FAQ You can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions (FAQ) with our keyword search. Catchphrase For which years can I still submit an income tax return? In which period can the income tax return be submitted? What are the deadlines for filing income tax returns? What happens if I miss the deadline for submitting an advance VAT return or an income tax return? What are the deadlines for filing income tax returns? What do I have to do to get an extension of the deadline for submitting an advance VAT return? What do I need to do to get an extension of time to file an income tax return? What are the consequences if the tax return is not submitted on time? Can I still get an extension for submitting my tax return? What is the employee savings allowance? Who is responsible for the employee savings allowance What are the requirements for the employee savings allowance? How do I apply for the employee savings allowance? What documents do I need to apply for the employee savings allowance? What deadlines do I have to observe for the employee savings allowance? What is the legal basis for the employee savings allowance? What is the cost of binding information (§ 89 para. 2 AO) with the tax authorities? What requirements does the tax office impose on an application for binding information pursuant to Section 89 (2) of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung)? Which tax authority is responsible for issuing binding information in accordance with Section 89(2) of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung)? What is an e-balance sheet? How much can I earn without having to pay income tax? Which receipts for income-related expenses, special expenses and extraordinary expenses do I have to submit when filing my income tax return? Why does my wife/husband/life partner have to sign the income tax return as well? Under what conditions can applications for employee tax assessment be submitted? What is "income tax" and how is the tax base for calculating income tax determined? Do alimony payments / child-raising allowance / parental allowance / unemployment benefit / sickness benefit also count as income? To what extent can I claim expenses for household-related employment relationships and services? What is the difference between employment relationships and services? Why do I have to make an advance income tax payment? I have donated about €100 through offerings and street collections. Is this amount deductible as a donation? Can I claim my membership fees to the music and sports club as a donation? When can one apply for the issuance of a non-assessment (NV) certificate? Where to apply for a non-assessment (NV) certificate? Under what conditions can I apply for a non-assessment (NV) certificate? How to apply for a non-assessment (NV) certificate? What documents are required to apply for a non-assessment (NV) certificate? By when must the application for a non-assessment (NV) certificate be submitted? Is the application for a non-assessment certificate subject to a fee? Where can I get further information on the non-assessment (NV) certificate? What tax relief is available for "calamity uses" and how can I claim it? What principles apply to the apportionment of expenditure on an owner-occupied or rented building? Can the tax rates be made available? From what income are advance income tax payments assessed and how are they calculated? Do students also have to pay income tax or are they tax-exempt? How much can my wages be without incurring payroll taxes? Under what conditions do I have to submit an income tax return as an employee? How do I file my income tax return with the IRS? How high is the income tax? What expenses can I claim as special expenses in my income tax return? Under what conditions am I liable for income tax? Which applications and notifications can I send to the tax office electronically via My ELSTER? What tax relief is available for disabled people in terms of income and wage tax? What expenses can I claim as an extraordinary burden? I am severely disabled and need expensive medication, some of which I have to pay for myself. Are these self-paid costs covered by the disability allowance? My trailer was destroyed in a storm. I do not have comprehensive insurance. Can I claim the damage on my tax return? Father or mother are placed in a nursing home. Can I claim the costs for the nursing home that I have partially covered in my income tax return? What evidence must be provided when supporting relatives (especially abroad)? My tax office has asked me to submit both the invoice and the bank statement with the transfer for the household-related service. Is not the invoice sufficient? Which activities can I claim as household-related services? My income tax assessment notice explains that I will have to provide evidence of my business telephone costs over a period of three months if I want to deduct more than 20% of the total telephone costs as business expenses. Is this correct and what kind of evidence should I provide? Why can't I deduct maintenance expenses incurred in connection with my owner-occupied apartment? As an insurance agent, I am out in the field every day. My home office is the center of my professional activity. Nevertheless, the expenses were reduced to € 1,250. Is this correct? I have hired a company in 2023 for the garden maintenance of the house I use myself. Do these costs belong to the expenses for household-related services? How much will they be taken into account? I had my