Tax return in Germany for foreigners made easy – Steuererklärung
Interactions with the finance authorities is almost always something we want to avoid. However, doing your tax return in Germany can not only be super easy, but also prove to be quite profitable. That’s right: you could probably expect to get a few hundred to a few thousand euros!
If the “how” is the part that worries you the most, let me assure you that Germany has come a long way the past few years. Foreigners have been blessed with many other way to do their tax return in Germany in English too.
So dive in with me into this broad introduction.
Even if it’s not your first year here, the average tax return in Germany is close to 1000€ nation-wide. Now that’s motivation!
The long road to your tax refund in Germany:
Before your panic when thinking “I haven’t done my tax return this year!”, let me assure you that there is good chance you won’t have any problems with your Finanzamt if you forgot to file a tax return. It might not be compulsory.
Should I be doing one?
It is compulsory for self-employed people. For employees, it is only compulsory if they are in one of the following situations:
Income sources
- Additional income (not from salary) higher than 410€ in total.
- Salary replacement income (like unemployment benefits, Elterngeld or Kurzarbeit Geld) higher than 410€ in total.
- More than one employer in the year.
- More than 2 salaries (like a full-time job and a minijob).
Family situation
- Married with tax classes 3 and 5, or both 4 “mit Faktor”. More info on tax classes here.
- Divorced and re-married the same year.
However, it’s almost always a good idea to submit a tax declaration in Germany, even you are not in the situations above. There are many ways to deduct expenses to lower your total taxable income, even as a student or when unemployed!
You have already paid your taxes throughout the year, now your job is to obtain as much refund as you can! I show you how in this guide.
How to do my tax return in Germany
Doing it on your own with Elster
You can skip to this part if you need help.
From 2022 on, the ministry of finance has made away with paper forms. It’s only possible to submit a tax declaration digitally. That’s where ELSTER comes in.
ELSTER (ELektronische STeuerERklärung) is the name of the free official tool edited by the ministry of finance you will use. With ELSTER you can:
- Find all the forms relevant to your situation (as listed below).
- Input your personal data securely.
- Save drafts at any point.
- Pre-fill some of your information to save time.
- Contact your local tax office directly.
- Receive your final tax assessment faster in digital form.
- Get an answer faster from the tax office.
- Easily have an accountant connect to your data.
- Bonus: Use built-in Chrome translate function to understand what the forms are about. rocessing of your info
This tool is relevant for all tax payer profiles: singles, students, couples, families, employed or freelancing.
This is how you sign-up for Elster:
- Navigate to elster.de and go to “Konto erstellen“.
- The most common option for foreigners is to receive a “certificate data” to start the account. Think of it as a key to prove your identity.
- Pick “Zertifikatsdatei” as an option & “Auswählen“
- Pick “Für mich“.
- Pick “Mit steuerlicher Identifikationsnummer“
- Enter your name, email & your tax ID, (not your Steuernummer, your tax iD. Read this guide about tax IDs for more details). Enter your user name, pick your security question and the answer to that question.
- Tick the terms and conditions box & click “Weiter“.
- A single use password will be sent by post to you within 10 days. With this, you will be able to download your certificate data on your computer & pick a permanent password.
- Every time you want to login on Elster, you’ll need to upload your data as well as using your user details.
Here are the most commons forms for tax return in Germany
If you are an employee , you need the following forms (e.g for 2022) :
- ESt 1A 2022 or (The main form that details general info like your address, iD nummer,etc)
- Anlage N 2022 (The form to detail your income as an employee)
- Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand 2022 (The form to detail your insurances)
If you are self-employed, you need the following forms (e.g for 2022) :
- Est 1A 2022
- Anlage S 2022 (Freelancers only)
- Anlage G 2022 (Gewerbetreibende only)
- Anlage USt 2022 (if you pay V.A.T)
- Anlage GeSt 1A 2022 (Gewerbetreibende only)
- Anlage EÜR
Other common forms include:
- Anlage Sonderausgaben: to document special expenses you want to put off in taxes. This would include pension contributions, education costs, donations and a lot more.
- Anlage Außergewöhnliche Belastung: to document “extraordinary” expenses in case of traumatic events, health issues or handicap.
- Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen: to document home related services expenses such as your cleaning professional or renovations.
- Anlage Kind: to document expenses related to your children.
- Anlage Unterhalt: to document financial support provided to other members of your household (eg: spouse, relatives with no income).
- Anlage V: to document rental income.
- Anlage AUS: to document income from outside Germany (except salary)
- Anlage N-AUS: to document salary income from outside Germany.
- Anlage AV: to document a Riester-supported pension scheme.
- Anlage VL: if you received or want to receive vermögenswirksame Leistungen.
- Anlage SO: in case you sold property that is not your primary residence, less than 10 years after purchase or pay alimony.
- Anlage KAP: to document income from financial assets.
- Anlage R: in case you are a retiree and want to submit a tax return in Germany.
- Anlage L: to document income from farming or forestry.
- Anlage U: to document alimony paid to ex-partners or spouses.
- Form “Einwilligung zur elektronischen Bekanntgabe“: this is where you specificy you want to receive your tax assessment in digital form only.
How to fill in Elster forms
Honestly from there, i will gladly direct you to one of the best guides made in English around by our good friends of ToyTown Germany. It’s a bit outdated, but it still gives a good overview. It is very neat, clear and complete to do your tax return in Germany in English properly. I don’t see how i could give better information on how to fill in all those forms.
I need help filling in my tax declaration in Germany, how does it work?
If you are not so good with numbers or a bit scared of doing mistakes because of the German language, there are other ways to do your tax return in Germany.
Good value for the money: self-help online platforms
If this is too much to do, there are also online tools that make it super easy to get your tax declaration in Germany right for a maximum return. New platforms have appeared the past few years to help expats do their taxes 100% in English. They offer the following:
- You can do your tax return in Germany in English.
- Your hand is really guided step-by-step with the tool in a clean interface.
- Check in real time how high your return will be.
- Save progress at any time when you register for a free account, only pay when you submit.
- Submit everything to the Finanzamt online directly.
- Call a English-speaking hotline if you have questions.
In that space, i would recommend the following 3 providers:
TaxFix (39,90€ per submission) or Wundertax (34,90€ per submission): Pick this if your situation is relatively simple: employee or student, no income from abroad, no income from rental, etc. The interface is particularly clean and aimed at high processing speed but they don’t support all profiles yet.
SteuerGo (30€ per submission): Pick this if your situation is a little more complex: self-employed, married with kids, income abroad, pensions, income from property etc. For self-employed people, it also lets you do additional forms like (Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (EÜR), Umsatz- und Gewerbesteuererklärung). Interface is a little noisier but it supports almost all profiles.
SteuerGo does not support one case: if you have had a foreign employer that year. In this case, you can turn to platforms like SmartSteuer which also supports that (No English though).
Worth it if you have a more complex situation: a Steuerberater
You can also turn to professional tax advisers in Germany for this. A Steuerberater is a trained agent capable of preparing, processing and submitting your tax declaration in Germany. They are accountants usually experienced into finding particular rules that is relevant to your tax profile to optimize your return. Even if their fees are controlled by certain laws, you usually have to pay a few hundred euros for their services. This is why it’s only relevant if your situation is a bit more complex like earning relatively well, being married, having kids, owning a house and having different sources of income. It’s also quite normal for freelancers and self-employed persons to have one.
Full guide on how to find a good English-speaking Steuerberater (in Berlin or anywhere else in Germany).
I am ready to submit my tax return, what now?
If you have decided to go with paper, send all forms together to your Finanzamt, without forgetting to sign them. If you have signed-up with ELSTER already, it’s all a matter of a click. With self-help platforms, you will need to pay a fee in order to submit it to the Finanzamt.
After this is done, you will probably wait for 1 or 2 months before you get any answer. You will receive what is called a “Steuerbescheid“, which contains the final assessment made about you from the Finanzamt. Hopefully, a little ka-ching will appear on your bank account some weeks after that. You can now afford this awesome ebike you spotted, or else, paying for your next trip back home.
