FAQ
Germany

The lease agreement expresses the relationship between the tenant and the landlord. This means that the tenant can not only use a certain thing, but can also make a profit from it (a farmer as a tenant can cultivate a field and at the same time can keep the crops and profit from it). The landlord receives payment for this ‑ rent.

For more information on lease agreement, see the blog article.

PD U1 form (Confirmation of periods to be taken into account for unemployment benefits) is a confirmation of employment abroad during which your employer paid unemployment insurance contributions on your behalf.

The form is issued by the foreign employment office after the employment termination and is submitted to the employment office in your home country or the country where you are claiming unemployment benefits.

You will need to present this document when you return from abroad to your home country or another EU country to claim unemployment benefits.

To obtain a U1 form, you will need the following documents:

• Power of Attorney (obtained from us),
• payslips or an annual income certificate Lohnbescheinigung,
• all employment contracts for the given period,
• all employment termination certificates for the given period,
• other documents.

It always depends on your situation. We will be happy to obtain the U1 form for you. Read how the service works or fill in the order form straight away.

The lowest rate is currently 14%, the so‑called input tax rate. From this 14%, the tax rate increases progressively with increasing taxable income up to a highest tax rate of 42%.

For more information on rental income tax in Germany, see the blog article.

The biggest difference between short‑term renting and classical renting is the rental period.

Short‑term landlords can rent out their property for a maximum of 6 months, whereas for classic renting the contract is a minimum of 15 months depending on the type of contract.

The duration of a short‑term renting is usually a few days to a few weeks, but always less than 6 months.

For more information on renting property in Germany, please see the blog article.

If parts of an owner‑occupied flat or family house or another house used by the taxpayer as a whole are temporarily rented out and the income from this does not exceed €520 in the tax year, the taxation of the income may be waived for simplification purposes with the taxpayer's consent.

The most commonly deductible expenses related to rental property include:

• property tax,
• loan costs,
• accounting costs,
• repair and renovation costs,
• travel costs,
• insurance,
• property operating costs,
• financing costs (appraisal, notary, land registry fees),
• advertising costs,
• street cleaning, garbage collection,
• debt interest on the financing of the rental property,
• depreciation of the building.

For more information about renting property in Germany, please see the blog article.

Anyone required to file a tax return must file a return for the 2023 tax year by the 30th of September, 2024.

If the tax return is filled by a tax advisor or a filling assistance association, the filing deadline is extended to 31st of July, 2025.

If you file your tax return voluntarily, you have 4 years to file your tax return to the tax office, until 31st of December, 2027 for the year 2023.

If you miss the deadline, you must expect a penalty.

For private home sellers, the profit made is taxable only under certain conditions. The so‑called speculation period is intended to prevent you from buying a property only to resell it at a better price depending on the market situation. You will remain tax‑free if you meet the following conditions:

• you sell the property 10 years after the purchase,
• you sell the  property sooner than 10 years after purchase, but you can prove that you have used the property yourself for the last three years.

If you do not meet the conditions for the speculation period, you must declare the sale of your property on your income tax return for the given year. The tax office will calculate the speculation tax, which can be up to 40% of the income.

The following items may be included in the costs:

• real estate agent commissions for both buying and selling,
• notary: internal costs and court costs (registration in the Land Registry),
• property transfer tax,
• renovation works and modernisation measures during the first three years after the purchase of the property (these are acquisition costs and can therefore be deducted from the profit),
• advertising costs incurred during the sale (advertising on the internet or preparation of displays),
• renovation work to achieve the optimum sales result.

We are able to help you obtain these documents from Germany:

• Lohnsteuerbescheinigung: certificate of taxable incomes,
• U1: it proves the entitlement to unemployment benefits after your return from abroad,
• S1: it entitles the taxpayer to use the full health care in the home country while working in different country in the EU.

In addition, we can help you obtain an EWR form to give you unlimited taxpayer status. This will enable you to claim a refund and qualify for various other tax reliefs.

The Lohnbescheinigung is a form that every employer must give to their employees at the end of the year. It is a certificate of the employee's annual income and the taxes withheld from each month's wages for the previous calendar year.

To obtain a Lohnbescheinigung form, contact your employer and ask them to issue the form. If you had more than one employer, you will need a Lohnbescheinigung form from each of them.

You must apply for a change of tax class to the relevant tax office, the Finanzamt. You can apply:

• electronically - via the online tax portal Elster,
• by post - to the local tax office.

Officially, you have the right to change your tax class once a year.

For more information on tax classes, see the blog article.

Deadline for filing the tax return for the year 2023 is:

• till the 2nd of September, 2024 - in regular deadline,
• till the 2nd of June, 2025 - with the tax advisor.

You can file the tax return in Germany up to 4 years back.

In 2024 it is possible to claim the refund for the year 2020 at the latest.

