Tax Return Germany: Steuererklärung and ELSTER Guide
Tax return Germany explained: who must file, 2025 deadlines, ELSTER registration step by step, the forms, expat deductions and what happens next.
Filing a tax return in Germany (Steuererklärung) is less scary than the forms suggest, and for many expats it is the only way to get money back from the Finanzamt. This guide covers who has to file, the deadlines for the 2025 return, how to register for ELSTER, the forms you will meet, and the deductions that matter most for people who moved to Germany. For tax rates and tax classes, see our separate guide to taxes in Germany.
Quick answer: do I need to file?
Short version: If you are an employee with one employer, you usually do not have to file, but you can and often should. If you have freelance income, several employers, a tax class V or VI spouse, or income from abroad, check the list below. The 2025 deadline for self-filers has passed (31 July 2026), so act now if you were required to file.
Tax return Germany: who has to file and who can
Mandatory filing (Pflichtveranlagung)
§46 of the Income Tax Act (EStG) lists when the Finanzamt assesses an employee. The cases most relevant to expats are:
- You had income without wage-tax withholding, or income subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt (such as some benefits that replace wages), of more than €410.
- You worked for several employers at the same time.
- You are married, both spouses had wages, and one of you was in tax class V or VI (or the factor method applied to tax class IV).
- A tax-free allowance (Freibetrag) was entered on your wage-tax card and your annual wages exceed the combined Grundfreibetrag, Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag and Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag.
- You received refunded health or long-term care insurance contributions above €410, with wages above the same combined threshold.
Freelancers and business owners file annually as a rule. Our start-a-business guide explains the registration side, and the freelancer section of the tax guide covers prepayments and VAT.
Voluntary filing (Antragsveranlagung)
If none of the cases above apply, you can still ask for an assessment by filing a return. §46 (2) no. 8 EStG says the application is made by submitting an income tax return, and the aim is typically to credit the wage tax already withheld against your actual tax. This is where most refunds come from.
Filing is particularly worth checking if you:
- arrived or left Germany during the year,
- were unemployed or on unpaid leave for part of the year,
- paid for a job-related move, training or equipment,
- worked from home regularly, or commute a long distance.
Deadlines for the 2025 tax return
The rules come from §149 of the Fiscal Code (AO). Returns for the calendar year 2025 are due as follows:
| Situation | Deadline for 2025 |
|---|---|
| Required to file, you prepare it yourself | 31 July 2026 (seven months after the year ends). Already passed. |
| Required to file, prepared by a Steuerberater or Lohnsteuerhilfeverein | End of February 2027 (§149 (3) AO). 28 February 2027 is a Sunday, so the practical date is Monday, 1 March 2027. |
| Voluntary filing | Four years after the end of the tax year (§169 AO), so 31 December 2029 for 2025 |
For the 2026 tax year (filed in 2027), the same seven-month rule gives 31 July 2027 for self-filers.
Missed the 31 July 2026 deadline? File as soon as you can and ask for an extension in writing if you have a reason. Under §152 AO, a late-filing surcharge can be 0.25% of the assessed tax per started month, with a minimum of €25 per month for annual returns. It does not apply if the tax is assessed at zero or a refund, or if you show that the delay was excusable.
ELSTER registration step by step
ELSTER (elster.de) is the Finanzamt's official online portal. It is free and accepted by every tax office, but the interface and help pages are German-only. The one thing to plan around is the activation letter.
- Get your Steuer-ID ready. It arrives by post after your Anmeldung. See the Steuer-ID section of our tax guide if yours is missing.
- Start the registration on elster.de and choose the personal account (Mein ELSTER). Enter your name, date of birth, address and email.
- Check your email. ELSTER sends you an activation ID by email. Look in your spam folder if it does not arrive.
- Wait for the letter. The activation code comes by post to your registered address, and ELSTER warns that delivery can take several days. Do not wait until the last week before a deadline.
- Enter both codes on the ELSTER page and download your certificate file. Store it safely and back it up, because you need it with your password at every login.