Alternatively, the Finanzamt might ask you to provide proof for certain things you stated in the forms, or provide additional documents. In this case, expect even more processing times. Make sure to submit a response in time! Here again, if you need more time to gather those documents, you can simply ask for a little more time.
Freelancers – Make your life easier by using a book keeping software
All bookkeeping software sold in Germany use the same standards than the tax advisors do. This means that you can easily let somebody access your data and do the hard work for you. No need to go over each details, saving you and your Steuerberater a lot of time. And this is not even talking about all the time and stress it can save you in the day-to-day business. I have reduced my time spent on bookkeeping by 80%.
You can find recommendations for book keeping software here.
The impact of the Corona crisis on your tax return in Germany
You need to account for support your received
Living in Germany has been a blessing during Corona times. The country has had a healthy budget in order to support freelancers, companies & employees with support packages. Many of us have received support with public money in one way or another.
The money you have received from the German authorities need to be accounted for in the tax return made for 2020 and 2021. This could come under different forms. Some examples:
- Kurzarbeit Geld: if your employer reduced your hours, the German state has compensated for your lost income in the form of Kurzarbeit Geld.
- Corona grants/aid/support money for freelancers: This has taken different names like Corona Zuschuss, Überbrückungshilfe, Neustarthilfe or Härtefallhilfe. In some cases, the application had to be done by your Steuerberater, so they would know where/how to include it for you. For this you use the new “Corona Hilfen” form. Those aids are also to be accounted in your general profit statement (EÜR/Gewinnermittlung).
- Compensation due to legal restrictions: you could not work because of restrictions measure (Infektionsschutzgesetz Entschädigung)
- Krankengeld: if you were infected by the Corona virus and weren’t able to work because of it. You probably have received support money in this case too.
Basically anytime you received public money, it should appear in your tax declaration for that time window.
There is a chance you need to pay some of it back
You know how it all went. The times were uncertain, some measures had to be applied very fast. In some cases, German authorities have applied the rule: “Pay now, ask questions later”. This had the result to pay more to some that didn’t need after all. In this case, the Finanzamt might take this into account and ask some of it back.
For Kurzarbeit 50 for example; those who have worked partially within a month and only received short-time allowance for the lost part. In that case, the employer only withheld wage tax from half the salary.
Doing your tax return after leaving Germany for good
For a lot of us, our love affair with Germany might not last forever. In this case, there are plenty of items to take care of on your way out of the country. One of them is not to forget to do a tax declaration the year after you leave the country. Example:
I left Germany for Denmark in 2021. In 2022, I can still submit a tax return to the Finanzamt from Denmark, as a Danish resident.
Even if you aren’t a German resident by the time your submit your forms, you can still get money back. The process doesn’t change all that much. You just need to pay attention to these points:
- Use Elster or one of the providers listed above to send your documents to your Finanzamt digitally.
- Indicate your current/new address in your new country in the forms.
- Communicate your new bank account details:
- IBAN / BIC/SWIFT
- Bank name & address
- Bank account holder name
I personally checked with my tax consultant as well as with the Finanzamt: they have a internal process/protocol to handle tax returns for people located abroad, so there should not be any issues and everybody gets their money eventually. However, they do recommend to keep a German bank account to reduce potential costs and speed up the process.
Tax return Germany – FAQ
In theory, the deadline is to the 31st of July of the following year (for people that obligated by law to submit one). However, you can ask for an extension if you are short on time. Using a Steuerberater allows you to have even more time, as they have until February of the year after to do it (eg: a submission in Jul 2024 for the year 2023). Be aware that there is a penalty of 25€ per late month.
Important note: employees whose sole income are their salaries are not required by law to submit a tax return. This means that the deadline moves to 4 years in the future. For example, you can do your tax return in Germany for the year 2020 until the last day of 2024. Even more importantly:
As an employee, you can claim a tax return for up to 4 years prior the current year. Pretty handy if you forgot to do it those years to maximize return.
If you feel like you are running out of time, you can let your Finanzamt know before the 31st of July you need more time. They usually give you an extra 2 or 3 months to do your tax return in Germany. If you are working with a Steuerberater directly, they can even do until the year after!
If, like me, you love to play the optimization game, you are surely interested to know which expenses can be put off in taxes. I have made an overview of possible tax deductibles for Germany on this post, for employees, freelancers and students. Self-help platforms usually support most of them and help you make use of them.
It takes between 8-12 weeks for the Finanzamt to process your files and obtain your tax refund in Germany on your account. It’s usually quicker when sending everything out electronically. A poll made by a tax payer’s association uncovered the following waiting times to hear from the Finanzamt:
18 % have to wait about 6 weeks
32 % 6 to 12 weeks
32 % up to half a year
18 % longer than half a year
If you think the Finanzamt made a mistake to process your case, it is possible to protest and open a case (Einspruch) to explain your situation, within one month after receiving the Steuerbescheid.
When this happens, your wage is being taxed at the maximum rate possible. It is possible to get the difference between that rate and the normal rate back when doing your tax return the following year.
If it’s your first year in Germany, it’s very well possible that you don’t have a Steuernummer yet (although you should have a Steuer ID already. Yes, they are not the same confusingly enough. More on that here.) In this case, just leave this field empty, and the Finanzamt will assign you a Steuernummer after your tax declaration.
It used to be the case that the Finanzamt would request the tax payer to prove any and all expense stated in the tax declaration. As you can imagine, that was just lot of paper to process. These days, the Finanzamt will request proof on a case by case basis only, in case they have a doubt or if the amount is rather large.
Beware however that you should still be able to prove those expenses even after the tax return has been processed. It is recommended to keep all relevant receipts for 10 years, especially for freelancers.
The Finanzamt requires of all German residents to declare any and all income sources, even if they are coming from abroad and have nothing to do with your life here. If that income was already taxed from that country, you might avoid double-taxation if it has agreed to a tax treaty with Germany. If so, you can do that by filling the Anlage AUS – Ausländische Einkünfte for your declaration. More info about that here.
Absolutely, you can do a tax return in Germany for the year you left the country. The Finanzamt will transfer you the money in your foreign account if you give them all the necessary information, and a specific request to do so. You will very likely support the costs of the transfer on your own.
I hope this overview helped you to get started on your tax return in Germany. Feel free to ask questions in the comments. All comments are read. Answers in the comments do no constitute professional advice and should not be treated as such. When comments can’t be answered, i usually recommend other solutions or resources. 🙂
Hello Bastein,
Thanks for your posts 🙂 I moved to Germany last year May and currently has a tax category of 3.
1.Can ELSTER take care of the foreign employment of that year?
2. Are language classes tax deductible for my non working spouse?
Thanks in advance.
Hey 1. Yes. 2.I donÄt know.
Hi, I am a research scientist who moved to the USA two months ago, and currently live there. Previously, I was in Germany for 8 years. I am going to take the tax treaty option between US and Germany, and therefore do not pay the US tax here. My question to you is if in that case, I should pay tax to Germany, and if I should do the Steuererklaerung remotely (even though I do not live in Germany anymore, do not plan to go back to Germany, and do not have any income in Germany).
Hey Diana. You can do a tax return for the years before your departure yes, but i am not aware of how you opting in for this treaty would be impacting that…
Hello,
I am expat, I work and live in Germany for several years and pay all the taxes locally here.
My question is about the taxation of the interest in foreign bank taking into account that the rate Foreign_Curr/Euro was changed dramatically over past years.
For example, if you put 100k Local_Curr to deposit in 2014 and get it back in 2017, the Bank will pay you something about 110.000 Local_Curr (about 2% yearly). So you can report to Finansamt this number (12.000 Local_Curr ) as your interest from abroad.
However if you look on Foreign_Curr/Euro pair for the same period you can recognize, that in 2014 you had 100k Local_Curr = 20k EURO and in 2017 you have 110k Local_Curr = 29k EURO because of pair rate that year. So, in EURO you have about 9k EURO interest.
Will FA require you report about your foreign interest in EURO or in your local currency for the day of report? Is there any official law/rule?
