Your tax class (Steuerklasse) decides how much wage tax (Lohnsteuer) your employer deducts from your pay each month. Germany has six tax classes, from I to VI. Which tax class you are in depends mainly on whether you are single or married, whether you are raising a child on your own, and whether you have more than one job. The tax class only changes the monthly deduction. How much tax you actually have to pay in the end is calculated by the tax office (Finanzamt) using your tax return (Steuererklärung).
Where you come across the word
- Payslip (Lohnabrechnung): Your monthly payslip shows your tax class, often shortened to „StKl“.
- New job: Your employer asks for your tax ID (Steuer-ID) and your date of birth. With these, they get your tax class electronically from the tax office.
- Marriage: Your tax class changes after the wedding.
- Tax office: In letters and forms about changing your tax class.
- Applications for benefits: For parental allowance (Elterngeld) or unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld), your net pay matters. This means your tax class can also affect how much you get from these benefits.
What you should do
Know the six tax classes
- I: single, divorced, or permanently separated
- II: single parent, with a child in the household and no other adult
- III: married, your partner has tax class V or no income
- IV: married, both of you earn roughly the same
- V: married, your partner has tax class III
- VI: for a second or any further job
The same rules apply to registered civil partnerships as to married couples.
Important steps
- Register your address: After your residence registration (Anmeldung), you receive your tax ID by post. Without a tax ID, your employer cannot get your tax class. In that case they often deduct tax according to tax class VI, which means a lot.
- Check your payslip: Is your tax class correct? If not, contact your tax office.
- After getting married: Married couples normally get tax class IV automatically. If you married abroad or your partner does not live in Germany, this often does not happen automatically. In that case, ask the tax office.
- Apply for a change: Instead of IV and IV, married couples can also choose the combination III and V, or IV with factor (IV mit Faktor). You apply at the tax office, on paper or online via ELSTER, the tax authorities' portal.
- Tax return: With tax classes III and V, IV with factor, or VI, you usually have to file a tax return.
A change usually applies from the month after your application. For the current year, you can only apply up to a certain date towards the end of the year. Which combination is better for you depends on your individual situation. If you have questions, the tax office or a tax advisor (Steuerberatung) can help.
Examples
- “Please give us your tax ID so that we can get your tax class.”
- “I've had tax class IV since we got married.”
- “Your application to change your tax class has been approved. The change applies from next month.”
Related terms
- Wage tax (Lohnsteuer): The tax your employer deducts directly from your pay.
- Tax ID (Steuer-ID): Your personal number at the tax office, which never changes.
- Tax number (Steuernummer): A different number that you get, for example, for your tax return or if you are self-employed.
- Tax return (Steuererklärung): The tax office uses it to calculate your exact tax for the whole year.
- ELStAM: The electronic tax data your employer retrieves, for example your tax class.