house renovated in spring 2023 (bathroom re-tiled, heating renewed, new stairs installed, etc.). I read in the newspaper that you can claim the costs against tax. Is that true? I live in a rented house. Can I still claim tax relief for household-related employment, for example if I have someone help me clean? I own a holiday apartment on Mallorca. Can I claim the expenses for the caretaker service, which only takes care of mowing the lawn and watering the flowers during my absence, as expenses for a household-related service? I had a janitorial service repaint a room in my own apartment. The janitorial service charged me €75 for their work and €50 for the paint and materials. What can I claim? I have hired a janitorial service to mow my lawn. The payment is always made in cash. How can I prove the payments to the tax office so that my expenses for the household-related services can be taken into account? I had a service provider invoice me for "janitorial services" for lawn mowing and weed removal. Is that enough, along with the remittance slip, to get the tax break? I have moved for private reasons. Can I claim the moving costs against tax? I am the owner of a condominium that I live in together with my wife. In the annual statement for 2023, the property manager of the condominium reported costs for handyman services, among other things, as follows Window repair in the stairwell: total amount €645.11, labor costs €312.27, your share (177/1000) = €55.27. Can I claim the costs for tax purposes? To what extent can I take expenses for my PC, which I also use for work, into account as income-related expenses? 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? I drive 40 kilometers a day to my first place of work (there and back). However, the tax office only accepts the one-way distance, i.e. 20 kilometers. Why? I drive 95 kilometres a day to my place of work. My tax office is now asking me to provide proof of my annual mileage. Do I have to comply with this request? What are the mileage rates for travel between home and the first place of work? How are severance payments taxed? What requirements must be met for my "household-related employment", "household-related services" and "craftsmen's services" to be taken into account for tax purposes? What is meant by "household-related employment", "household-related services" and "craftsmen's services" and how are they to be taken into account for tax purposes at? What tax relief is available for architectural and cultural monuments as well as for buildings in redevelopment areas and in urban development areas? How to apply for tax relief for architectural and cultural monuments? What are the legal bases for tax relief for architectural and cultural monuments? How do I apply for an exemption certificate according to § 48b EStG for the construction industry? What are the tax consequences of a divorce? What assessment options are available for spouses/registered civil partners? Under what conditions can I receive child benefit or child allowances for a child over the age of 18? What options are there for non-marital partnerships when it comes to assigning children? Does the tax office pay child benefit? When is the tax allowance for the care and upbringing or education of children (care allowance) available? What are the requirements for the care allowance? Where can I apply for the childcare allowance? How do I apply for a childcare allowance? How long can I apply for a childcare allowance? What documents do I need for the care allowance? Where can I get more information on the childcare allowance? What is the legal basis for the care allowance? When is the relief amount for single parents available? Who is responsible for the relief amount? What requirements do I have to meet for the relief amount? How do I apply for the relief amount for single parents? What documents do I need for the relief amount for single parents? What are the time requirements for the relief amount for single parents? What is the legal basis for the relief amount for single parents? When is the tax-free allowance for children available? Which office is responsible for the child allowance? What are the requirements for the child allowance? How do I apply for a child allowance? What documents do I need for the child tax allowance? What deadlines apply to the tax-free allowance for children? Where can I get more information on the tax-free allowance for children? What is the legal basis for the child allowance? When do you receive child benefit? Which office approves child benefit? What requirements must be met for child benefit? How do I apply for child benefit? What documents or information do I need to apply for child benefit? What are the time limits for child benefit? Where can I get more information on child benefit? What is the legal basis for child benefit? How are childcare costs to be taken into account for tax purposes? Where can I apply for childcare costs? How do I apply for childcare costs? What documents do I need to apply for childcare costs? What is the legal basis for childcare costs? Are tuition payments tax deductible? What changes have been made to income and wage tax since January 1, 2005 as a result of the "Retirement Income Act"? How are disability and occupational disability pensions treated for tax purposes? How are company pensions treated for tax purposes? Do I have to pay tax on my pension? How are pensions from the Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder (VBL) or the