Thank you in advance
Hey Tom. This is a bit beyond my knowledge sorry. My best guess is that it matters what you got in your bank account, in euros at the time of the last day of the reporting.
Hi! This is great!
My wife just got a job in another city. We were in III (me) and V (she). Now she is going to earn more than me (around 60% to 40% of the total income). 2 questions:
1- is it worht to change now to me being on V and her on III?
2- TO which office do we have to submit the form to? to the one where I live now or to the one where she lives now??
Thanks for your help!
Hey Paul. 1- That’s why the calculator is there. You can decide with a little simulation. 2- Excellent question. You don’t have the same place of residence?
Hi all,
I moved to Germany recently on Blu Card VISA from Inida . I am married but my wife did not came with me . She will join me next year .
Am i eligible for tax class 3 or tax class 1?
Hey Sushant. You wife needs to be in Germany for you to be on a 3/5 combo with her.
Being a foreigner, I have worked in Munich, Germany for 6 months only in 2014. Am I eligible to claim my tax refund now?
Hey Vanjia. No that’s too late.
Thank you for the article.
I’m registered in Bonn but live and work in Munich for now.
Should I write my address in Bonn or Munich for the tax return?
I would rather come to the Finanzamt here in Munich and save the cost in time and money of going to Bonn.
Hey Ana. Your Finanzamt is located where you live, so Bonn.
Good day. I worked in germany in 2018, I live in France, my employer declared my tax, completed the tax return forms with me and ordered me to send it by post, which I did. Now it’s more than two months ago and I am yet to receive the tax return or any message of any kind from them in germany. So what do I do? And are you sure they will refund the money to me, since I live in France and only worked in germany through a job agency.
Hey Franklin. Processing times can be long. I can’t tell about your situation in particular because i don’t know the precise arrangements.
Hi, Bastian. I really hope for some help, desperately needed. The whole 2018. I was working from Germany for one Norwegian company online. I have a contract of permanent employment and I pay all my taxes here in Germany since I lived here. Now I have to pay the taxes for the previous whole year. The problem is I started paying for my other contributions (pension, health ins. etc) in Germany from 20. February, and before that it was paid in Norway (January and 20 days in Feb). So my problem now is how do I present this in Steuergo f.ex. Because if I don’t include the contributions I paid in Norway in Jan and Feb my tax to pay is pretty high. Totally lost, and late, guilty as charged. Thanks in advise.
Hey Miki. I have no idea for cases like this. Maybe speak to a professional or look at this post?
Hi Bastein,
I am an Indian passport holder and I was in Germany on a work permit Visa from 25.11.2017 to 24.05.2018.
Am I eligible for Income tax return for 2018, If I had left Germany on 24.05.2018?
If yes can you please point out to the document which state the same.
Thanks in advance for the help
Hi Bastein,
Here my situation:
I moved to Germany in may.2019 with my wife. She isn’t working here in Germany.
Until now, I’ve been charging as Category I but I’m asking to change to Category 3.
Since I’m the only one that is working I think that it was a mistake be charged as Category 1.
Could I request a refund for this months that I’ve being charged as category 1?
Hey Fabio. You can do this via your tax returns, next year.
I am separated and we filed jointly until 2017. My question is, do I have to declare my spousal support? I have tried the online filing and it doesn’t list this item as “extra income”.
Hey Jean. You would need to use the Anlage Unterhalt (Anlage U) to enter this type of income for your tax declaration.
Hi Bastein,
Firstly, thank you for the post as it is very useful. My questions are:
1) For the first time if I am doing my tax returns is the deadline July’19 or can I do anytime in this year. I want to declare tax return for 2017 and 2018.
2) I want to add my tuition fess which occurred from Oct 2015 until Oct 2017 (I paid in installments) but in which year tax return should I add them? (In the year 2017 I started working therefore I have details to file my tax return from this year)
Thank you.
Hey DP. 1) As mentioned in the post. The July deadline is only for self-employed people. 2) From the year you were considered a German resident, liable for income tax here in my opinion.
Hi! Thank you for an awesome and helpful article!
I have a question myself, and I hope you can take a couple of minutes to answer it, I’d really appreciate that!
I’m a non-EU citizen, and I’ve been working with a valid permit and valid Steuernumber, tax ID and whatever. I’ve worked in Berlin for 3 months and my employer was handling my taxes normally. I’ve received a better job offer in Sweden, and I’ll be moving out of Germany in August, so my question would be: Am I entitled to any tax refunds for this 3 months of work? If yes, do you think using SteuerGo as a way to pursue the tax refund is a good idea?
Many thanks in advance!
Hey Fabian. If you were considered a German resident and liable for income tax here during that time, then yes. You can use anyway you think is best.
Hi, I sent for my 2017 tax via SteuerGo in Jan/Feb 2019, and it said i was due to receive a refund of nearly 1k.
Happy days, however in March I received a letter to say I needed to give more information, but it was not clear on what I needed, so I just left it. Fast forward to now, July, I received a new letter to say I owe them 1k!!
My friend called them and because I had missed the deadline in March, and I should have received a breakdown of the tax in June but I never, they estimated my tax in the end and now I owe them money 🙁
Is there a way I can get this upheld, or re do my tax properly for 2017, or pay for it and claim it back etc?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Hey Pete. As mentioned in the post, if you aren’t satisfied with the outcome, you can always open a case (Einspruch) for them to reconsider it, within one month of receiving your Steuerbescheid. It might be better to use a Steuerberater if you were not sure about what to provide. Good luck!
Hi,
I have already moved back to UK but on taxfix app it is asking for my German address. Should I give my old German address and UK bank details?
Thanks
Paul
Hey Paul. I’m not familiar with this app so i can’ tell sorry.
This is a very helpful article. Thanks. I have one question though for which I couldn’t find any info on the net so far (at least in English) – I was sent a notification to make an advance tax payment by the Finanzamt for 2018, based on my returns filed for 2017. I made that payment in January 2019. Now while filing the return for 2018, I am not able to figure out in which form and section can I provide that detail. I couldn’t find that in Anlage N, for example. Can you please help me with that? Thanks..
Hey S. Which tax are you talking about now? Income tax? That’s not very likely for employees.
Hi,
I am taxed on category 1 and I believe there is a tax free allowance of 9,168 Euro per year. Is this amount claimed back on a yearly basis when I claim my taxes or automatically calculated on my monthly payroll.
Regards
Jo
Hey Jo. Your employer is precalculating your income tax “load” and taking it from your payroll monthly.
Hey, Bastien, thanks for the information.
I worked from October 2018 for 3 months with a wrong tax class, so the problem is to get back the difference. Which documents (I suppose, copies should be enough?) do I have to add to the filled forms?
Hey Filip. You’d get the money automatically by filling in the info from the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung given to you by your employer.
Hi,
I had a question. So I used SteuerGo to submit my tax return. I didn’t apply for this special certificate from Elster. I filed it anyway (sending a copy of the generated tax return form) to the Finanzamt 2 months ago. My question is will my tax return be considered then?
Is this certificate mandatory to file the return?
Thank you for your time.
Hey Malini. I’m not i understood the question: you’d need that Elster certificate to use Elster. But you have used SteuerGo… Not sure what the question is….
Hello,
I was a Student studying masters in Germany from September 2016-May 2019. I paid 20000€ as my tuition fees. I heard it is possible to Claim part of this tuition fees as tax return when I start my Job. Since I am currently working, how should I proceed with the tax return of my tuition fees? I tried using Websites like wundertax für studierende, but I am confused if its applicable for foreigners studying in Germany? Also do I just have to submit Information on the Website or do I have to also post any documents to the Finanzamt?
Also during my masters studies I worked as Student Hiwi for 11 months (>450€) and did an internship for around 6 months.
Hey there. If you are/were a German resident, then you can do your tax return and the same rules apply, regardless of your nationality.
Hi Bastien,
Thank you so much for your article!
I moved to germany last year for a new job, and was taxed during the first month at the max (tax category 6) since I didn’t have a tax Id yet.
Now the tax category got fixed the next month after receiving my tax id and became category 1.
