Filing a Tax Return in Germany: When It Pays Off

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to Germany and want to understand the annual income tax return. After reading it, you will be able to tell when a return is compulsory, when filing voluntarily can bring money back, and which expenses typically count.

• Registration and your tax ID
• Who must file
• Filing voluntarily for a refund
• Typical deductions
• Deadlines, ELSTER and getting help
• FAQ

Registration and your tax ID

Your tax life in Germany starts with the Anmeldung (address registration). Your city or municipality’s registration office sets the procedure and the documents it requires. According to Handbook Germany’s overview of the tax system, everyone who registers Germany as their primary place of residence receives a Steueridentifikationsnummer (tax identification number) by post. It has 11 digits and stays valid for life. You need it for your tax return, and employers and health insurers may ask for it too. It also appears on your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung (annual payroll tax statement). If it has not arrived, the Federal Central Tax Office offers an online form to request it.

Registration also means your tax liability covers all your income, including income earned abroad. Germany has Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen (double taxation agreements) with some countries to prevent the same income being taxed twice. Church tax, paid by members of religious communities that levy it, depends on the federal state: it is eight per cent of income tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and nine per cent in all other states. Questions about how tax matters relate to a residence permit belong with the Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority) or a migration advice service.

Who must file

The return concerns Einkommensteuer (income tax) and goes to your Finanzamt (local tax office) once a year. Handbook Germany’s guide to the tax declaration sets out the basic rule: self-employed people and entrepreneurs must file. Employees often do not have to, because the employer deducts Lohnsteuer (payroll tax) from each salary payment and transfers it directly to the tax office.

Employees must still file in certain cases, including when:

• both spouses work and have chosen the Steuerklasse (tax class) combination III and V;
• either spouse has applied for a Freibetrag (tax allowance), for example for vocational training, disability or travel costs;
• additional income with no tax deducted, such as rent, exceeds €410 a year;
• wages came from several employers without a lump-sum tax deduction;
• wage replacement benefits were paid, such as Elterngeld (parental allowance), Krankengeld (sickness benefit) or unemployment benefit;
• there was severance pay, a divorce and remarriage in the same year, or a loss carried forward from earlier years;
• a spouse with limited tax liability lives in another EU country and is recorded for the electronic payroll tax deduction.

Pensioners may have to file when their total income exceeds the Grundfreibetrag (basic tax-free allowance) or when the tax office asks them to. The allowance is adjusted every year and stands at €12,348 for 2026. Parental allowance, unemployment benefit, BAföG and scholarships are tax-free, but parental allowance and unemployment benefit must still be stated on a return. A mini-job pays up to €603 a month in 2026, a limit set to rise to €633 in 2027. Within that limit, mini-jobbers in principle pay no tax.

Filing voluntarily for a refund

Most employees have no duty to file, but they may file voluntarily. Payroll tax is withheld month by month, so the tax office may collect more than was due. A return lists expenses that reduce your zu versteuerndes Einkommen (taxable income). The tax office then recalculates the tax and refunds any overpayment. Whether a refund results depends on the individual figures, and the tax office makes that calculation.

Spouses and registered civil partners can file jointly by marking Zusammenveranlagung (joint assessment) on page 1 of the form. This Ehegattensplitting (income splitting) can be particularly beneficial where one partner earns significantly more than the other. The pages do not state how many past years a voluntary return can cover. The Finanzamt can confirm this.

Typical deductions

The handbook groups tax relief into three categories:

• Werbungskosten (work-related expenses): costs connected with your job, such as commuting or further education and training.
• Sonderausgaben (special expenses): for example donations, health and long-term care insurance contributions, and childcare costs, of which two-thirds can be deducted.
• Außergewöhnliche Belastungen (extraordinary burdens): unexpected costs you have to bear, for example because of illness.

Some items can be claimed as Pauschalbeträge (lump sums) without supporting documents. The pages do not list the amounts. Receipts for claimed expenses are not sent with the return, but they must be kept, because the tax office may ask for them later.

Families have further options. Kindergeld (child benefit) is at least €259 per child in 2026 and is applied for at the Familienkasse (family benefits office). The alternative is the Kinderfreibetrag (child tax allowance), and parents receive one or the other. One Anlage Kind (child annex) per child goes with the return, and the tax office works out which option is more favourable. Single parents can also claim the Entlastungsbetrag für Alleinerziehende (single parent relief), and people caring for dependants can claim the Pflege-Pauschalbetrag (lump-sum care allowance).

Deadlines, ELSTER and getting help

Neither page states the deadline for submitting an annual return, whether compulsory or voluntary. The Finanzamt can confirm which dates apply to a given tax year. The pages do give other time limits. A change of tax class is usually possible only once a year, by 30 November at the latest. Married couples who want to change tax class to increase parental allowance must apply no later than seven months before Mutterschutz (maternity protection) begins. Self-employed people in principle submit an Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung (advance VAT return) by the 10th of each month.

ELSTER is the tax administration’s online filing portal. The pages used for this guide do not describe it, including how registration works or how long it takes, so the portal itself and your Finanzamt are the sources for those details. A tax consultant or a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein (wage tax assistance association) can also help with a return. The pages do not state what either charges.

FAQ

Do employees with one job have to file a tax return?

Often not, because the employer deducts payroll tax. A return becomes compulsory in specific cases, such as the III and V tax class combination, untaxed side income above €410 a year, or receiving parental allowance or unemployment benefit.

How high is the basic tax-free allowance in 2026?

Handbook Germany gives the Grundfreibetrag as €12,348 for 2026. Income below this level is not subject to income tax, and the amount is adjusted every year.

Do I have to send receipts with my return?

No. Expenses are listed in the return, but the supporting documents must be kept, because the tax office may request them later. Some items can be claimed as lump sums without proof.

Does income from abroad count in Germany?

Yes, if your residence is registered in Germany: your tax liability covers all your income, including income earned abroad. Double taxation agreements between Germany and some countries prevent the same income from being taxed twice.

Sources: handbookgermany.de · handbookgermany.de

Last verified: 27 October 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the foreigners’ authority (Ausländerbehörde) of your city, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).