Many newcomers suddenly realize they are paying German church tax, even though they never went to a service once in their time in Germany. For many people not used to this system, the mistake is almost trivial. They simply fill-out their Anmeldung form truthfully and ask no questions when being asked if they belong a certain religion.
It is also not unheard of that the Beamter-in at the Bürgeramt “signs you up” by asking your religion, without necessarily giving the full context of that question.
If you are this situation (like I was once), this costs you money. Real money.
Follow this guide to stop paying the German church tax.
How much is the Church tax in Germany?
Church tax in Germany is a 8-9% surcharge on top of your income tax. It’s 8% in Bayern and Baden-Württemberg & 9% in all other regions.
You can use this calculator to estimate how much it represents for you. If you earn 40 000€/year, you pay about 500€ worth of German church tax.
This means that some people paying up to thousands of euros every year, when they never intended to belong to a Church in Germany! For many of us foreigners, something like paying a German church tax is unheard of. In Europe, only Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland & Croatia are doing the same.
This simple mistake that can cost thousands of euros on the long-term.
How is this tax collected?
For employees, this is collected directly from your paycheck, as is the rest of income tax in Germany. This is what this “KS” (Kirchensteuer) line on your pay slip is!
The process looks a bit different for self-employed people but it’s also relatively simple. It will be paid at the same time you pay income tax. Depending on your situation, this might happen in yearly, monthly, or quarterly installments. The Finanzamt already has the information, no need to send extra documents.
How to stop paying the German church tax
1- Find the right office & bring enough money with you
If you want to quit paying the church tax in Germany, you have to do an “Kirchenaustritt“. It translates to “Church exit”.
Depending on your region, you have to go to either your Standesamt or your Amtsgericht to do that. The fee also changes. Here is a little summary (hat tip to Kirchenaustritt.de):
| Bundesland | Relevant office | Fee (€) |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | Standesamt | 31 |
| Bayern | Standesamt | 31 |
| Berlin | Amtsgericht | 30 |
| Brandenburg | Amtsgericht | 0 |
| Bremen | Standesamt | 0 |
| Hamburg | Standesamt | 31 |
| Hessen | Amtsgericht | 25 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Standesamt | 10 |
| Niedersachsen | Standesamt | 25 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | Amtsgericht | 30 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | Standesamt | 30 |
| Saarland | Standesamt | 32 |
| Sachsen | Standesamt | 26 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | Standesamt | 30 |
| Thüringen | Standesamt | 25 |
You can also click on your region to access the right official portal.
2- Gather all the necessary documents and go to that office
It’s pretty straightforward if you are not married in Germany; just bring a piece of ID and your Meldebescheinigung with you. If you are married; you will also need to take your Heiratsurkunde (Marriage certificate). The document you need from them is the Austrittsbescheinigung (Leaving certificate). Make sure to keep it with all your other important documents. You might need to show it to your Finanzamt at some point.
3- Rejoice & enjoy the extra-cash
If you have done everything correctly, you should stop paying the German church tax from the end of the month during which you declaration was registered. Your tax ID is handled electronically, so your Bürgeramt will communicate your decision to your Finanzamt automatically. It might take up to 2 months for that infamous “KS” tax line to disappear from your pay slip though.
About the chances to get caught if you lied
There might be different reasons why you were untruthful during your Anmeldung:
- You were baptized as a kid but you have stopped going to services a long time ago. Therefore, you don’t feel like you have strong connection to the religion.
- You were baptized as a kid out of tradition but never were religious. You also don’t feel like you belong to the Church at all.
- You are going to services back home, but you don’t want to pay the church tax in Germany because you only want to stay temporarily.
- You don’t plan on going to services given in German, which you can’t understand anyway.
Those are all valid reasons but the religious authorities don’t care unfortunately. There is a good chance you might get an angry letter if you lie about this.
Churches often possesses enough information to cross-reference it with files available to them on an international level. We might feel like those are antiquated institutions but they are well-organized, well-centralized ones too. It is common to be “found”. This is almost guaranteed if you come from a country where a Church tax exists.
Good luck and let me know if you need any details in the comments abut Church tax in Germany. You can simply share your experience. Fun fact: In Italy, if you don’t want pay that tax, you can also decide to donate that money to charity instead. I’d like to see that here too!
Bastien
FAQ – German Church tax
I’m afraid not. Your involuntary donation is gone forever.
If you want to go to service, you can still go. No one will ask you to show your tax card. However, this move might disqualify you for bigger events like baptisms & weddings. The rules aren’t the same everywhere though.