So I filed my tax returns to get back the over-taxed amount of the first month, and after a few months I receive a letter from the finanzamt asking me to send them the proof of income on my home country (outside EU) of last year before moving to germany so they can calculate how much they’ll give me back.
I am quite confused by their request as I fail to see the relationship between my previous income outside the EU and the income of my first month of work in germany. It seems to me that since I have a tax id now, it would be straightforward to calculate what I should get.
Could you please advise?
Thank you!
Hey Josh. This is about your whole tax return and not the tax class/category, which btw, only controls your income tax rate on your payslip. They would need that info regardless of your situation the first month.
Hello,
I worked in Germany 3 months in an financial year 2018 and earned 17000EUR.
Could you please let me know approximately how much tax should I pay.
Hey there. Have you looked at this post about income tax in Germany yet?
Hello dear people! I’m leaving Germany on 30th June with my wife, and we both have worked i Germany for 6 months exactly. We will receive our Lohnsteuerbescheinigung with our last salary statement. I’m wondering if I can submit for a tax return immediately, or do we have to wait for end of financial year? We are both EU citizens, and still have an open German bank account, however we will not be returning to work in Germany in foreseeable future. Thoughts? Love your work!
Hey Vlado. The forms for next year are not out yet. You need to wait until next year.
Hello,
I worked in Germany from March 1s 2018 to may 26th 2019 ,I earned around 17000EUR ,and paid around 3700 EUR ,now from my employer side I claiming tax return from Germany.
How much tax refund o can get approximately.
By the way ,I’m single and not belongs to church
tax.
Hey Bheema. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Not possible for me to say on so litte details sorry.
Hi Bastien ! 🙂
I don’t know what to do in my situation, I left Germany last year.
I worked with a German contract from middle 2016 to early 2018 (February), I made my Steuererklarung with Steuergo but now the finanzamt asked me what was my foreign income in 2016 when I moved to Germany (was zero, only German salary) and my foreign income in 2018 after I left, but again I made some tour around the globe and didn’t got any salary appart one for 15 days in september (1900$ in Canada).
I had also many exepenses for relocation at the end of the year in December, is there a way to consider that ?
Should I say zero for 2016 and just give my pay slip in 2018 ? I didn’t make any tax declaration in other countries than Germany from 2016 to 2018.
Thanks a lot !
Peter
Hey Peter. Relocation expenses can be put off in taxes yes. You should proceed as you suggested, no foreign income in 2016 and that wage in 2018.
Sorry from March 1st 2018 to may 26th 2018
Hi Bastein,
Recently I read in an article that if a student’s salary exceeds around 8,500 Euros annually, then he/she is not eligible to get tax refund. I am a working student and my annual salary exceeded 10,000 Euros in 2018. The monthly tax that was deducted was mostly around 9.5%. So am I eligible for getting any money back? If yes, then approximately, how much tax will be deducted or how much money should I expect to get back?
Thank you and best regards!
Hi there Bastien,
This blog is very very useful so thank you for keeping this going!
Here’s an overview of my situation and my question:
– In May 2018 my wife and I legally separated. We have 2 children together (4&6yrs) and they now live with my wife. In Feb 2019 we agreed that our marriage was irreconcilable.
This year when it came to submitting my tax return, I was informed by LHP, our joint tax advisors, that this needed to be done jointly as we are still legally married.
During the initial discussion with our tax advisor he realized that as a consequence of our separation they should have applied for a change to my tax class from 3 to 1 at the end of 2018.
This was realized approximately one month ago and last week I received a letter from the finanzamt stating my tax class had now been change from 3 to 1.
1, Firstly, does the above series of events make sense to you?
2, Should my tax class have been changed at the end of the year or at the legal end of our marriage?
3, Will I have to pay back the variance (~500 euro per month) from being in class 3 when I should have been in class 1 for the last 6 months?
I am very grateful for any advice you are able to offer.
Hey Jason. Follow your tax advisor’s advice. He is a lot more qualified than me.
Hello Bastein
I have to file taxes for 2018 but i changed companies in 2018 and now I have 2 separate Lohnsteuerbescheinigung from the companies. To file taxes for 2018 do i file them separately?
Best
Karan
Hi, I got unemployment money partially in 2017 and 2018 and the amount for each of those years is high so im obliged to make the tax declaration for both years. can i do it on my own withouth steuerberater now in may 2019? or do i get a fine to pay for being late for the 2017 one? thanks
Hey Giulia. It’s not necessary to use a Steuerberater but you can of course use one if you don’t feel up to the task. It is possible that you need to pay a fine, depending on your case you might need to pay 25€ per late month. Maybe a Steuerberater could help you avoid this fine, possibly?
Hi Bastein,
I am from India. I worked in germany from September 2017 to Feb 2018. I have applied for tax return for 2018 completing all the process and submitting all the required documents suggested by steuergo. Now Finanzamt is asking to submit for some NON-EU form. I have no idea how to get it. Could you please help me to understand what is it and how will I get it?
Hey Jawed. This is quite hard for me to give you pointers on such a vague description. Do they need the form (Anlage) AUS or N-AUS?
where I can find Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand and Anlage N for 2018 form??
Hey Clare. As mentioned in the post, go there and click on the right-hand menu “Einkommensteuer 2018 mit allen Anlagen”. Good luck.
Hello,
Very interesting article. After some years working in Germany, last year I moved to Spain. Last year I contracted a Steuerberater to do the tax declaration of 2017, however I did not get any answer from Finanzamt yet and my Steuerberater is not answering. I am trying to get in touch with my Finanzamt in order to know the status of my declaration because it seems that it is blocked somehow.
Do you have any idea how to unblock my situation?
Thanks a lot for your feedback
Hey Dolores. Now that you worked with a Steuerberater for that year, you signed off a mandate so he/she would represent you to the Finanzamt. He has to reply to you by law, so keep trying, i guess? Are you in Spain still now?
Hi Bastian,
I have moved abroad, would the Finanzamt refund the money to a friend’s account in Germany? Or they only refund to my own account abroad?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Hyun. I don’t see any limitations that the account has to be under the same name. Best is to ask the Finanzamt directly.
Hi Bastein,
Here my situation:
I have worked in India Jan 2018 to September 2018 then I moved to Germany and I’m working currently in a full-time job. I have filled Tax for 2018 Jan to December 2018 in Germany (including earning in India from Jan 2018 to Sep 2018 and Oct 2018 to Dec 2018 in Germany). TAX retun was filled in the end of February 2019 then I have received a letter from Finanzamt and they are asking to provide an Indian employer pay slip at mid of March. Again I have shared all the relevant document in the first week of April. I have two questions;
Still how long I have to wait to get a refund from finanzamt?
Is it possible to change bank account details now?
Many Thanks.
Hey Raja. Can’t really tell about refund delay. Look at the article again. Get in touch with the Finanzamt to see if it’s possible to change the bank account but i doubt it.
Hi Bastien,
I’m posted in Germany for a period where I receive my salary from Sweden.
Due to the double tax agreements, I don’t have to pay income tax in Sweden, which means I get my gross salary paid. Instead, I have to pay the income tax by myself in Germany.
In the tax return, I figured line 21 in Anlage N, “Taxable wages from which no tax deduction has been made”, could suit.
However, with another EU agreement, my employer still pays for my health insurance as well pensions and with the agreement I’m covered by the German health insurance by this. What I can’t understand is how I file the tax return Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand.
Would you have any idea?
Hey Oscar. Sorry, this stretches a bit beyond my humble knowledge.
Hello,
I have done my tax filing in 2018 and it was done incorrectly.. and incorrect return has been processed by finzamt now.
Can i re-submit my tax return in this case ?
Hey Nikhil. Yes, you can ask to rectify your submission and to be considered again.
Hi Bastein,
A friend filed his 2018 returns. He arrived Germany in August, worked from Oct. till Dec. For which he filled the returns.
They Finanzamt replied with a letter asking for proof of income from abroad during the tax year, 2018.
Is that necessary for getting returns, also what would be the appropriate response to such letter.
His city is Düsseldorf.