Zusatzversorgungskasse des Kommunalenverbandes Baden-Württemberg (ZVK-KVBW) treated for tax purposes for former public sector employees? Are pensions tax-free? Does a pensioner have to pay tax on his retirement pension from the statutory pension insurance? Will the IRS know that I am receiving a pension? Is there a special annex to the income tax return for pensions? What is meant by the so-called "opening clause" in pension taxation? How are civil servants' pensions treated for tax purposes? Capital gains tax (Abgeltungsteuer) has been withheld from my investment income. Can I achieve a reduction in the final withholding tax if I only have low other income? Do I have to reapply for the exemption order every year? Why are taxes again levied on interest from a savings balance that was formed from income that has already been taxed? How can I get back withheld capital gains tax (final withholding tax) if I do not file an income tax return and do not have to pay income tax? "Abgeltungsteuer" - What is it and where can I find more information about it? Are there any support measures for owner-occupied residential property as part of private pension provision? When and how is the age relief amount taken into account when calculating income tax? Where can I get information about the so-called "parental allowance"? General information on inheritance and gift tax law Which transactions are subject to inheritance and gift tax law? What assets are taxed for inheritance and gift tax? How is inheritance and gift tax calculated? Are there any tax exemptions / exemptions from inheritance and gift tax? Can inheritance and gift tax be deferred? Which tax office is responsible for inheritance and gift tax? What are the notification requirements for inheritance and gift tax? In which cases is a clearance certificate required for inheritance and gift tax and who issues it? Is there information material for start-ups? I want to carry out a trade. Do I also have to register with the tax office? How and where do I register a trade? Who has to pay trade tax? Who is responsible for trade tax? How is trade tax calculated? How can I submit my trade tax return? What deadlines do I have to observe for trade tax? What documents do I need to submit for tax / business tax? Where can I find more information on trade tax? What are the legal bases for trade tax? When am I a "cross-border commuter" from / to France? What do I have to consider as a "cross-border commuter" from / to France? Where can I get further information on the special taxation problems as a "cross-border commuter"? When am I a "cross-border commuter" from / to Switzerland? What do I have to consider as a "cross-border commuter" from / to Switzerland? Are there special forms on the Internet for "cross-border commuters" from/to France and from/to Switzerland? When do I have to pay real estate transfer tax and how much is it? Are there any exceptions to the obligation to pay land transfer tax? Which transactions are subject to real estate transfer tax? Which tax office is responsible for the taxation of the real estate transfer tax? What is the procedure for the taxation of the real estate transfer tax? What is the amount of the real estate transfer tax based on? Who has to pay property tax? When is the property tax payable? How is the property tax calculated? Are there any exemptions from property tax? What are the legal bases for property tax? Who has to pay corporate income tax? Who is responsible for corporate income tax? How is corporation tax calculated? How can I submit my corporation tax return? What deadlines do I have to observe for corporation tax? What documents do I need to submit for tax / corporate income tax? What are the legal bases for corporate income tax? What tax obligations does an employer have for its employees (filing payroll tax returns, etc.)? What special features does the employer have to consider for part-time employees? Which body is responsible for the employer? What does the employer have to consider when filing the income tax return? What does the employer have to consider with the electronic wage tax statement? What are the deadlines for the income tax return? What are the deadlines for the electronic wage tax certificate? What fees must the employer pay for the payroll tax calculation? Where can I obtain further information on the employer's income tax deduction? What are the legal bases for the deduction of income tax by the employer? What is a "payroll tax" and what is the procedure for it in the tax administration? What special features apply to part-time employees with regard to income tax? Who pays the income tax? How high is the income tax? Which office is responsible for income tax? How does the payroll tax deduction procedure work? Who has to declare and pay the wage tax? What information does the employee receive about income tax? What is the assessment procedure? What is a mandatory assessment? What is an application assessment? Where are the income tax return forms available? Where can I find more information about income tax? What are the legal bases for income tax? I would like to have an allowance created in the ELStAM that can be called up for me. What do I have to do? Under what conditions do I receive tax class II or the tax relief amount for single parents? What is an "application for income tax reduction under the simplified procedure" and when can it be submitted? 