Yes. Church tax is completely deductible in Germany. Use the document “Anlage Sonderausgaben” when doing your tax declaration.
This system was set-up during the Weimar Republic in 1919 in order to accommodate the pre-existing advantages the Church(es) already had acquired before-hand. It’s even written in the constitution! Every year, around 10 billions euros are levied that way. The money goes to the up-keep of religious buildings, paying religious personnel (not priests, they are payed by the diocese directly) & administrative costs as well as funding social projects.
Try going to the Bürgeramt (the place where you registered your address). And ask them to change your religion showing them the confirmation from the church.
The following state-recognized religion communities are allowed to collect taxes: The following nine state-recognized religious communities are allowed to collect church tax: Evangelische Landeskirchen, Katholische Kirche, Altkatholische Kirche, Jüdische Kultusgemeinden, Israelitische Religionsgemeinschaften, Freireligiöse Gemeinden, Französische Kirche zu Berlin, Mennonitengemeinde in Hamburg-Altona, Unitarische Religionsgemeinschaft Freier Protestanten in Rheinland-Pfalz.
Hi! This has been so helpful thank you. I read this before my Anmeldung, and made sure to say ‘no’ on the religious question. I have just finished my Amtsgericht (am worried that I might get Church tax on my first payslips as I did the Kirchenausritt after?), although they gave 3 pieces of paper and told me to keep 1, send the 2nd to the Finanzamt/Tax office, and the 3rd to my bank. Does this sound right? If so, do you have experience with doing this correctly? Thank you!
Hey Rob. I’m a bit confused: you ticked “No religion” on the Anmeldung form, but you still paid Church tax?
Hi Bastien, apologies. No I haven’t received my first paycheck yet so I don’t know yet (hopefully won’t pay it). I did a Kirchenausritt as well, just to be safe. Does this make sense?
Hey Rob. If you stated you were atheist, doing a Kirchenaustritt is not needed/relevant. Perhaps wait until you get your first paycheck to follow through on it?
Hi Bastien, thanks for the suggestion, I’ll do that. A few friends in Berlin were insistent I should do the Kirchenausritt to be safe which is why I went to the Amstgericht!
I didn’t state that I wanted to be part of the Church in Germany. Or is this included directly in the Anmeldung? I save all of the documents and I can’t find this information.
I’d like to ask for a refund for extortion, deception and fraud. Do you know if there are any atheist associations dealing with this issue? Thank you
Hey Garbiele. If you didn’t pay attention during your Anmeldung, you might have ticked the wrong box or it may have been done for you. I don’t who could help you for that.
In my case I live in Germany for 8 years, when I arrived in my Anmeldung I register as non-religious because I was told this is the way If I don’t want to contribute church tax also consider myself an atheist, now I have received a letter asking for my baptism information which I didn’t want to reply fearing that they will charge me, so I did the Kirschaustritt, the result I have now a bill for the last 4 years of unpaid church tax worth 6K. if you arrive to Germany please do the Kirschaustritt as soon as possible an don’t wait is better to pay a couple of months worth of tax that multiple years like me.
Hey Folger. Thanks for taking the time to tell your story. I appreciat it.
If you were ever baptized as Catholic in your homeland, you’re liable for Kirchensteuer even though you’ve declared you’re not a member of any religion. The Catholic Church is centralized across the world and the German authorities can access the baptismal records in your home country. So even if you’ve been able to duck Kirchensteuer so far, you need to go the the Amstgericht or Standesamt and formally withdraw from the church.
Hey Bill. thanks for your input.
Not necessarily true, or, rather, I’m not sure where you got your info from. I was baptized in a Catholic Church in Asia, and I got married in a Catholic Church in the States, and the church in the US needed me to provide them the proof of my baptism, and the reason they cited was because the Parish in the US didn’t have a way of procuring the information on their own/ their own channels.
Why can’t you do this online?
Germany…
Hello!
I am exploring options for international teaching in Germany. I was baptized as a Methodist in the United States (protestant) and no longer a member. Upon arrival to Germany, what should I do at that point to ensure that I do not have any religious taxes taken out?
Hey Mario. When you register residence (anmeldung), make sure to write you don’t belong to any Church.
Hi Bastien,
I am a Muslim and I am moving from India to Berlin for Employment. I plan to regularly visit the mosque for Friday Prayer Sessions.
Am I liable to pay the Church tax ?
Hey Khan. No such tax exists for Muslim churches in Germany. There has been several times projects to establish that, but nothing happened so far. Background info.