While coming in his source of income was the amount in his bank account, so he did not state he still had a job while moving here.
Thanks in anticipation,
Hey Henry. Typically, it could be a tax statement from his home country.
Hi Bastein,
My situation is the following:
I had one employment (Tax class 1) and one mini job (450 euro),
Should I add mini job amount to my income during declaration?
Hey Alex. All income needs to be accounted for.
Hi Bastien,
I was completing my taxes for 2018 with wundertax and it said that I need to have a German address to file online. I’ve already left Germany over a year ago. Do you know how I can still file my taxes if I’m living in Canada now? Thanks in advance!
Hi Bastien,
Just finished filling in everything on SteuerGo and submitting it too. I am a full time employee and everything seems fine so far, but I am not sure I understand which papers I need to send in by post. While they state that I am finished and my tax refund application is done and submitted, the website also provides a list of documents that need to be sent in but on the same exact page they write that these don’t need to be sent. (Clearly something got confused in the translation) So just to be sure, is the compressed tax return paper+written letter application all that I need to send in? do I have to include the Lognsteuerbescheinigungs as well? Or anything else? Do I have to send in anything at all? Thanks in advance, your help is much appreciated!! 🙂
Hey Mike. I wished i had a simple answer but it depends on your case in the end. Can’t really tell sorry. Maybe ask SteuerGo directly with your reference number?
Hello there,
Currently I am a student.
I have a student part-time job with tax class 1. I am also developing the mobile application, I do earn money from that apps too and it has no tax class the money come from the Google.
My question is so do I need to declare the earning that come from the google(Internet) or do I need to pay tax for that google earnings ?
Hey Umesh. You need to declare all income as a resident in Germany. Your side gig would probably considered a business so maybe you should register as one (more info here).
Hello
I filed my tax return for 2017 using elster a month back. I received from the Finanzamt a tax assessment confirmation. Do I need to send anything to the Finanzamt via post for example my payslips ?
Hey Karan. No, you should only send something in if they request something specific from you.
Hi Bastien,
great website with lots of information. Thank you for that. I have a question regarding tax for non-resident. Together with my wife, we were living and working in Germany for some time. Last year we moved to the UK, my wife moved in March and since then she started to work in the UK. I moved in May and I was receiving German unemployment benefit II for half a year and did not have any other income from the UK. Previous years we always did our tax return with SteuerGo but now I have big problems with filling my wife’s income from the UK. I assume we are should be considered as non-residents for last year since we both spend less than half a year in Germany. Do you know in which point to fill up income from the UK as a non-resident?
Thank you for any help.
Hey Krsysztof. I would not know sorry. Maybe reach out to them directly.
Hi Bastein,
i have not yet submitted my tax returns for the year 2017. and meanwhile I moved to Berlin from my last place near dusselsorf. so my question where should i submit my tax returns for the year 2017? in berlin or dusseldorf?
Hey deep, you should submit it wherever your current residence is.
Hello! I’m in need of some huge help so thanks in advance. I’ve lived in Berlin for 1 year and I’ve worked 6 months in a Part time job, all legal. I left the country in October’s 2017 (with the Abmeldung), but I still didn’t take care of the taxes. Is It mandatory even though it was a part time job? How can I do it? Will I get some refund? For 6 months the total was like 3.000€ and something euros.
Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.
Best,
Joana
Hey Joana. As stated in the post, if this was your only income, it is not mandatory.
Hi, Bastein
I have a question. I am self employed. And I didn’t made a tax decleration jet for 2017, and today I received a letter from finanzamt. Kind a informative, something about 5000 euros. My incomes was around 16.000 that year.
Is that could be true, 5000 euros ?!
KR
Hey Zane. Impossible for me to say on such little details sorry.
Hi Bastien,
I have started working as a Phd student since July 2015 and I have never done the tax return in Germany. Last year, due to some organizational changes I had to change my contract from MPI to University of Munich. I did not know when my employer is changed, I am obligated to do the tax return and I have never received a letter from finanzamt that I have to do it though. Now the question is whether it is possible to do the tax return for 2015 or not ? what will happen when I had to the tax return but I did not do it since 2018 ?
thank you so much in advance.
Hey Siavash. Yes, you can still do 2015. You might receive a fine if you had to do it, but didn’t do it.
Hello,
I have a short question: Since I am married, but my wife and I are employed differently – she is a freelancer, while I am on a full-time contract. Do we have to file our tax returns separately or file them together as a family unit?
Thanks,
Yanis
Hey Yanis. Both options are possible.
Hi Bastien,
I was wondering if you could write some information about tax return for the doctoral students who are working while studying on their thesis at university or research institute.
Many thanks.
Hey Fatemeh. Would you direct me the right information if you have experience on this?
Hello i am currently living and working in Germany. I decided to buy here property and started to bring money in Germany that i have saved back home. I have deposited them in a Tages konto and get no interest on them. Do i need to declare them in my income tax? Or is there a tax i have to pay?
My second question concerns parents giving money gifts to the children. According to german law parents can gift up to 400kwithout being taxed. Do any of this amounts must be declared. Thank ypu
Hi Bastien,
Thanks for the website. I ‘ve worked as a full-time employee in Germany since Nov. 2016 while I am a student in Germany. I’ve decided to quit my job next month and return to my home country, Iran. Since, I am not a permanent residence in Germany. Should I only fill the ESt 1 V 2018 and Anlage N 2018? what a bout the year of 2017 and 2019? Thanks in advance
Hey Jeen. Permanent residency has no impact on whether or not you can do a tax return. You were effectively a German resident. If you haven’t done that already, you can do all years from 2016 to 2018.
Hi Bastien
I think you have helped lots of english speakers in Germany by this website and thanks for that. I was wondering if you could let me know that SteuerGo is an application for submitting the documents or only estimation of the money that we got?
Best,
Jeen
Hey Jeen. They also submit the documents on your behalf as well.
Hi Bastein
You have written “Important note: employees whose sole income are their salaries are not required by law to submit a tax return. ” Would you please let me know where I can find an official document which mention this?
Many thanks
Hey Mohammad. That would be here.
Dear Bastein
I am so thankful for your response. However, I was not able to find this code: “employees whose sole income are their salaries are not required by law to submit a tax return” or something close to this in the link given in your response.
I am living in Canada now and the Canadian Revenue asked me to either provide the notice of assessment from Germany for the tax year that I was in Germany or show them on official document that I didn’t need to file my tax return. I don’t have the notice of assessment of my tax in Germany since, as you wrote, I have been told be my colleagues that I don’t need to file the tax return since my only income was my wage. This is why, I am trying to find this code and I spend hours to find it in internet, and any help would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks again
Hey Mohammad. Well i don’t know what else to give you. The page i linked to is the actual piece of law stating who should or shouldn’t submit a tax return. Sorry.
Hi Bastein,
Here my situation:
In 2018 i had in Austria a half time job . From september i moved to Germany and I’m working currently in a full time job.
My question: For the Steuererklärung, do you think I should declare what I worked in Austria, or should i only declare the things from the point i moved in in Germany (september untill december)?
Thanks for the information.
If one participates in User Testing, do you declare that as well?
And what about pet sitting services in your free time? If you use a platform like Pawshake or catinaflat, how do you declare this income?
Hey Victoria. I can’t be sure here but if you do this on a regular basis, you ought to be registered as a freelancer don’t you think?
Hi Bastien, I have been living in Germany since 2016. I was a student in 2017 without US or German taxable income, so I did not file a return for either country in 2017. In February 2018, I received employment with a German company that has withheld all German-relevant taxes. I also worked for a contractor located in the USA during 2018 resulting in 1099-MISC income exceeding the non-taxable threshhold. I know that I must complete a federal US tax return and will claim the “foreign earned income exclusion” for the wages received from my German employer. I have used both H&R Block and Turbo Tax to generate my tax return information: H&R Block was a little unclear on whether the 1099-MISC income could be included as “foreign earned,” but Turbo Tax was more clear in that it defined “foreign earned income” as any income that was earned by a tax person while in a foreign country (which would apply to my situation) despite the location of the employer. I will need to complete the German tax documentation in English and plan to utilize SteuerGo for this, but I wanted to check to see if you beleive that my decision to include the 1099-MISC as “foreign earned” on my US return is okay, or if on the other hand, you think it would be better for me to exclude the 1099-MISC income from the “foreign earned income exclusion” on my US return, pay taxes on that income in the US at US tax rates, and then claim the taxes paid in the US on the 1099-MISC income as a credit on my German tax return based on the US-German Tax Treaty. If I do pay the taxes in the US as opposed to Germany, will this likely save me some money, or does this scheme unecessarily complicate my German tax return?
