Tax return 2022 deadline: 31 December 2026

What the tax return 2022 deadline means

If you were an employee in Germany and your only income was your wage, you did not have to file a tax return. But you may file one voluntarily, to get back tax you paid too much. This is called an application assessment (Antragsveranlagung).

For a voluntary return, you have 4 years after the end of the tax year. For 2022, that time ends on 31 December 2026. A return for 2022 that arrives later can no longer bring money back.

Why it matters

Many EU workers in Germany pay more wage tax than they need to, for example because they worked only part of the year, have a spouse and children in the home country, keep a second home in Germany, or travel home often. The extra tax is not paid back by itself. You only get it back if you file a return.

2022 is the oldest year you can still file. Once the deadline has passed, that year is closed for good.

Arrival counts, not the postmark

This is the point many people miss. The return must reach the Finanzamt by 31 December 2026. It is not enough to post it on that day. A postmark from 30 December does not help if the letter arrives in January.

Post from Romania, Bulgaria or Poland to Germany can take several days or longer, and the last weeks of the year are busy for the post. Plan for that.

• Aim to post your 2022 return by the start of December 2026.
• Use registered post or a service with tracking, so you can see when it arrived.
• Keep a copy of everything you send.

What to do now

If you worked in Germany in 2022, here is a simple plan:

• Find your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung for 2022. If you had several employers, you need one from each.
• Find your Steuer-ID. It is on the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung and on your payslips. If you lost it, ask the BZSt to send it by post now, because that takes time.
• If your spouse lived abroad in 2022 and you want to file together, ask your home tax office to stamp the Bescheinigung EU / EWR. This can take a visit.
• Fill in the return, sign it by hand and post it to the right Finanzamt.
• While you are at it, check 2023, 2024 and 2025 too. The same documents and answers often apply.

Deadlines for the later years

Each year has its own deadline, always 4 years after the end of the tax year. In every case, the return must arrive by that day.

When other rules apply

In some cases you had a duty to file a tax return, for example if you worked for two employers at the same time, or if your tax class was based on a spouse living abroad. Then other deadlines apply, and older years can sometimes still be open. If your answers point to this, Geldback tells you so. It does not judge your case further.

How Geldback helps before the deadline

Geldback fills in the official German tax forms for 2022 to 2025 from your answers, in Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish or English. It shows you the address of your Finanzamt. You print, sign and post the return yourself, so you control when it leaves. You see your estimate before you pay. The price is 49 € for the first year and 29 € for each extra year.