class?
- My partner is living abroad, can i still change tax class?
Tax classes in Germany: TL;DR
In nutshell; your tax class in Germany is more or less defined by your marital status. Depending on this, you will be put in different categories by the Finanzamt. This will help your employer apply the correct tax rate on your payslip, hence the name “Lohnsteuerklasse”. This impacts how much wage tax (“Lohnsteuerabzug”), solidarity contribution (“Solidaritätszuschlag”) and Church tax (“Kirchensteuer”) will be taken from your gross salary.
In other words, your net salary is directly related to your tax class in Germany.
As you might have already guessed it; this is only relevant to employees. Self-employed are paying income tax through other means.
Quick overview
There are 7 categories overall.
| Tax class | Marital status |
|---|---|
| Steuerklasse 0 | You are not a German resident. |
| Steuerklasse 1 | You are single, widow(er), separated/divorced |
| Steuerklasse 2 | You are a single parent |
| Steuerklasse 3 | You are married with a higher income (than your partner in Steuerklasse 5) |
| Steuerklasse 4 | You are married with both equivalent income |
| Steuerklasse 5 | You are married with a lower income (than your partner in Steuerklasse 3) |
| Steuerklasse 6 | The class used for additional jobs (Nebenjob or Zweitjob) |
Attention married people: you can save money
As you can see, married people can belong to different classes and optimize differently. By default, the Finanzamt will put both partners in tax class 4, when you first register your marriage or marry in Germany. However, for a lot of households, this is often not the best solution. Why, you ask?
It’s quite simple really: the German tax system knows that the higher-earner is often bearing more of the costs in the household. The idea here is to allow for a tax rebate when one of the partners earns significantly less than the other. As a result, moving from tax class 4 to tax class 3/5 might increase the net salary for the higher earner.
When is it worth to change classes in that case?
The higher-earner in the household has to earn a good deal more for this to make sense. They should earn at least 60% of the total household income.
How to change tax classes in Germany
The process to change tax class in Germany is fairly simple:
- Get a hold of the form “Antrag auf Steuerklassenwechsel bei Ehegatten” (Request for tax class change for married people). You can fill it online on the official finance ministry website this way When you have filled both pages in, you can download it as a PDF. Alternatively, you can download an empty PDF file here.
- Print-it and sign it (both partners)
- Send it to your Finanzamt
Important notes
- The tax class change will happen on the month following the request submission. So that’s when you can see a difference in your net salary.
- As mentioned at the end of the second page in the document; if both partners are employees and you have been through a tax class change in Germany, it is mandatory to submit a tax statement (Steuererklärung; more info this way) after the end of the year (e.g: do one in 2019 for the year 2018, if you changed in 2018)
FAQ
How many times can i change tax classes in Germany ?
In most cases, this is only possible once a year. However, it is possible to do this more often in the following cases:
- When your partner is not an employee anymore (becoming a freelancer, retirement, parental leave, unemployment).
- When your partner is an employee again
- When one of the partners passes away
- In case of divorce or separation
What events can be cause of a tax class change?
Very logically, life events that were just previously listed can be cause for change of tax class in Germany; marriage, divorce, death of partner, unemployment, retirement, parental leave, becoming a freelancer.
Can the tax benefit apply retroactively if i change tax classes?
Provided you make the application before 30/11 of that year, you can benefit from that tax cut for the months prior too.
Is worth it for me and my partner to make a change?
You can use this very easy to use simulator. Enter both your gross salaries in it, together with your postal code. You will be able to see if it’s worth to make a tax class change in Germany, and who should be on tax class 3.
I just got divorced/separated, what do i do now to change class?
You would use this form to signify the Finanzamt that you are now separated from your partner. The adjustment will be then made automatically after they process this document.
My partner is living abroad, can i still change tax class?
For a tax class change to be possible, both partners need to be “unbeschränkt einkommensteuerpflichtig“, which means to be subject to an unrestricted income taxation. In practical terms, this is made possible only when the partner is also a German resident. However, an exception to this rule is possible if you and your partner fulfill the following requirements (source):
- You have EU or Swiss citizenship.