Hey Jason. Sorry, this is way out of my league. You should get in touch with a pro.
Hello, I worked as a work-student in GERMANY ( year 2017 and 2018).
I submitted tax return form, and I got the tax return only for the year of 2018.
I thought that I will get for the year of 2017 and 2018 both.
Now is it possible to apply for 2017 ?As I receive tax return only for the year 2018.
Hey Debo. Yes.
Hi there Bastien and Everyone 🙂
It is this time of the year and, like always, I have been trying to delay it but it’s time to do my taxes. These days are always are dark and full of terror for me.
I am in a bit of a pickle and thought that maybe somebody here could help me out a bit. So last year was my first year in Germany. From January 2018 till October 2018 I was employed by a bilingual nursery where I had a contract and worked part-time (25h) …to make ends meet and make a bit more money I also worked as an English teacher on a freelance basis and made less than 450€ extra a month. I don’t think I made more than 1500€ in total.
To make things even more complicated I got married in September 2018 (didn’t change my Steuerklass until December 2018) and was officially unemployed and claimed some benefits in November 2018 after we moved to another city in Germany. In December I found a full time job and have been working on a contract ever since…
This is all making my head spin now as I don’t know if I can use just ELSTER to report all my incomes. If yes, should I use one form or two different forms (one for my contracted work and the other one for my freelance stuff)? Or perhaps I should use another platform apart from Elster? I would love to employ a tax adviser but I feel I’m not earning enough to afford one.
Any insight into this would be much appreciated 🙂
Thank you in advance and I wish you a lovely day!
Hey Alexandra. I’d advise you to go with one of the self-help platforms then. You will need to fill a few more forms out. You need to make sure to declare any and all of them.
Hi Bastien,
Thank you very much for the time you are dedicating to this topic. I have a question as well. in 2018 i worked in Italy from January to September then i moved to Germany where i have been working since October 2018. I will file my tax return in Italy for the first 9 months of 2018, could i declare the last 3 months here in Germany without mentioning the Italian salary of 2018 since for that period i will be paying taxes in Italy?
Thank you for your time!
Marco
Hey Marco. Have you had a look at this post to avoid double taxation?
Hi. I am working in metall firma from 3years and now my treatment is running on because I got accident in company while working period in company and doctor has done operation of my hand and put metall in my bones due to os fracture and doctor has told me to leave this work .so,I was thinking to go back to my own county .please help me how to take my 3years tax and insurance money back?
Hey Suraj. I think you want to have a look this post.
I run a small business in UK, we need to do VAT return in Germany since we use Germany local warehouse to send out orders. Here we come accross a problem while applying for an Elster account. The activation code post never arrived..We contact Elster, they say the activation code post will ONLY be sent to our UK address, not even an authorized representative in Germany, and they also refused to fax this activation code letter to us.. Anyone has any idea?
Hello
I just filed by tax return for 2018 using Elster. My question is when we use Elster , the data is automatically sent to the Finanzamt correct? I don’t need to take a print out and sign anything to the Finanzamt correct ?
Hey Karan. Yes.
Hi Bastien,
Thank you for all the info! I am an American citizen working in Germany. I never made income in the US (I was a dependent of my parents), so I never needed to file a tax return there. My first (and current) job in Germany was starting in 2018. From what it seems like in your post, I don’t actually have to file a tax return in Germany. What do I do regarding this US tax return? Do I need to file a tax return in Germany for me to file a tax return in the US proving that I made no income in the US but made this income in Germany? I’m finding confusing information online, and I’m not sure what to do. I would appreciate any help you could give!
Hey Gigi. Americans are the subject to an unfortunate exception. I’m not very knowledgeable on the matter so i would just advise you to search what your local embassy says.
Hi Bastein…Can you provide the link to Anlage AUS – Ausländische Einkünfte here again. I seem to have some problem and the link is not opening.
Hey Rounak. You can find that on the official website listed in the post too.
Hi Bastien,
I was working for a German employer for a year until January 2019 on Blue Card and submitted my tax declaration through https://www.germantaxes.de/ and received the confirmation that the application is submitted to Finanzamt.
It’s been more than 2 months and haven’t received my refund yet. There is no support option on the https://www.germantaxes.de/ website.
I’ve left the country already the day after I quit the Job in January. How do I contact or check my application status. Please let me know.
Hey there. This website is operated by Wundertax: get in touch with them.
Hi Bastien,
Thank you for this wonderful post. I have the following situation if you could help. I was a student last year and did my internship from April-July and I was paid 4*1500 during that period, my company deducted the taxes from my income. Then I finished my study and started a full-time job from August. So from August onwards I paid 5*502 euro as taxes. Now I’m not sure how I’ll submit my tax return after working under two different employers and receiving uneven salaries. Do I need to fill two Anlage N 2018? Or you would recommend a Steurberater? My tax class is 1, single, no child if that helps. Thank you.
Hey Zaman. Yes, two Anlage N would be the way. and use your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung from each of your employer for each of them.
Hi Bastien,
I have a question regarding pension payments. I am employee and as such pay compulsory pension payments (deducted from salary) e.g. lines 22 and 23. However, I also pay into a private pension with a third-party (Allianz), do I need to include these payments in my tax-return and if so, where do I include these details?
Many thanks for the great guide!
Hey Nathan. If i am correct, that would belong to the Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand Anlage, line 46 to 50.
Hi, for a foreign student in Germany, if in a year 5 months I have done my thesis (Master Arbeit) which was a mandatory part of my studies and was done in a company. For this work, the company paid me 800 euro per month salary which was tax-free and I got exactly 800 without any deduction. This was done after they submitted a document from my university to finanzamt and they didn’t take any tax from this salary.
Later in that year, I graduated and joined a company on a full-time job and paid taxes.
Now I wonder that 5 months salary 800×5 = 4000EUR will this be included on my gross income while calculating whole year taxable income? or this Master thesis income is not part of this gross income? Because I did not pay any tax on this amount, but I wonder while calculating my gross annual income will this be added and affect my overall tax return?
Thank you for your suggestions in advance,
Hey Suri. Not sure about this one. I tried to do some research but couldn’t find anything conclusive. I would tend to agree with you: even though not income tax is applied on this amount, it would contribute to raise your total taxable income, and possibly increase the tax rate, depending on which tax brackets/threshold you are crossing.
Hi.
[… very long question edited by SiB Editor … please: i am not a Steuerberater]
Other question that I have is related to Steuernummer. I believe you get a new one, each time you move to a different region (that has a different Finanzamt
responsible). We lived for one month in one region of Berlin, and then after that we moved to another. We never got a new Steurnummers from Finanzamt, is that
something that you have to get by yourself, going there? Is there a chance that the Steurnummer gets updated automatically, and that HR at my company already
has it? Last, but not least, in the SteurGo app, they ask you if you got your newest Steurnummer. Is it a big problem if a click No, but they actually allocated
the new Steurnummer for me, and I am simply not aware (or well informed) of it?
Thanks in advance for any help on this matter!
Hey Vlad. If you are moving places within Berlin, you won’t be changing Steuernummer. As for the other very long question: please reach out to a pro if you are unsure. There are so many parameters: i can answer within a comments’ section.
Thanks !
Hi Bastien,
I’m sorry in advance for adding to all the questions you’re receiving! I moved here in July 2018, therefore I was employed in my home country before I moved. You say in your post that SmartSteuer supports having a foreign employer that year, however I’m not 100% sure what you mean by that. I think that means you’re referring to Anlage N-AUS and not my scenario, which requires Anlage WA EST? In which case, SmartSteuer does not support that? Thanks so much!