Hi Bastien,
I was baptised back in France but not religious and when I moved to Germany I registered as without a religion because I am not religious. I have worked a few years here without paying a tax for a religion I don’t believe. Now as a freelancer, the finanzamt asking me if I am unregistered. I am not but will ASAP. Will they charge me for those years I was not paying this tax?
Hey Mist. I don’t get it. You are not registered here in Germany with a religion. And now you want to unregister again?
I have exactly the same issue, how did you solve it at the end?
Hey. So I’ve heard horror stories of people registering as Atheist, and then the German tax authority checking their baptism records in their home countries and fining them for a shitload of money. I was baptized Calvinist, but am atheistic and haven’t been to a church service like in forever. Now the Calvinist church isn’t established in Germany according to the above list.
Is it safe for me to register as atheist, or should I register as “other Christian” and then do this signing out thing immediately?
Hey Dani. I think you described your situation well and your understand the choices here. can’t tell you what to do. 🙂
Hi,
I declared I don’t have a religion but I was baptized back home. If I go an de-register, will they charge me for the 3 years I haven’t paid tax? I don’t know if it is better to ignore this since no one has come after me….
Hey Angela. If you don’t belong to any Church here, you can’t de-register…
Hello, Thanks for the article in simple language, it helps a lot 🙂 I stopped paying the church tax approximately 12 months ago and followed all the steps outlined in the article. All was well, until yesterday I received a letter in the post from the church tax office stating that I owed them 135 euro in arrears ? Do you know how I can owe them money if I declared myself as having no religion and the tax hasn’t been taken out of my wages for a year ? Thanks, Mark.
Hey Mark. I am as puzzled as you. Do you still have a hold of a written confirmation that you exited the Church? This would probably help.
Thanks for the reply, Would it have anything to do with the fact i initially paid it for 2/3 months before realizing what it was on the payslip and then declaring myself out ?
Hey Mark. If you did declare yourself out by following the proper steps. You should have a written confirmation somehwere yes.
Hello, thanks so much for your explanations!
I have a question: when compiling the anmeldung, if I am an atheist and don’t want to pay the tax, should I leave the field empty or should I select OA – keiner Religionsgesellschaft angehörig?
I compiled two different forms in English and when I thicked “no” to the question on whether I have a religious community, one of the form left the field empty, the other adopted the other formulation…
Thank you!
Hey Tom. I would not leave it empty, just to be sure.
Thanks! Better “OA – keiner Religionsgesellschaft angehörig” than a handwritten cross on the empty field then, as someone suggested?
Hey Tom. Up to you, both options are acceptable.
Thanks!
Hey there! Are there other religions that are also taxed? I’m Jewish, I did some research and I can’t find a clear answer on whether I would receive a form of the “church” tax or not? Thanks!
Hey Nava. From what i understand, Jewish communities are not established as religion-s in Germany, but rather as cultural associations. There is no nationwide Jewish Church tax in Germany. Source: Central Jewish Counsel in Germany FAQ.
… so my story is unique. My parents are different religion , I am baptised in Orthodox church…my mom is catholic, my parents got divorce at my early age…so I celebrated catholic holidays with my mom. Consider myself spiritual, but did not go to church. On last citizen registration in my homeland declare myself just as Christian with no belongs to any church.
Year ago… when I arrived in Germany, did not have clue about tax and because of my bad German …during registration I said ;Catholic. Now when I look year back …gave a lot money to the church where officially don’t belong and don’t wanna give money any more.
Can just go to the Amtsgericht and change my church to the Orthodox without proof , because my document of baptism from Orthodox church is in cyrillic. Or is easier just to say no religion any more?? Thank you
Hey Ski. You can do both if you want to. If you don’t want to pay church tax, then it’s best to quit it entirely.
Hi, I am Jerald from India, I am moving to Germany to pursue my M.Sc. degree in Berlin, I am Baptized in India and I may work part time to cover my expenses. As a student with part time should I pay church taxes or generally will students pay church taxes?
Thank you for your article.
Hey Jerald. Being a student does not have any impact on church tax liability. If you have income, you will pay church tax.
This is not completely true. You only pay taxes if you earn more than 9.744 Euros a year (that´s the “Steuerfreibetrag” in 2021). If someone works part time, it´s very likely for them to earn less than that.
Yes. Correct. Thanks for the clarification.
Hello! Very nice Article. I have a question though… Since the Amtsgericht is closed now because of Coronavirus until further notice, can I resign to the churchtax via E-mail?