- Your partner has residence in another EU country (+ Switzerland).
- At least 90% of the total income is subject to German income tax. The same applies if the income not subject to German income tax does not exceed 18 336€ in a calendar year.
Hope this little guide helped. Don’t hesitate to leave a comment if anything is unclear.
Hi Bastien, great article. Very helpful! Just a couple of questions.
You mention that if you’re self employed you don’t have a tax class, but can that still affect my wife’s tax class? E.g. can she still select tax class 3 or 5?
Secondly, you mention that you have to change your tax class before the end of the year. I have read elsewhere that it does not affect your final yearly tax amount, just what you’re prepaying for each month. So if you do a final tax return after year end then it’s irrelevant what tax class you were in because it all gets worked out anyway. Any thoughts on this?
I ask because I moved to Germany in June 2020 with my then fiance and she started working straight away. We then got married in August, I received my visa in October and started freelancing in November. Once we got married I assume she was put in tax class 4 but I guess because I only started working towards the end of the year it would have been ideal if she was in tax class 3.
Anyway, thanks for any help you can provide!
Sam
Hey Sam. Your wife can still be in 3 or 5 yes. It doesn’t matter if you are self-employed or not. The tax class helps your employer adjust the right amount of “Lohnsteuer” applied to your salary. So yes, it impacts your net salary every month, the prepayments as you say. When you get married, you are automatically put in class 4, you need to request a 3/5 change. It has nothing to do with when you started working.
Hi Bastien.
Thanks so much for this article – a real life saviour!
I am moving from freelancer to a contract position (full-time/40hrs). Currently, I am in Class IV and will continue to be due to the new job and being married.
However, if I want to keep doing minimal amounts of freelance work on the side (given employers acceptance of this), I assume this will be put into Class 6 correct?
I’m REALLY struggling to figure out how this all works out at the end of the year when I do my tax return.
Basically, does the freelance work I’ve done up until June (when I start my contracted job) remain taxed as Class 4. OR, at the end of the year, because I’ve moved to a contract, will it all be re assessed as Class 6 and therefore I will have to make an additional income tax payment to the Finanzamt (from the freelance work)?
Sorry if this is confusing. I just don’t clearly understand how one affects the other.
(Happy to donate to buying you a coffee or something if you provide a link!)
Thank you.
Hey Ben. Tax classes are only relevant for wages, i.e income from salary. It’s a tool to apply the correct tax rate (Lohnsteuer) on that. Your income as a freelancer is something completely different. Class 6 would be for a second job. All the periodic declaration/payments made as a freelancer to your Finanzamt will remain as it is. Does this make sense?
Yes it does Bastien. Thanks so very much for your response!
Hello Bastian,
Thank you very much for the great post!
My question is the following: I was living and working in Germany with Steuerklasse 3 (married, my spouse was not working). Now I have moved to Belgium but I am still working for the same German company and have a German working contract. My Steuerklasse has automatically changed to 1… Is this because I am not a German resident anymore? I just want to clarify this before going to the Finanzamt…
Thank you very much in advance!
Eva
Hey Eva. Steuerklasse for non-residents is 0, not 1. Better ask your Finanzamt indeed.
Hello Bastien,
Thanks for your clear explanation. My question is I registered my marriage in the month of April 2021. So I assume my Tax class was automatically changed to 4 from 1. Later I changed my tax class to 3 and the Finanzamt sent me a confirmation saying my tax class is 3 from 01 May 2021.
The problem here is my May month’s payslip is having tax class as 4. So does it mean that the tax class is reflected in our playslips retrospectively ?
For example, in my case the tax class is changed to 4 in the April 2021 and I saw that change in May month’s payslip. And I changed my tax class to 3 in the month of May 2021 so I can expect the change to take place in June month’s payslip?
Thanks in advance.
Hey Dhinesh. Yes, it can take a little while for the switch to happen.