Hey Jaedyn. I was referring to N-Aus indeed.
Hello Jaedyn, did you eventually find a SW/online tool that supports WA EST form ? Thanks
Hi Bastien
My questions seem premature :/
I’m an expact I will relocate to germany in June 2019
-is there fixed month of the year to file tax return (ex.July) or it can happen throughout the year (Jan-July) but with 31 July is deadline ?
-if I went for 2 month summer holiday outside germany; can I request tax
return? Will it be full refund of income tax or partial?
P.S. My income tax is at 46%
Thanks!
Laura
Hey Laura. Please read the post again. Deadline is clearly indicated for both employees and freelancers. Holiday expenses do not offer a tax rebatethough.
Hi!
Thanks a lot for all these informations, one more time !
Another special case : my boyfriend and I worked last year in Berlin, but now have left the country.
Is there a way to do everything by internet only, without needing to send it by post, or receiving a password by post?
And in this case, which address should we give? The one we had, and a foreign current one?
Thanks a lot for your answer and time!
Hey Eloise. If you can’t access to Elster from where you are, you could use of those platforms indicated in the post. I know: it’s not for free, that’s not ideal. But yes, you can do it through Internet.
Hi Bastien,
Amazing work you’ve done here! Thanks so much.
My boss terminated my contract and will end on March 31, 2019.
How do I proceed with taxes during the month of april and following? I will be a freelancer (sales) for a foreign company, receiving gross income and should declare taxes myself (easy website/english maybe?:) Also pay my krankenkasse myself.
What order of things would you do in my case? Should I notify some institution with this kündigung? I won’t have any income in april so i really want to avoid expensive taxes!!
Hey Santiago. Have you looked at this post for newly self-employed people in Germany. It has a bunch of information about this too. I think you would probably find the answers there.
Hi Bastien,
I was working for an indian based IT company, where the company took care of Tax returns. I used to give a vollmacht to my company and do the tax returns and declarations with help of external tax agents. I got a new job offer and switched to a germany company from March 2018. But I was working in Indian IT company till end of Feb2018. I did gave my company vollmacht for year 2018.
But I have tax return due to change in tax class after March 2018. My question is : can the tax return be filed by my company and me for the same year 2018?
Hey Palani. Why not revoking that Vollmacht and take care of it all by yourself?
Hi Bastien,
Great article! I have a special case, I was student (I’ve studied with a scholarship) until september 2018 and then I got a job. I received a so called “Lohnsteuerbescheinigung” from my job and also I received from my insurance company a so called “Finanzamtbescheinigung” which described the amounts I paid to them when I was student (from january to september), then my question is where should I that information in my declaration?
Many thanks!
Hey Carlos. Refer to the guide in the post for more details.
Hi Bastian,
My tax class is 1 and I started my first job in March 2014, I paid the tax for the whole year. Can is till file for 2014? Also in 2015 I didn’t work for the month of May. Can i file tax return for these two years? My co-workers told me that we can file it last 5 years. Can you please tell me deadline and how to file the tax return?
Hey Jyotika. As mentioned in the post, it’s up to 4 years after the end of the year. So 2014 won’t work but 2015 will. Deadline remains the same. As for how: refer to the post.
Hello, I just registered for Elster (I’m a freelancer, not self-employed) and didn’t realize you have to get the code by post. It’s almost impossible to get mail at my address because of the stringent co-op board’s regulations on signs on the postboxes (long story). So, I have an accountant: is it possible to register using my accountant’s address? Or to register a business address? I’m not sure how to proceed if I cannot register with this system. Can I just file on paper instead?
Hey Jennifer. That is a good question. I think it will be sent to wherever your company/self-employment is registered.
Hello! Thanks for your help. I am a German resident and I am employed with an EU blue card. I do have a small income in American stocks, but all of my main income comes from my salary. The capital gain that I earn in foreign income (from my stocks) is less than €200. I was told that if the amount of foreign income is this small, I am not required to file it in german taxes. Is this true?
Hey Sherry. It doesn’t matter what the amount this. As a German resident, you ought to declare all income sources.
Hello I worked in germany on 2018 year only 3 month Can I get tax refund ,I m from other country
Hey Rovshan. If you are not a German resident, you should be declaring your income in your home country.
Hello Bastien!
I am a foreign master student in Bayern, currently in the 5th semester. I am stuck in a situation and I do not know what to do.
I received a letter from my insurance company (AOK) stating basically how much I paid for the health insurance in 2018. They clarified that I can use this information for the tax return, if I have to do it. Up to that point I had no idea such thing existed in Germany, also in my country we do not do it so I might be misinformed. It was the first time I receive such letter from AOK. Furthermore, I have not received any letter from the corresponding financial offices saying that I should do it (I do not know if I should even receive one).
I will briefly explain my financial incomes for 2018.:
-From January to April I used to work in a restaurant as a mini-job (less than 450euros per month). I did not pay taxes for that since it was a mini-job.
-In May-June I did an internship in a company. The internship was counted as a research internship required from the university. I got paid around 10 euros per hour. And I did pay taxes.
-From October to December I am doing my master thesis at a company. I get paid a little more than the internship and I pay taxes. And the thesis is still going. The current contract I have runs until May.
Honestly, I am getting a little scared as I have zero experience in such things, my income situation is also complicated as I explained above and my lack of German knowledge is a huge problem. And searching on Google did not take me anywhere, it just rose more questions.
Could you help me in whether I have to do the tax return or not, considering my situation? Should one receive a letter saying that I have to the tax return? Where can I ask to receive a final confirmation if I have to do it? And is there an office related to the tax return where I can go and clarify all this on my own or so?
Thank you very much in advance for any help you will provide.
Hello Eriserdi. German can be overwhelming at times. As stated in the post, you are not required to do one. You won’t receive a letter from the Finanzamt.
Hi Bastien,
Thanks for such a beautiful well written explanation on this topic. I have one query though. I started my work in Germany in September 2016. Can I file tax return for the year 2016 as well? Or is there a “minimum number of months” requirement?
Hey Arunika. You can file a tax return for the year 2016 as well yes.
Hi Bastien,
thank you so much for this info.
So, I as doing a summer job as a student last summer in Germany, so now if I want to ask for the tax return, I too need to fill these 3 forms:
ESt 1 V 2018 (The main form that details general info like your adress, iD nummer,etc)
Anlage N 2018 (The form to detail your income as an employee)
Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand 2018 (The form to detail your insurances) ???
And where exactly do I need to send the documents?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Hey Ivan. Yes, that’s correct. You need to send your documents to your local Finanzamt, as mentioned in the post.
Hello there, i am an employee and i am getting married in March this year. My partner is currently not working and this year she has been receiving Arbeitslosengeld since December 2018. We will move in together after the marriage. She will start a job in April but I earn a lot more so switching to Tax class 3 and 5 is a no brainer for us. Based on this my questions are … when I file my tax return in December 2019 will the whole year (Jan-Dec) be based on Tax class 3 for me and not just from March? also based on the info I have given would you recommend an accountant or is this simple enough for me to do alone using steurgo for example? great job BTW cheers
Hey Sam. Since you are applying for a tax change before November, you can benefit from tax benefits for the months prior too. Hard to say whether or not you need an accountant. It’s mostly down to if you have multiple sources of income and the amount of potential tax relief schemes you can take advantage of. If you have both only source of income, it’s totally manageable via SteuerGo.
Hi Bastien,
Thank you very much for your article. Small question: My employer mentioned my tax class wrongly as 6 instead of 1 for year 2018. I got the lohnsteurbeschenigung for 2018 under tax class 6. I noticed this in 2019.
Can I do retroactive change for 2018? If so, could you please guide me on how to file one? Any online support or I have to approach finanzamt?
Thank you,
Hey Krishna. There is dedicated post about this topic this way. It should help.