- Log in and start a new return for the tax year.
If neither the email nor the letter arrives, ELSTER's help page says to repeat the registration. If you do not have a German registered address yet, complete your Anmeldung first, because the letter goes to that address.
Filing your return in ELSTER
Once you are in, the filing process follows the same order each year.
- Collect your documents. The most important one is the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, the annual wage-tax statement from your employer. Also gather receipts for deductions, your IBAN and, if relevant, statements for capital income and foreign income.
- Create the return and select the forms you need (see the next section). You can import many figures that the tax authorities already hold (Vorausgefüllte Steuererklärung).
- Enter your personal data and your income. Take the numbers directly from the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.
- Add deductions: work-related expenses, health insurance, donations and so on.
- Check, then submit. ELSTER runs a plausibility check before you send the return. Keep the confirmation PDF.
- Send documents only if asked. Receipts are normally kept at home and only provided on request.
Which forms you need: Mantelbogen, Anlage N and the rest
German returns are built from a main form plus one attachment (Anlage) for each type of income or deduction. ELSTER selects them for you as you answer the questions.
| Form | What it covers | Do you need it? |
|---|---|---|
| Hauptvordruck (ESt 1 A), often called the Mantelbogen | Personal details, tax class, bank account | Always |
| Anlage N | Income from employment and work-related expenses | If you were employed |
| Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand | Health, long-term care and pension contributions | Almost always, to claim insurance contributions |
| Anlage KAP | Capital income such as interest, dividends and gains | If you have investments not fully handled by a German bank |
| Anlage AUS | Foreign income and foreign tax paid | If you have income or tax from another country |
Expats with foreign investment accounts or a foreign pension should look at Anlage KAP and Anlage AUS carefully. The Sparer-Pauschbetrag, the tax-free allowance on capital income, is €1,000 for singles and €2,000 for jointly assessed spouses (§20 (9) EStG). For cross-border cases, see the double taxation section of our tax guide and consider a Steuerberater.
Tax deductions for expats with 2026 values
The values below are the ones in force in 2026, which you will use when you file for 2026 in 2027. The Werbungskosten allowance and the home-office rate are unchanged for the 2025 return. The commuter allowance changed from 1 January 2026, as explained in the table.
| Deduction | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Werbungskostenpauschale (Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag) | €1,230 | Applied automatically. You only gain from itemising if your real costs are higher (§9a EStG). |
| Homeoffice-Tagespauschale | €6 per day, max. €1,260 a year | Per day you work mainly at home, no dedicated room needed. €1,260 equals 210 days (§4 (5) no. 6c EStG). |
| Commuter allowance (Entfernungspauschale) | €0.38 per full kilometre, max. €4,500 a year | One-way distance, counted for each full kilometre. The €4,500 cap does not apply if you use your own or a company car (§9 EStG). |
| Moving costs | Actual costs, if the move is job-related | Typically a new job or a clearly shorter commute. Keep invoices. Check current flat-rate amounts with the BMF or your adviser. |
| Second household (doppelte Haushaltsführung) | Accommodation up to €1,000 a month in Germany | If you keep a main home elsewhere and work here (§9 EStG). |
| Health and care insurance | Contributions up to basic cover | Sonderausgaben under §10 EStG. Statutory contributions come from the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. |
| Church tax paid | Deductible | Sonderausgaben (§10 EStG). |
| Own vocational training | Up to €6,000 a year as Sonderausgaben | For your own vocational training (§10 (1) no. 7 EStG). Job-related training costs can instead be claimed as Werbungskosten. |
If you also pay private health insurance, the deductible share is usually smaller than the total premium, because only the basic-cover portion counts. Our guides on health insurance in Germany and private health insurance explain how the two systems differ. Independent consultants such as MyHealthcareBroker can show you what your premium means for your tax return. The call is free.