Hi Good everyone I am married with 2 kinds and i am expecting my third child, we all live together here in Germany as Family and my husband is working and he was placed in class 1 ,please what class is he supposed to be? Please your response is very important to us
Hey Glory. That is clearly answered in the post.
Hey Bastien,
This is really a good post for newcomers in Germany. I have already sent the documents to Finanzamt to change my tax class. But how do I verify if they have changed it already? So this is effective from current month. I tried calling and mailing them but there is no certain response. Is there a portal where we find this?
Thanks
Hey Sarath. You can check this by looking at your next payslip.
Hello Bastien,
Thank you for this useful information and very to the point.
Just one question, the link to the form is not working for me, do you have another link?
Thank you very much!
Paula
Hey Paula. This links work for me : https://www.formulare-bfinv.de/ffw/action/invoke.do?id=034003
Hi Bastien,
I am married since 2015 and started living and working in Germany since 2019. I was in steuerklasse 1. My wife (Non-EU national) joined me in September 2020. I changed tax class to 3 in November,2020. Now my two questions.
1. When I will be filiing tax return for 2020, will I be consider as Tax 3 for whole 2020? Or 10 months as Tax class 1 and 2 months as tax class 3. ?
2. If I will be considered as Tax class 3 for entire 2020, then I expect tax return?
Thanks in advance for your time in answering my questions.
Hey Ali. This applies.
Hello Bastien,
My wife and I reside (both since July 2018) and work (me since then and my wife since March 2020) in Germany. According to the description, as we have different salary ranges, our tax classes are 3 (mine) and 5 (hers). Probably because this is the first time my wife have to join me in declaring taxes, our simulation has lead to a quite high amount to be paid, although we both are discounted by our employers. We were wondering if a change to tax class 4 for both of us would make sense for us to avoid this kind of “surprises” when doing our taxes for the next year(s). In that case, from what we have understood, we would have a decrease in both our net salaries, but this would refrain extra payments and we should actually be discounted more than what we should pay, thus leading to a tax return.
What is your advice on that? Is our thinking about changing the tax class correct?
If this quite high amount that we have to pay is confirmed by Finanzamt, is it possible to split the amount into monthly instalments rather than paying the whole amount at once?
Thank you very much for the information on your post and for your assistance with these questions!
All the best,
Marcus
Hey Marcus. Sorry to hear about your troubles. I cannot offer any advanced consultation on this sort of matter, since the result of your tax declaration depends on many parameters, and not just your marital status. It’s simply not something I could cover within a comments’ section. This additional payment could come from something else entirely. Regarding installments: yes, this is something that can be arranged with your Finanzamt, on request. I suggest you find professional advice for the rest. Good luck.
Hi Bastien,
Thanks a lot for this helpful article! And as I can see you’re also taking the time to answer all the comments, which is much appreciated!
My current situation is: I’m a German citizen, married to a Brazilian citizen who is still in the process of getting his temporary resident permit. He is registered here and has an Identificatiosnummer.
Our marriage are registered here in Germany. I’m the only one working at the moment.
So my questions are:
1. Can we do the class change? (3\5)? we’re currently classified as class 4. I’m asking since my husband doesn’t yet have his resident permit.
2. When filling up the form, should we do it each one separately? or one form for both of us is enough?
Looking forward hearing from you soon.
All the best!
Yael
Hey Yael. 1- You tell me his main residence is here in Germany. I don’t think it would be an issue since you apparently already registered marriage and changed tax class before. If you have done those steps before, I would not think this one would be an issue. 2- One form is enough. It contains fields for both partners.
Hi Bastian,
I am a German resident since 2017 and working since 2019 and tax class 1.
I am separated since 2020 and having a daughter who is living with her mother in Germany (we didn’t register our marriage in Germany).
How can I change my tax class to 2 and if it is beneficial in terms of a tax deduction?
kindly if you could assist and share any links to apply online.
thx
Usman
Hello Usman. This source tells me that only the parent who has the child at home can apply for tax class 2. Only your former partner would be able to benefit from this.