I tried to call but it takes ages… And I am not even baptized, just that when I got here couldn´t speak german, so the nice people at the office put that I was in the church….
Any info would help me a lot 🙂
Thanks!
Hey Noelia. You would need to check with your local Amt to check how they are continuing their services. Most likely it can be done online, mail, email too.
Hello and thanks for the amazing information. I came here after receiving a document where I was asked to state my religion. I did the Anmeldung 5 years ago but only now I opened a position as Kleine Unternehmer. I was baptized in Italy but never went to the church. I am also no longer Christian since I was 7/8 years old.. (pretty much the same time when I also stopped believing in Santa Claus).
I am going to go tomorrow and do my Kirchenaustritt. I have a question, though: what do I have to do with that paper where they ask me if I was baptized? I am worried that filling it up (without being able to specify: Yes I was baptized but I did the Kirchenaustritt one day ago) will create more problems, and by problems I mean caveats that will make my Kirchenaustritt null.
I might be overthinking it, probably once my Kirchenaustritt I can just trash that paper.
Any info is appreciated, I will also ask at the office.
Cheers!
Hey Angelo. I don’t really know. They might come after you or try to communicate with your local parish, where you were baptized in Italy (yes, they do that), to find out. So maybe they will ask for tax money you “owe” the finanzamt. You can come back to tell us the tale ! 🙂
Hello, I am wondering, If I don’t pay church tax, but my boyfriend is, and we both want to have church wedding, how is that possible? Would I need to pay all taxes from the date of my anmeldung or how? He is German and has been paying the tax from the day he started to work.
Hey Vanja. Best to ask your local parish directly.
Hi Bastian!
great article 🙂 if i say i am Jewish on my anmeldung will i be exempt from tax? is there any chance i will be taxed for, i dunno, temple services? if so, is it best to just say i have no religion? i’m not intending of being part of any religious service anyway
thank you!!
Hey Arynn. Well no, you would not be exempt.
If I’m baptized in a Church in India, which is not directly linked to any churches in Germany, can I still officially claim to be a Christian but be exempted from the Church Tax?
No, if you state in your Anmeldung that you are Christian, then you will pay.
Thank you very much for the article and the “forum”. Interesting and useful 🙂
This may sound like a stupid question, but does church tax apply for the amounts that are not subject to tax (9,000/18,000€)? Tnx for your answer and tnx for your blog Bastien, it is of great help for a lot of us! <3
Hey Chan. Glad the blog could be helpful. I’m afraid i don’t really understand the meaning of your question…
If you earn less than 9000 per year as a freelancer for example, you are not subject to general taxation. My question was if the church tax is also inapplicable on this amount? Tnx and sorry 🙂
Hey Chan. Good question: i’d tend to say know but income tax and church tax are maybe 2 different beasts altogether and the money is taken from your payslip directly anyway.
Great article!
I have done this steps 3 months ago…unfortunately I am still paying this tax! dunno what to do!! 🙁
I know it’s an old post. But maybe someone else would need it:
Try going to the Bürgeramt (the place where you registered your residency). And ask them to change your religion showing them the confirmation from the church.
Thanks Kate.
Hello Bastien,
Thanks so much for this helpful article.
I’m a Freelancer, recently moved to Berlin.
I’ve received a letter saying that I did not give enough information about my status, however I did state that I have no religious status.
Does going to the amt at the stage that I’m in apply or should I fill in the form “truthfully” and send it off?
Hi Marcelo. I am unsure of the meaning of your question. Could you rephrase that?
Hello! This only applies if you have a full time job in Germany, correct? I’m a full time student and want to make sure I am not charged when I Anmeldung in my flat in Germany. Thanks!
Hey Diana. This would apply onto your payslip directly, yes.
Dear Bastien,
I will move to Berlin in September and I do not want to pay the church tax for 1 year until my husband will find a job too. Then I would like to pay it since I have a son and I want him to participate in church events. Would this be possible? Thanks,
Irina
Hi Irina. I don’t really know, then you would need to declare yourself part of the Church in one year. Might they not ask why you didn’t do that earlier?
Hi,
I’m a muslim moving to Berlin.
Do I have to pay this tax?
Thanks
Hi Mahmoud. No.
