Guides
German tax, explained in English
The questions internationals ask us most — answered in full, for free, before you ever book a call.
Almost everything that confuses internationals about German tax comes down to four questions: which numbers the state gave you, how much is taken from your salary each month, whether you have to file a return, and what you get back when you do. These guides answer all four — with no account, no email address and no sales pitch.
Tax return in Germany
Who has to file a German tax return, who should file voluntarily, the deadlines, the documents you need, and the deductions internationals most often miss.
Read the guideYour German tax ID
The difference between the Steueridentifikationsnummer, the Steuernummer and the VAT ID, how to get each one, and what to do if your tax ID letter never arrived.
Read the guideTax classes in Germany
What the six German tax classes mean, which one you are in, how married couples should combine III/V or IV/IV, and how to change your class.
Read the guideChurch tax and how to leave
Who pays German church tax, how much it costs, how internationals end up registered by accident, and the exact procedure for leaving.
Read the guideYour first tax return
Who has to file a German tax return, the deadlines, the documents you need, and the deductions internationals most often miss.
Read the guideGross vs. net salary
A breakdown of every deduction between your German employment contract and your bank account: wage tax, social security, church tax and the solidarity surcharge.
Read the guideCrypto taxes in Germany
How Germany taxes crypto: the one-year holding period, the exemption limit, staking and lending, DeFi, and what to report from foreign exchanges.
Read the guideThe solidarity surcharge
Who still pays the German solidarity surcharge after the 2021 reform, the thresholds that trigger it, and where it still applies in full.
Read the guideStill not sure how it applies to you?
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