What is the tax effect of the number of children in the formation as ELStAM(electronic income tax deduction feature)?

The allowances for children are not taken into account when calculating the wage tax. Instead, the employee receives child benefits paid out by the family benefits offices in the current year. The number of child allowances in the ELStAM therefore does not affect the amount of monthly wage tax, but only 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 when the tax return is submitted that it is checked whether the allowances for children have a more favorable effect than the child benefit already paid.

Information on ELStAM (=electronic income tax card) is available at www.elster.de. Further information can also be found in the Tax Tips for Families - under Publications, enter the search term Tax Tips for Families.