The annual payroll tax certificate (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung) is a document from your employer. It shows how much money you earned in a calendar year. It also shows how much wage tax (Lohnsteuer) your employer paid to the tax office (Finanzamt) on your behalf. Your employer sends this data electronically to the tax office. You get a printout or a digital copy. So the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung sums up your whole working year on one page.
Where you will come across this word
You usually get the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung at the start of the new year. It often comes with your payslip (Lohnabrechnung) for December or January. If you change jobs or quit during the year, you usually get the certificate together with your last payslip.
The Lohnsteuerbescheinigung shows, for example:
- your name, your address and your tax ID (Steuer-ID)
- the period in which you worked for this employer
- your gross pay for the year
- the wage tax paid, the solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag) and church tax (Kirchensteuer), if you pay it
- your contributions to pension insurance (Rentenversicherung), health insurance (Krankenversicherung), long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) and unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung)
You mainly need the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung for your tax return (Steuererklärung). Sometimes other offices ask for it too, for example when you apply for social benefits, take out a loan from a bank or when daycare (Kita) fees are calculated. Exactly which documents are required depends on the federal state, the city or the office.
What you should do
- Check your details. Are your name, your address and your tax ID correct? Is the period you worked correct?
- Compare the numbers. Your gross pay should match your payslips.
- Ask if something is wrong. Contact your employer or the payroll department (Lohnbuchhaltung) first. Only your employer can correct the data.
- Keep the certificate in a safe place. File it with your tax documents. You may still need it years later.
- Watch the deadlines. There are fixed deadlines for the tax return. Some people have to file a tax return, others can do it voluntarily. Ask the tax office or an advice centre whether you have to file a tax return.
If you worked for several employers in one year, you will get a separate Lohnsteuerbescheinigung from each employer. Keep all of them.
Example
- „Anbei erhalten Sie Ihre Lohnsteuerbescheinigung für das vergangene Jahr.“ (Please find enclosed your annual payroll tax certificate for last year.)
- „Bitte reichen Sie für den Antrag eine Kopie Ihrer letzten Lohnsteuerbescheinigung ein.“ (For the application, please submit a copy of your most recent annual payroll tax certificate.)
- „Ich habe meine Lohnsteuerbescheinigung noch nicht bekommen. Können Sie sie mir bitte schicken?“ (I haven't received my annual payroll tax certificate yet. Could you please send it to me?)
Related terms
- Payslip (Lohnabrechnung): It shows your pay and the deductions for a single month, not for the whole year.
- Tax return (Steuererklärung): With it, you tell the tax office your income and expenses for one year.
- Tax assessment (Steuerbescheid): The tax office sends you this letter after your tax return. It says whether you get money back or have to pay more.
- Tax class (Steuerklasse): It determines how much wage tax is deducted from your pay each month.
- Tax ID (Steuer-ID): Your personal number at the tax office. It is also shown on the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.