Hi Bastien,
thank you very much for the valuable information. I’m totally new to this, I got two question please
I work as a resident doctor in a hospital from 15/12/2017 until today and i want to make my first ‘Steuererklärung’. My questions are, should i ask for tax return for the 15 days in December or ignore them, i mean does it make any noticeable difference in money return since they are only 15 days in 2017 !
second question is: can i get a back some of the money i spent in Germany before i start my first work, i mean like Exams, Language Courses and Aufenthalt fees. Since the courses and exams fees were necessary to get the Work License.
thanks in advance
Hey Peter. You can also do one for those 15 days too, provided your got a Lohnsteuerbescheinigung for that time period. You may also put any costs towards your education off in taxes.
Hi Bastien,
Thanks a lot for your valuable information in this website. I ‘m working in Germany from Nov. 2016 up to now as a forigner. I have a short term work permit as Blue Card which is valid until Nov. 2019 (I’m not a permanent residence of Germany) .I’ve deceided to quit my job in Germany by Jun 2019 and move to canada for living. I have also a type of 13 TVöD contract. Do you think can I return a part of my tax payment? Thanks in advance!
Hey Jeen. Sorry i don’t think i can help on the specifics of your case. I don’t know about 13 TVöD contracts. However, since you have been here since 2016, you’d be considered a German resident and therefore you can do a tax return for 2019 too, since you will be more than half of the year here.
Hello Bastien,
Thank you for all this helpful information.
I moved to Berlin on a freelance artist visa in the middle of last year and received my anmeldung (with Steueridentifikationsnummer) in August.
I only received my Steuernummer in December.
Do I still do taxes from August, as I had started doing small jobs already?
Thanking you.
Hey Andre. Yes.
I filed my tax return on Jan 28th 2019 , when I expect the refund
Can I expect by end of March..?
Hey Ravi. See the FAQ for an answer.
Hello!
I am living AND working n Munich since January of 2018 and currently doing so having the steurklass 5. From October my wife came, we got married in November, I then kept working having changed from steur 5 to steur 3 since then. She has now a mino job. Since I dont have any other income besides my job should I so the tax declaration?
If so, what kind of expenses should I declare?
Hey Rodrigo. Yes, as mentioned in the post. You should do it.
Bastiem, thank you!
Regarding rent, as I its my first year I am paying directly to my landlord without receiving any kind of receipt or proof og payment.
Is this declared ? I mean, I can do my tax declaration without the renting part?
Hey Rodrigo. Yes, rent expenses are not relevant.
Thank you for you answers. Hope they help someone else!
Hi Bastien,
I worked in Germany for 5 months with special assignment. I came on deputation from Indian company to here. I went back after 5 months and continued my job in my origin company for rest of the year. Am I eligible to apply for tax return?
Best Regards,
Girisha
Hey Girisha. If you are an Indian resident, working under India contract for an indian company, i don’t think that would be possible.
Hello,
Last year I submitted in my tax return through a steuar berater which was estimated to be over 1800€ but finasamt later informed me that I will get less than that amount because am not paying for my child internal, as I am staying together with my girlfriend but I had just join her in about 3 months. Was this really necessary?
Hey Fauza, I don’T really understand the question.
Hi,
Thank you for the info. Can you please let know as to what are all the bills that can be submitted for filing tax return? Ex: Electricity bill, grocery bill, etc.
Hey i need to know how can i file a tax return without having registered address (Anmeldung). Actually i am running out of time and i cannot do my Anmeldung in such a short period. is there a way out of this because in all the forms, you have to mention the registered address.
Hey Ali. If you are not a German resident, you would do your tax return in your home country.
Hi, great article and still i have 1 question : Is the fuel spent for travelling to work refundable, do i have to keep bills or something etc?
Hi Bastien,
i arrived in Germany on the 24.12.2017 and they are telling me to pay the tax for the whole year 2017. I come from Mauritius and have worked there and paid my taxes there. Is it true that I have to do this, please?
Thank you very much for your answer.
Anique
Hey Anique. What sort of tax are you talking about now?
Hi I have a question. I am working fulltime and have tax class 3. There is nothing on my “Lohnsteuer” box on my “Lohnbescheinigung”. What that’s means? Am I not able to file tax return of 2018? Because last year in 2017, I had tax class 1. I had claim my tax return because Lohnsteuer box was not empty. Hope you understood my question. Please answer me asap. Thanks
Hey Rehan. This seems weird indeed, does this mean you haven’t paid any Lohnsteuer all year then?
Hello Bastien,
My husband worked in Germany for 2 months in 2017 (Nov, Dec) and 1 month in 2018 (January). Can he claim for tax return?
Hey Afreen. This question is too vague. Can’t answer sorry.
Hi Bastien,
I couldn’t get the following: if one has been employed by different employers within the same year, is mandatory for him/her to fill the declaration? Or is it just his/her right to do it?
Hey Hephep. As mentioned in the post, it’s one of the cases in which you are obliged to do so.
I think if you were worked in parallel jobs and one of the jobs were tax class 6 you MUST to do declaration. If you simply changed the jobs in the middle of year you don’t obliged unless there is no Big Letter(S) in Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. This information is from German sources.
Hi,
I completed a tax return for last year and got a lot of money back as i’d only worked for half the yaer.
My question is, do I HAVE to, by law, do one again this year for 2018? I’ve heard that ‘once you do one, you have to do it annually’ but that doesn’t seem all that real to me.
Also, what are the implications for not filing a tax return?
Thanks,
Hey Katrina. It is written in the post who do a Steuererklärung.
Hi Bastien,
That’s a very nice piece of information which will come in handy definitely
We have landed in Germany in Dec 2017. Only my husband is working and I have two kids. The problem I have is, due to technical issues(the registered officer for us was on long leave) in stadhaus, we had our blue card printed delayed by 6 months. But my 2nd boy still didn get one though, coz unfortunately his passport was about to expire nd our officer said he will give 9 months temporary visa. So they are waiting for that time period to get over for blue card. And the trouble here is, i did not get kindergeld for 6 months for 1st boy and am not getting kindergeld for 2nd boy yet(14 months now) . Will I be able to claim for it in tax return? When I went to familienkasse office, they are not helping with English.
Hey Adisfah. You may want to double check with a professional but i don’t think you will be able to proceed that way. I think you will need to take this with your Familienkasse directly.
Hi Bastien, For 8 month I received unemployment money and only the last 2 month of 2018, I had an internship job with tax class 5. The amount of unemployment money was sth like 5900 Euro which was given in Hauptvordruck in line 96. But surprisingly from ELSTER, I got the Berechnung saying ‘ Festgesetzt werden as +2350 ‘ Euro which makes a total estimate of +90 Euro to be paid by me to financeamt. Should I go their office and talk? or this is just an estimate that Elster gives and probably some how they will understand that my unemployment money was already reduced to my tax class 5. I am having a bad economic year and was really counting on this tax return. I never got less than 300 euros back and now this is really surprising for me.Thanks!
Hey Iman. Unfortunately, i cannot tell you if that’s right or wrong because there are many other parameters involved into deciding what is due. If you think that is a mistake, you can go a Verband or a Steuerberater for more help. Sorry and good luck.
Hello! Great information here! However, the tax deadline has been changed for the first time this year. The tax declaration for 2018 can be filed until July 31st, 2019!
Hey Jasmin. Thanks for letting me know. I had forgotten to update the info. It has now been updated! <3
Hi Bastien,
My tax class is 1 and I started to work in December. When I check my payroll, the tax is considered for the whole year. Since I worked only one month in 2018, am I granted to take any tax return? If so, can you tell me what percentage it will be? I also have another question regarding my marital status. My wife is in my hometown and will join me 4 months I started to work ( in April, 2019) . When I change my tax class from one to 3, can I take any tax return for January, February and March in 2019?
Hey Mike. Yes, you can do a tax return even if you only worked one month. For second question, please read this article.
Hi Bastien,
the deadline to submit your tax declaration has been changed this year! So for the tax year 2018, the deadline is July 31st, 2019. If you could update your information on this, it would probably be helpful to many people. Other than that, this is a great guide! Thank you very much!
Hey Désirée. That is a great reminder. I forgot to update. Thanks so much!