The German tax return, explained in plain English.

Do you have to file a tax return?

In Germany, most employees have income tax deducted from their salary every month. The employer sends it to the tax office directly. For many people that settles the matter, and no tax return is required.

You are required to file when certain conditions apply to your situation. The common ones are a second job and, for married couples, a specific combination of tax classes. Others depend on thresholds set by law, for example untaxed income, wage replacement benefits, or a tax allowance registered with the tax office. The full list is set out in the German Income Tax Act, and it's the list that decides, not a rule of thumb.

If none of them applies, you may still file. That is called a voluntary assessment, and it's how many employees get money back. Costs connected to your work, insurance contributions and certain household expenses can reduce the amount of tax you owe for the year. Whether that produces a refund depends on your own numbers.

How the deadlines work

Three things determine your deadline, and understanding the structure matters more than memorising a date.

First, whether you must file or choose to file. A mandatory return has a fixed deadline for the tax year. A voluntary return has a much longer window, counted in years rather than months.

Second, whether you prepare it yourself. If a tax advisor or a wage tax assistance association files on your behalf, the deadline is later. This isn't a favour, it's written into the tax procedure rules.

Third, the tax year itself. Deadlines for recent years have been shifted several times, so a date you read in an older article may no longer apply. This is exactly why no date appears on this page.

The current deadlines are published by the German tax administration. Look them up for your specific year rather than relying on a figure you remember.

What you need before you start

You don't need to collect everything at once, but these come up almost every time.

Your tax identification number. A permanent number assigned to you personally. It stays the same if you move or change jobs, and it's not the same as the tax number your local tax office uses for your file.

Your annual payslip statement. Your employer produces it after the end of the year and reports the figures to the tax office electronically. In most cases you don't have to type them in, they are already there.

Proof of deductible costs. Receipts and statements for things like commuting, work equipment, insurance contributions or childcare. You generally don't send them in, but the tax office may ask, so keep them.

Your bank details. A refund is transferred, not paid out in any other form.

Elster, the official online portal

Elster is the tax administration's own platform. It's free, it's the system the tax offices use, and it's available to anyone with a German tax identification number.

The part people find difficult isn't the forms, it's the first step. You register once, and the login credentials arrive in two separate parts, one by email and one by post. The letter takes time. If you are working towards a deadline, register well before you plan to file.

Elster itself is in German. There are commercial applications with English interfaces that submit to the same system, and some employees use them for that reason alone. This page does not recommend a specific product.

The words you will meet

Finanzamt is your local tax office. Which one is responsible depends on where you live.

Lohnsteuer is the income tax deducted from your salary each month. Einkommensteuer is the income tax you owe for the whole year. The tax return compares the two.

Steuerklasse is your tax class. It doesn't change how much tax you owe for the year, only how much is deducted each month.

Werbungskosten are costs connected to earning your income. The English term that gets used, income-related expenses, is more accurate than it sounds.

Steuerbescheid is the assessment notice the tax office sends you when it has processed your return. It states what you owe or what you get back, and it opens a period during which you can object.

Where to get the actual figures

Deadlines, allowances and rates change. Rather than repeating them here, this page points you to the sources that keep them current.

• Elster, the official filing portal of the German tax administration.
• Einkommensteuergesetz, the German Income Tax Act, published by the Federal Ministry of Justice. This is the text that decides who must file.
• Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, the federal tax office, for questions about your tax identification number.