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? What is the tax impact of the number of children in the ELStAM(electronicwage tax deduction feature)? What effect does the choice of tax class for working spouses/partners have on certain benefits? Is there a rule of thumb for the most favorable tax class choice for working spouses/life partners? When can half a child allowance be taken into account? Do I have to have my electronic wage tax deduction details (ELStAM) changed after a separation in 2024? What are the tax brackets? When do I receive tax class I? When do I get tax class II? When do I get tax class III? When do I get tax class IV? When do I get tax class V? When do I get tax class VI? Which tax class combinations can spouses/life partners choose? What are the consequences of a particular tax bracket choice? Where can I choose or change my tax class? How can I apply for or change my tax class? What documents do I need for the tax class election? What deadlines do I have to observe when choosing a tax class? What responsibilities do I have to consider when choosing a tax class? Where can I find further information on tax class selection? What are the legal bases for the tax classes? What changes does marriage bring in terms of income tax class? Which office is responsible for the tax class after marriage? How to proceed after marriage because of the income tax bracket? What documents do I need to submit for the marriage and tax class change? What deadlines do I have to observe after getting married because of the tax class? Where can I find more information on the tax class after marriage? What are the legal bases for marriage and tax class? What is an allowance in the payroll tax deduction procedure? What costs can I claim as an allowance? What other allowances are there? Where do I apply for an allowance? What requirements must be met for an allowance? How can I get an allowance? What documents do I need for an allowance? What deadlines do I have to observe when applying for an allowance? Where can I find further information on the tax-free amount? What is the legal basis for the tax-free amount? Can my child who is over 18 still be included in the payroll tax deduction? Who is responsible for considering a child over 18? Which children over 18 can be considered? How are disabled children taken into account? How do I apply to have a child over the age of 18 taken into account? What documentation do I need to provide to be considered for a child over 18? What deadlines do I have to observe for the consideration of a child over 18? Where can I find more information on taking children into account? What are the legal bases for taking children into account? How is a child taken into account in the ELStAM(Elektronische LohnSteuerAbzugsMerkmale) after birth? Which body is responsible for considering a child after birth? Where can I find further information on taking children into account? How can I defend myself against a tax assessment? To what extent can the tax office help me (legal information, filling in forms)? What is a sales tax identification number (VAT ID no.) needed for? How do I obtain this? What special features do I need to bear in mind? Which tax office provides information to Swiss and Liechtenstein companies? What is sales tax? Who is an entrepreneur? What are the deadlines for submitting the advance VAT return and the annual VAT return? What needs to be considered when submitting electronically? What should be considered when invoicing for sales tax purposes? How is sales tax calculated? What does reverse charge procedure mean? What is the so-called small business regulation? What is meant by actual VAT taxation? What is the housing subsidy? What are the requirements for the housing subsidy? How do I apply for the housing subsidy? What documents do I need to apply for the housing subsidy? What deadlines do I have to observe for the housing construction premium? What is the legal basis for the housing subsidy? When is a payment by check considered paid? Can't you get a grace period on check payments too? I cannot pay my tax debts on time and would like to apply for a deferral. What do I have to pay attention to in detail? Can I pay the additional claim resulting from the last tax assessment in instalments? Do I have to pay the tax debt on the due date despite an objection? When do late payment penalties apply and how are they calculated? I would like to participate in the SEPA direct debit scheme. What do I have to do? When is the tax refund resulting from the filed return? Can I pay my taxes in cash at the tax office? I am moving my business to the area of another tax office. When will the new tax office be responsible for me? In the case of single persons, is the tax office of the 1st domicile always responsible or can the office in whose district one predominantly resides also be responsible? Which tax office is locally responsible for the income tax assessment, especially in case of change of residence and several residences? Which tax office do I have to file my tax return with? I have moved. Do I have to notify the tax office of my change of address? Tax identification number (Tax ID / IdNr.) - Info and information Where can I find information on the implementation of the data protection regulations (DSGVO) in the tax administration? Didn't find a suitable question? Click here to search the entire website Alternatively, you can also ask our control chatbot!
The most frequently asked questions from other citizens: What are the deadlines for filing income tax returns? How and where can I get my tax ID?