This page is for people who live in Germany and have to file their first tax return, or want to get back tax they overpaid. It covers who must file, the deadlines for 2025, how to register with ELSTER and which annexes you will need if you have income from Ukraine.
Who must file a tax return?
You must file a tax return if the law expressly requires it or if the tax office (Finanzamt) has asked you to in writing. For employees whose tax is withheld by the employer, the law lists specific cases. A tax return is compulsory, in particular, if:
- you had other income on which no tax was withheld, of more than €410 a year;
- income that is not taxed but raises the rate (for example, unemployment benefit, or Ukrainian income exempt under the tax agreement) exceeded €410 a year;
- you worked for several employers at the same time;
- you are married, you both work, and one of you has tax class V or VI, or class IV with a factor;
- a tax-free amount (Freibetrag) was entered in your data for tax withholding, and your wages for 2025 exceeded €13,362 (€25,494 for married couples filing jointly);
- you had no wages, and your taxable income for the year exceeded the tax-free allowance (double for married couples).
In addition, capital income on which no tax was withheld, such as interest from a Ukrainian bank, must be declared in the tax return.
All other employees can file a tax return voluntarily, for example to get back part of the tax withheld.
What are the deadlines for 2025?
| Who files | Deadline for 2025 |
|---|---|
| You yourself, if filing is compulsory | 31 July 2026 (already passed) |
| With a tax adviser or a wage tax assistance association (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein) | 1 March 2027 |
| Voluntarily, to get tax back | 31 December 2029 |
By law, an adviser has until the last day of February of the second year after the tax year. 28 February 2027 falls on a Sunday, so the deadline moves to Monday, 1 March 2027. The extended deadlines of the pandemic period applied only to the years 2020 to 2024.
The deadlines for compulsory filing can be extended if you apply. If an adviser prepares your return, the tax office may require it before 1 March 2027, for example after a late return the previous year, a large additional payment or a random check, but it must give you at least four months.
For voluntary filing, the law gives four years after the end of the tax year, and this period is not extended. Under the same rule, the return for 2022 can still be filed until 31 December 2026.
What happens if you file late?
The tax office may charge a late filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag), but it does not do so if the delay is excusable. The surcharge must be charged if the return was not filed within 14 months after the end of the year, except when the tax is zero or is already covered by the amounts withheld and the advance payments.
The surcharge is 0.25% of the tax due, but no less than €25 for each month or part of a month of delay, and no more than €25,000.
How do you register with ELSTER?
ELSTER is the tax authorities’ official portal for electronic tax returns. To register, you need your tax identification number (Steuer-ID), which arrives by letter after you register your address. If you still have no number three months after registering your address, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) advises sending it a copy of your identity document and your registration certificate.
The steps, following the guide of the Rhineland-Palatinate tax office:
- Create an account (“Benutzerkonto erstellen”) and choose the option for a private individual.
- Enter your Steuer-ID and your personal data.
- Confirm your email address with a six-digit code; the code is valid for a limited time.
- Verify your identity. Either online through the Nect Wallet app or the online identification function (Online-Ausweisfunktion), in which case you can log in straight away. Or by mail: the activation ID arrives by email and the activation code by regular mail.
- Create a certificate file (.pfx) and a password for it.
Registration can take up to two weeks. We did not find an official explanation of whether online verification works with a Ukrainian passport or with a residence permit card (eAT). Anyone with income from business or self-employment files the tax return only electronically.
Which annexes will you need?
The main form is supplemented by annexes (Anlage) depending on your income. The official forms for 2025:
| Annex | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Anlage N | Wages |
| Anlage N-AUS | Wages for work abroad that you ask to be exempted from tax; a separate annex for each country |
| Anlage AUS | Foreign income and taxes, including income exempt under the agreement that raises the rate |
| Anlage KAP | Capital income, including interest from a Ukrainian bank |
| Anlage V | Rental income |
| Anlage G and Anlage S | Business and self-employed activity |
| Anlage EÜR | Profit calculation; filed only electronically |
| Anlage R-AUS | Pensions and other payments from foreign insurance |
| Anlage WA-ESt | Additional information for cases connected with another country |
| Anlage Unterhalt | Supporting relatives, including in Ukraine |
| Anlage Kind | Children |
The ELSTER instructions explain that income exempt in Germany under a tax agreement is not entered in the other annexes, except Anlage N and N-AUS; for the rate, it is entered in Anlage AUS. Foreign wages are entered in Anlage N and N-AUS. For circumstances abroad, the law places a greater duty on you to provide evidence.
Can a wage tax assistance association help?
Yes, if you have no income from business or self-employment. Since 1 September 2026, new rules apply to these associations (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein): they help members who have wages or certain other types of income, even if they also have other income. The former limits (€18,000 of other income, €36,000 for married couples) have been abolished, so you can get help, for example, even with Ukrainian rental income. But if you have income from business, self-employment or farming, or turnover on which value added tax must be paid, the association cannot help you. The associations deal only with income tax, as well as with child benefit (Kindergeld) and allowances.
How do you receive the tax office’s decision, and what if you disagree?
The tax office sends you a decision (Steuerbescheid). A paper decision sent by mail within Germany is deemed received on the fourth day after it was sent (§ 122 AO). For decisions issued after 31 December 2026, if the return was filed through ELSTER, the decision arrives by default in your ELSTER electronic mailbox and is deemed received on the fourth day; you can request delivery on paper separately (§ 122a AO).
If you disagree, file an objection (Einspruch) within a month after receiving the decision, in writing or electronically (§ 355, § 357 AO). It does not matter if you give the document the wrong title.
The tax office instructs the bank to pay out a refund on the day it draws up the decision. You usually do not need to attach receipts to the tax return, but keep them at least until the objection period ends.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Not filing a return because “the employer paid everything”: Ukrainian income over €410 makes it compulsory.
- Waiting for extended deadlines like those of the pandemic years: there are none for 2025.
- Entering income exempt under the agreement in the ordinary annexes instead of Anlage AUS.
- Missing the deadline for an objection: it is only a month.