Hi Bastien,
I have been working in Berlin for the last year and not paying the church tax as I didn’t put down a religion on my Anmeldung. I moved apartment last month so I did the Anmeldung for my new apartment and again, put down no religion. This month I have been charged for the church tax although I have had no correspondence relating to it! Is it possible to check with the Bürgeramt if this was a mistake on their part? I don’t have a copy of the form I filled out. Would the Amtsgericht/Finanzamt normally notify someone if they have discovered their religion and made them eligible for the tax?
Hi Julie. It’s best to get in touch with the Finanzamt directly and understand what happened there.
Hello Bastien, thanks for your helpful post.
I’m Italian, baptized in Italy, and I’m going to move to Berlin.
What’s the best way to avoid paying this tax? Is it better to do the “Kirchenaustritt” when I’ll be in Germany, or is it better do to something while I’m here in Italy?
Thanks
Hi Oscar. Both options are possible and equally valid. Maybe the process is easier to handle in your native language though.
Just send a sign-for letter (raccomandata) to the church where you were baptised. I used this form here:
https://www.uaar.it/laicita/sbattezzo/sbattezzo-modulo-per-parroco.pdf
In my case I had to push by calling and finally the diocese sent me a letter confirming that I was finally out. Be insisting.
Until you do it you are considered Catholic, so always declare yourself ‘konfessionlos’. There is no way they can find proof that you are, as they’d need first to know in which church have you been baptised. Look at this: https://global.handelsblatt.com/politics/expats-beware-germany-church-tax-922429
Hi,
I’ve started working in Germany two years ago. During the anmeldung I declared that I don’t belong to any religious organization. I am an atheist, but I was baptized in Poland. I thought that saying no in the anmeldung form is enough, but recently I’ve learned about Kirchenaustrittserklärung and I’ve started to worry about backpayment. I would like to leave church officialy.
Do you know if I will need to pay all of the taxes from my anmeldung to the day I declare that I’m leaving the church in Standesamt?
Hi Peter. As far as the German tax system is concerned, you are not registered as part of the church, so it would not make any sense to leave it in the first place.
Hi Bastien, I declared I was not a member of any church by Anmeldung but now I received a form from the Kirchensteuerstelle where they are asking me if I was baptised or not. What should I do (I was baptised in my home country but do not consider myself religious)?
Hi Petra. I can’t tell you what to do but i have talked with people who were in the same situation as you. They said they weren’t and got away with it. But again; your decision.
Hi Bastien,
the same for me, I have been in Berlin 1 year, I filled the form with konfessionlos. However, a month ago I received the famous questionnaire. Still did answer it and throw it in the trash. Just worried about it if they ask for tax retrospectively. Couldn’t find a Tax expert so far to advise what to do. Don’t say anything? File to get out of the Church and not paying in the future? no idea
Hi,
Thanks for the info.
I will start working in Germany in March/April.
I am baptised but I don’t want to pay the tax church. If I write that I don’t have a religion on my Anmeldung, I suppose it’s not good enough?
Do I need to do the “Kirchenaustritt” before registering my anmeldung, or can I do this later?
Thanks for your help,
Hi Tanlie. There will be no further questions during the anmeldung process if you proceed like so. There will maybe be a check in the future at some point by the Finanzamt. No need to do a Kirchenaustritt before the anmeldung since you aren’t even registered.
Thank you for the information! I’m really considering doing this and not paying this tax while I start living in Germany. I didn’t know about the tax at the moment, but well…. my question is this:
If I sucessfully quit the “Kirchensteuer”, can I return in the future to be considered christian by paying my taxes again? I say this, because later I may meet a christian girl in Europe who wants to get married. Can I return or would it be too late?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Rade, i’m not sure you need to pay taxes after you get married. Why would you do that?
Hi Rade. You need to be paying Church taxes to get married.
Hi
I’m a student in Berlin and I haven’t started working yet but I intend to do so.
I really don’t remember if I wrote Catholic on my application or not, is there any way to check before since I don’t want to pay this tax? I don’t have a copy of the form.
Thanks
Hi LG. You should be able to see that on your first pay slip. There is a tax line for that.
I’ve been working in Germany since September 14 of 2017, I was informed about the Kichensteuer (Church tax) few days after arriving. Then I had to get my Kirchenaustritt.
I was said the paperwork will take about 2 months, and after that, the tax would be removed. It’s February third and I got charged with tax the last month.
Is anything else required to get rid of this tax?
