German tax refund for EU workers

German tax refund for EU workers: why you may have paid too much

Your employer takes wage tax (Lohnsteuer) from every payslip. This amount is only a first guess. It does not know your whole year or your family. When you file a tax return, the Finanzamt calculates the real tax for the year. If you paid too much, you get the difference back.

Common reasons for a refund:

• You worked in Germany for only part of the year. The tax taken each month assumes you earn the same all year.
• Your spouse and children live in your home country. With a certificate from your home tax office (Bescheinigung EU / EWR), you may be taxed together with your spouse, which often means lower tax.
• You keep a second home in Germany while your family home is abroad (double household). Rent for the second home can count.
• You travel home to your family. Trips home can count as costs.
• You had costs for your work, for example the way to work.

Who can file

If you are an employee and your only income in Germany is your wage, you usually do not have to file a tax return. But you may file one voluntarily. This is called an application assessment (Antragsveranlagung).

Seasonal and short-term workers without a home in Germany can use a special form for non-residents, the ESt 1 C. Geldback asks you simple questions about where you lived, and you choose which applies to you.

Who usually gets no money back

Some wages are taxed at a flat rate, for example many Minijobs or seasonal farm work taxed at 5 % or 25 %. This flat tax is never paid back. If your yearly certificate shows no wage tax, there is nothing to get back. If you are self-employed, you must file online, which Geldback does not offer yet.

Four years back: the deadlines

A voluntary tax return can be filed for the last 4 years. The return must reach the Finanzamt by the last day. A postmark is not enough, so post it early, especially from abroad.

What you need

Keep these papers ready before you start:

• Your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung for each year. It is the yearly certificate from your employer and shows your gross pay and the tax taken.
• Your Steuer-ID, the 11-digit German tax ID. It is on the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung and on your payslips.
• Your bank account (IBAN), so the refund can be paid to you.
• If your spouse lives abroad: their details, and the Bescheinigung EU / EWR stamped by your home tax office.
• If you have a second home in Germany: your rent and the dates of your trips home.

Signing and sending

A paper tax return must be signed by hand. If you file together with your spouse, both of you sign, also the spouse who lives at home. You then post the forms to the Finanzamt.

Which Finanzamt? If you live in Germany, it is the Finanzamt for your address. If you do not, it is usually the Finanzamt named on your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, with its 4-digit number. Geldback shows you the address.

How Geldback helps

You answer questions on your phone in Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish or English. Geldback fills in the official German tax forms for you and checks them for common mistakes. You see your estimate before you pay.

You print the forms, sign them and post them yourself. The Finanzamt pays the refund straight into your bank account. Geldback never touches your money. The price is 49 € for the first year and 29 € for each extra year, with no commission.