I would like to employ a cleaner in my private household. Where and how do I have to register them (mini-job or electronic wage tax deduction features "ELStAM")? How much tax do I have to pay?

If your domestic help is only employed by you, regularly earns no more than 538 euros (2023: 520 euros) per month and has applied for exemption from pension insurance, you can register them with the mini-job center of the German pension insurance Knappschaft-Bahn-See using the household check procedure. As the employer, you then pay the following contributions (as of December 2023)

• 5% to health insurance,
• 5% for pension insurance,
• 1.6% for statutory accident insurance,
• 1.1% contributions to offset employer expenses in the event of illness/cure (U1),
• 0.24% contributions to offset employer expenses in the event of pregnancy/maternity (U2) and
• 2% standard flat-rate tax, if applicable.

It is not necessary to retrieve the electronic wage tax deduction features ELStAM.

You can find detailed information on marginal employment relationships on the websites of the Minijob-Zentrale and the Knappschaft Bahn See - Search open Minijob-Zentrale

If the remuneration exceeds 538 euros (2023: 520 euros) per month, you must deduct income tax based on the individual tax characteristics of your employee. To do this, you must register as an employer with the tax authorities' electronic database and retrieve your employee's electronic wage tax deduction details (ELStAM). Authentication is required for this. In addition to income tax, which must be registered with and paid to the tax office, social security contributions must also be paid. Details can be obtained from the health insurance funds and the employer's office of your tax office as well as at www.elster.de.