Mid-year arrivals and departures
If you moved to Germany during the year, you file for the part of the year you were resident here. Employers withhold wage tax month by month, so a short employment period combined with unused allowances can leave you with overpaid tax. A voluntary return is the way to claim it back. If you also earned income in another country, the Anlage AUS comes into play. Keep your payslips, your Anmeldung date and your job-start date handy.
App, Lohnsteuerhilfeverein or Steuerberater
| Option | Best for | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| ELSTER directly | Simple employee returns if you read German or use a translator | German-only, no personal advice |
| Tax apps and software | Standard employee situations, guided questions | Paid products, complex cases can be hard to enter. Compare prices before you buy. |
| Lohnsteuerhilfeverein | Employees, pensioners, people with modest other income | Non-profit clubs help their members and may not advise on self-employed or trade income (§4 StBerG). You pay a membership fee. |
| Steuerberater | Freelancers, foreign income, shares, company structures, first-year expats with complications | Highest cost, but also the longest deadline and full representation |
A useful rule: start with ELSTER or an app if you have one employer and nothing abroad. Move to a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein or Steuerberater when foreign pensions, shares, rental income or a business appear. Our English-speaking professionals directory lists advisers who work with expats.
How much will you get back?
Nobody can promise a number, but official statistics give a benchmark. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that for the 2022 tax year, 13.2 million of 15.2 million assessed taxpayers received a refund, averaging €1,240. More than half (53%) received between €100 and €1,000, and 3% received more than €5,000. About 1.8 million people had to pay extra, with an average of €1,263. This is the most recent year we found in the Destatis publication.
Your refund depends on how much tax was withheld compared with your actual liability, and on what you can deduct. Those who benefit most are people with long commutes, work-from-home days, job-related moving or training costs, or only part of a year in Germany. If you are comparing roles and salaries, see the salary guide and, for taking a new job, how to find a job in Germany.
After you file: Steuerbescheid and objection
Once the Finanzamt has processed your return, it issues a Steuerbescheid (tax assessment notice). It shows your assessed income, deductions, tax due and the amount of any refund or additional payment. A refund is paid to the IBAN in your return, so make sure it is a German or SEPA account (see opening a bank account).
What to check in the notice
- Whether all income and expenses from your return were taken over.
- Notes explaining why a deduction was reduced or rejected.
- The date of the notice, because this starts your objection deadline.
How to file an objection (Einspruch)
If you disagree, file an Einspruch with the Finanzamt within one month after the notice is announced (§355 AO). You can submit it in ELSTER or in writing. State which points you dispute and attach proof. Even a short objection stops the notice from becoming final while the Finanzamt reviews it.
If you owe additional tax, the notice also states the due date. Late payment can trigger interest and surcharges, so pay on time or talk to the Finanzamt about instalments.
Tax return Germany FAQ
Do I have to file a tax return in Germany?
What is the deadline for the 2025 tax return?
How do I register for ELSTER as a foreigner?
How long does a German tax refund take?
How much is the average tax refund in Germany?
Can I deduct health insurance on my German tax return?
What if I disagree with my Steuerbescheid?
Sources
Figures checked on 15 October 2026 against the sources below. Tax rules change; confirm current amounts with the Finanzamt or a qualified adviser.
- Mandatory and voluntary assessment, €410 threshold: §46 EStG
- Filing deadlines: §149 AO; late-filing surcharge: §152 AO; four-year period: §169 AO and §170 AO
- €1,230 Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag: §9a EStG
- Commuter allowance and second household: §9 EStG
- Home-office Tagespauschale: §4 EStG
- Sonderausgaben, health insurance, training: §10 EStG; Sparer-Pauschbetrag: §20 EStG
- Objection period: §355 AO
- Lohnsteuerhilfevereine: §4 StBerG
- Average refund 2022: Destatis, Steuererklärung im Fokus
- ELSTER registration and activation code: ELSTER Hilfe, Registrierung
- Moving costs as Werbungskosten: BMF, Lohnsteuer-Handbuch 2026, R 9.9
Still not sure which insurance fits you?
Independent, English-speaking consultants compare the whole market for you. Free, no commitment, honest about when not to switch.