Deadlines for the tax refund from the Germany for the previous years:

• tax return for the year 2020 - till the 31st of December, 2024
• tax return for the year 2021 - till the 31st of December, 2025
• tax return for the year 2022 - till the 31st of December, 2026
• tax return for the year 2023 - till the 31st of December, 2027

You can be fined between €100 and €25,000 for not filing your tax return by the given deadline.

The amount of the fine depends on various factors - the financial situation of the taxpayer, but also the cooperation with the authorities.

You can deduct the following items in your German tax return:

• travel expenses,
• the cost of running a double household,
• the cost of work clothes,
• moving expenses,
• telephone and internet costs,
• fees associated with the child's school attendance.

You need the following documents to file your tax return:

• a certificate of taxable income - Lohnsteuerbescheinigung,
• EU/EWR form (Bescheinigung EU/EWR) - this is a mandatory attachment to the German tax return,
• other documents for claiming rebates (child's birth certificate, etc.).

For more information on the necessary documents, please see the blog article.

The Lohnsteuerbescheinigung is a form that every employer must give to his employees at the end of the year. It is a certificate of the employee's annual income and the tax withheld from each month's wages for the previous calendar year.

German employers must issue the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung form to employees by 28th of February each calendar year for the previous year.

For more information on the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, please see the blog article.

Steuer ID is an 11‑digit tax identification number that facilitates communication in tax, economic and administrative matters.

The German tax office will assign you a Steuer ID automatically when you register your residency.

For more information about the Steuer ID, please read the blog article.

You can leave the country, but you must pay the debt according to the instructions which are mentioned on the certificate from the tax office.

The tax office will process the tax return and then pay the overpayment. The whole process takes on average 1 ‑ 6 months after the tax return is filed.

The tax must be paid no later than the deadline for filing the tax return, which is the 2nd of September, 2024.

The tax for the year 2023 must be paid by the 2nd of September, 2024.

If your tax return is filed by a tax advisor, the deadline for filing is extended by the 2nd of June, 2025. You must also pay the tax due by this deadline.

For more information on the deadlines, see the blog article.

You can claim your contributions back, that you have not claimed, up to the year 1995.

Refunding your pension contributions means that if you meet certain conditions (e.g. you are not an EU citizen), you may be entitled to up to 100% of the pension contributions you paid in Germany, which you can get back. By applying, you notify the German Social Security Administration that you have left Germany / EU, so there is no further need for them to keep your pension contributions.

If you are an EU citizen, we can verify that your home institution has correctly recorded all your years of service in Germany so that they are included in your total pension entitlement.

We will be happy to help you with your contributions. Read, how it works or fill in the order form straight away.

Child benefits (Kindergeld) are financial allowances for the parents of children and is intended for the upbringing and maintenance of the child / children.

We will be happy to help you with the processing of the child benefits. Read how it works or fill in the order form right away.

The basic condition for entitlement to benefits is mandatory social security in Germany, which you automatically get in connection with your employment. This means that if you are working in Germany, you are mandatorly insured and probably entitled to benefits.

You are also entitled to benefits if one parent works in Germany and the children live in their home country or in another EU country with the other parent.

For more information on child benefit entitlement in Germany, see this blog article.

Child benefits will increase to €250 per month per child from the January 2023. The same amount applies also in the year 2024.

For more information on the amount of child benefit in Germany, see the blog article.

You can apply for child benefit (Kindergeld) from Germany up to 6 months back.

Yes, you can receive child benefits in your home country and apply for it also in the Germany.

The entitlement to child benefits arise in the country where the child lives (if one parent is employed there). If the parent is on maternity or parental leave in the home country or is unemployed, you can only claim child benefit in your home country.

If child benefits are paid in the home country, it is possible to claim a compensatory allowance in Germany. On the basis of the application, the German Familienkasse will calculate the entitlement to the allowance and offset the resulting amount against the amount of the allowance paid in the home country.

The final sum of the benefits from both countries will be equal to the maximum amount in the Germany.

The parent who lives with the child in their home country applies for the German compensatory allowance.

The other parent working in Germany must submit a certificate of income from employment or payslips, freelancer must submit a trade certificate.

If one parent suspects that the other parent is receiving benefits illegally, the relevant German office called Familienkasse should be contacted for an investigation

When the child reaches 18 years, child benefits will be paid only in cases where:

• registration of an unemployed child at the Labour Office until the age of 21 (if the child is looking for a job),
• studying at university until the age of 25,
• preparation for a future profession up to the age of 25,
• volunteering in an approved organisation up to the age of 25,
• the child's disability of unlimited duration.

No. The parent applies for child benefits after the child turns 18. If the conditions for receiving child benefits are met from the age of 18, child benefits belongs and will be sent to the parent. An exception is the failure of the parent to fulfil the maintenance obligation. In these circumstances, the child may request that the allowance be paid directly to him or her.

The application must be accompanied by:

• E 411 form,
• the child's birth certificate - to prove the existence of the child,
• marriage certificate / divorce decree / death certificate - to prove marital status,
• payslips / annual statements / Steuer ID - to prove income.

It takes on average 1 ‑ 3 months to get child benefits.