Most employees in Germany pay too much income tax during the year. Your employer deducts tax every month based on your tax class, but it doesn't know about your commute, your new laptop or the course you paid for. Filing a tax return (Steuererklärung) is how you get that money back — on average around €1,000 per person.

Do I need to file a tax return?

If you are a regular employee with one job, filing is usually voluntary. That's good news: you can go back up to four years. In 2026 you can still file for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Filing becomes mandatory in some cases — for example if you had more than one employer at the same time, received more than €410 in side income, or got parental or unemployment benefits.

Which documents do you need?

  • Lohnsteuerbescheinigung — your annual tax statement from your employer
  • Receipts for work expenses such as laptops, desks or training
  • Mietbescheinigung or utility bills if you claim household services
  • Insurance statements (liability, disability, private pension)
You don't need to understand every German tax term. You only need your documents — we translate the rest.

What can you deduct?

The most common deductions are commuting costs (€0.38 per km from the first km since 2026; until 2025 €0.30 for the first 20 km and €0.38 beyond that), the home office allowance (€6 per day, up to €1,260 per year), work equipment, moving costs for a new job and training.

How long does it take?

After your return is submitted via ELSTER, the Finanzamt usually takes 6–12 weeks. You'll receive a tax assessment (Steuerbescheid) and the refund is transferred to your bank account.

Start your tax return

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