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Filing Your German Income Tax Return (Einkommensteuererklärung)
Document Checklist
Steuer-Identifikationsnummer / IdNr.
Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer (Steuer-IdNr.)
Required: Eleven-digit lifetime number assigned by the BZSt after the Meldebehörde transmits your registration data
Where to get: Arrives by post within roughly four to six weeks of Anmeldung. If not received within three months, request re-issuance at online.portal.bzst.de
Cost: Already issued
Per the BZSt, the IdNr. is delivered only by post — never by email or phone — for data-protection reasons. It is distinct from the Steuernummer (the Finanzamt-local case-reference number, which the Finanzamt assigns after your first return is processed). On the Hauptvordruck the IdNr. and Steuernummer fields are separate; first-filers usually leave Steuernummer empty.
IBAN
Bankverbindung for refund
Required: SEPA-eligible IBAN for any Erstattung (refund); international IBANs are accepted but processing may take longer
Cost: Already opened
Enter the IBAN in the Hauptvordruck. A refund is paid by SEPA-Überweisung within a few business days of the Bescheid being issued.
Werbungskosten-Belege
Belege for Werbungskosten (employee track)
Required: Receipts for income-related expenses that exceed the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag of €1.230 per § 9a EStG — typically commuting (Entfernungspauschale at 38 Cent per kilometre from the first kilometre), Homeoffice-Pauschale, work equipment, professional literature, doppelte Haushaltsführung
Where to get: Retained from the Kalenderjahr; need not be physically attached to the return but must be producible on request
Cost: Already incurred
Itemising pays off only once your actual Werbungskosten total exceeds the €1.230 Pauschbetrag. Long commutes, training expenses or a home-office allocation often push newcomers over this threshold without realising it.
Sonderausgaben-Belege
Belege for Sonderausgaben
Required: Receipts for deductions beyond the Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag of €36 (single) / €72 (joint): Zuwendungsbestätigungen for donations, Kirchensteuer, Riester- or Rürup-Beiträge if not auto-transmitted, Kinderbetreuungskosten, tuition payments
Cost: Already incurred
Most insurance contributions are auto-transmitted via Belegabruf — verify in Mein ELSTER before manually entering.
EÜR-Belege
Einnahmen- and Ausgaben-Belege for the Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (freelancer track)
Required: All business Rechnungen issued and all business expenses (Bürobedarf, Fachliteratur, Fortbildung, Geschäftsreisen, anteilige Wohnungs- und Telefonkosten where allocable) for the Kalenderjahr
Where to get: Retained from the Kalenderjahr
Cost: Already incurred
Per § 147 AO (Abgabenordnung) receipts must be retained for ten years even when not attached to the return. The Anlage EÜR is the standardised cash-basis profit-and-loss form and must be transmitted electronically by every freelancer regardless of revenue size.
ausländische Einkommensnachweise
Pre-arrival foreign Lohnsteuerbescheinigung equivalent (partial-year arrivals)
Required: Foreign income certificate (for example P60 in the UK, IRS W-2 in the US) for the pre-arrival portion of the Kalenderjahr, where the newcomer is subject to Progressionsvorbehalt
Cost: Already issued
Pre-arrival income is not part of the German tax base but is reported under Progressionsvorbehalt for rate-setting — the tax rate applied to the German-period income reflects worldwide income for the year. Skipping this disclosure usually triggers a Finanzamt query and delays the Bescheid.
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