Germantaxes.de: How to do your German tax return

Doing your tax return in Germany can be a challenge if you haven't yet mastered the German language, or, even worse, if you have no idea how taxes work in Germany. And although many people like a challenge, when it comes to things that have to do with money, most of us would prefer not to take risks and go for the easiest solution.

Step-by step-guide to German tax returns

It’s very easy to do your tax return at germantaxes.de. This tool is designed for people without prior knowledge about taxes in Germany. You only need 15 minutes and you’ll receive an average refund of 1.007 euros.

To make your life easier and help you get one of the highest possible refunds on your tax return, Wundertax has put together this handy step-by-step tutorial: 

Step 1: Personal data

In this section, you only have to enter your personal data. After choosing the tax year for which you want to prepare your declaration, you must enter your name, surname, date of birth, address, religion and marital status. If you are married, you also have the option of filing a joint tax return with your spouse.

Step 2: Income

This is the most important step. This is where you provide your income information on germantaxes.de, no matter whether you're an employee or self-employed. If you are an employee, you will need your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung (the income tax certificate provided by your employer). After entering the data, the tool will start calculating if you’re owed anything back. If you’re a freelancer, use the “other sources of income” section to enter your income information.

Step 3: Expenses

During the third step, you can insert expenses like “Job search and training expenses”, “Professional association fees and tax consultancy” and “Telecommunication costs”. Suggestion: you can deduct the cost of using this tool on next year’s tax declaration!

Step 4: Work / Study expenses

In the fourth section, you can deduct costs related to work and study items, such as computers, software, books and so on. If you spent less than 110 euros, you don’t need to specify the type of item you bought, the total cost or the date of purchase. If you spent more than 110 euros per year, remember to keep your receipts / invoices, in case the tax office requests them.

Get the highest refund possible at germantaxes.de!

Step 5: Transportation to and from work

During the fifth step, you can deduct the cost of commuting to and from the office every day, by providing your home and office address. The tax office takes 0,30 euros per km into account as deductible costs. If you paid for public transportation, you can deduct these costs as well. There is no need to panic if you lived or worked in two different places in a given year; you can make another entry with the respective addresses.

Step 6: Additional costs

During the sixth step, you can insert other, additional expenses you accumulated in a given year, such as childcare costs, household services, healthcare costs, and many others. This is where you can also deduct the costs of any job-related relocation: perfect if you moved to Germany for a new job!

Step 7: Data for the tax office

In the seventh and last section, you need to provide the tax office with some important information in order to receive your tax return: your bank account details, your tax ID (Steuer-ID) or tax number (Steuernummer). Once you have provided this data, you can proceed with the service fee payment. Of course, you can also stop the process at any time without incurring any costs.

Submit your tax declaration

Your tax declaration is done! Now, you have to submit it to the tax office. You can submit it online by scanning your ID / passport and Anmeldung certificate, or via post by printing, signing and sending your tax declaration to the tax office. Soon after, you’ll receive a confirmation letter that your tax return has been filed. Be aware that it can take up to 10 weeks to receive your tax refund.

Get your tax refund now! Start your tax declaration at germantaxes.de!