Hi ,
I got a letter from the Finanzamt after I applied for a Steuernummer as a freelancer. I’m also employed and i have been working in Berlin for over 5 years now as an employee. I have always declared to be atheist even though i have been baptized. So I have never paid the Kirchensteuer and never done the Austritt, however now I’m worried that they will double check with the Italian church to confirm if I have actually been baptized and will need to pay all the retroactive payment. Should I just send them this Formular confirming once more that I don’t belong to any religious group? Should I also eventually do the Austritt or I don’t need it and could actually create more doubts if I suddenly do the Austritt after six years of declaring that I’m not religious anyway. Thanks for your help!
Hi Giada. I have heard from Italian friends that checks in Italy can indeed happen. I don’t think you can send any Austritt form, since you are not in a church in the first place.You know the risks and the situation. Up to you to take the decision. Good luck!
Hey, thanks for the info, super helpful! I was just wondering if this requires filling out a form or anything? My German is almost non-existent, so would bringing the required documents and saying, “Ich mochte die Romish-Katholische kirche verlassen” be enough, or should I try bring a German speaker with me to help?
Hi Cora. In theory that shoould be enough yes but you know German and their love of bureaucracy. It’s a good idea to bring somebody with you.
So how do you prevent even starting to pay such a ludicrous tax? What does someone write on the Anmeldung when asked about religion? I have no religion, nor do I claim to be atheist as this is now considered a religion in some jurisdictions.
Yes, as mentioned in the post; during the Anmeldung, make sure to tick the right box that says you dont belong to any religion.
Beware that this is often not enough. They started to ask the Diocese of your own town if you are still registered there as a catholic (in Italy for example) and if so, they will force you to pay that stupid tax no matter what. In Italy it’s easy to leave by writing a letter and send it over to the Church were you’ve been baptised – link: https://www.uaar.it/laicita/sbattezzo/
This is a great article, thank you! I went to the Standesamt with the required documents today but was turned away because I don’t speak German. The lady told me I had to come back with a translator to get my leaving certificate. Is this common? Was it because I did not say in German “Ich mochte die Romish-Katholische kirche verlassen”? Is there anything else I need to say in German in order to procure my leaving cert? I’d prefer to avoid having to pay for a translator. Obviously I’m new to Munich and don’t have many German speaking friends yet who might otherwise help.
Hi Julia. This is quite weird. Why would you need a translator; you are representing yourself and it’s not part of the requirements indicated by the Finanzamt. I doubt what this person was correct. She probably didn’t want to deal with you. Maybe you can prepare a letter announcing your intent in German beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings, if you don’t have any German speaking friends to come with you.
Hi, thanks for this useful information! I am living in Nordrhein Westfalen so I had to go to the Amtsgericht and now I got the Bescheininung. From what I have been reading my employer will need a copy of the document (so far so good). But what about the Finanzamt? Do I have to go there or send a copy of the document, or should I simply wait that the Amtsgericht and the Finanzamt communicate automatically? Thank you
Hi Sofia. It’s probably better to call your Finanzamt directly and ask them as the rules may be different where you live.
Hi, I’m not German, I’m baptized but I don’t go to the church. Recently I’ve received a form to fill from Finanzamt, I’ve already said before in my anmeldung that I’m not catholic, but it seems that they want to confirm. Should I say that I’m not baptized? If I do that, have they a way to confirm?
Hi Marisa. This double check can sometimes happen. If you were baptized outside of Germany, i doubt they will have any way to check it.
Apologies if this question is a little naive, but I’ve always heard that if we excommunicate ourselves, we are then officially excommunicated from the Vatican church, which is a reason why a lot of people I know are reluctant to do so. Or are do these records only stay in Germany?
I don’t know about that, I’d think that these only have to do with taxes and the government, not the actual Church.
If you by chance know, is it in this way possible to leave only the churches mentioned above or it can be done for churches that are not in the list yet (one does not pay tax to the Orthodox Christian church yet, but that may not be the case in 5 years).
Thank you in any case!
Hi Ana. That’s a good question. I guess that if this really does happen, the procedure will then be the same. I doubt however that you can do it before-hand.
Thanks, really helpful article!
Can you please clarify one thing for me? I am an exchange student under DAAD, and I get monthly scholarship which is not taxable. Today I received some letter from the Evangelische Kirsche in the neighborhood about some money I need to pay. I am not part of/joined the Church. What do I do?
Hi Samantha, there is a chance you were registered by mistake when doing your Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt. You can check this if you kept a copy of the form. The process to not pay the tax is detailed in the post.
Having worked in Germany for three years (since 2014) I have found out that I am paying tax for Roman Catholic since 2015. However I am have never been baptized as RC what should or can I do?
Hi Lucy. All yours answers are in the post already. This often happens to foreigners.