At my request, the tax office created child allowances as ELStAM for my two children over the age of 18 due to their vocational training. However, the wage tax withheld is still the same as before. Only the church tax and the solidarity surcharge have been reduced. Why is this?

The allowances for children are not taken into account when calculating income tax. Instead, the employee receives child benefit from the family benefits office in the current year. The number of child allowances created as ELStAM(electronic wage tax deductioncharacteristics) therefore has no effect on the amount of monthly wage tax, but only on the calculation of the solidarity surcharge and church tax. This also applies to the allowance for care and education or training needs. With regard to income tax, it is only checked when the tax return is submitted whether the allowances for children have a more favorable effect than the child benefit already paid.

You can also find further information in the tax tips for families.