Money & Finance · Category
19 guides on taxes for expats in Germany, each dated and linked to the office that decides.
Investing Trade Republic charges 1 EUR per Sparplan execution while Scalable Capital's Prime+ tier covers unlimited free trades, and the Vorabpauschale debits your account every January whether you sold anything or not.
Every guide
TaxesRegistered Catholic or Protestant on your Anmeldung form and now earning in Germany? The Finanzamt automatically deducts 8 to 9 percent of your income tax through your employer's payroll, no separate filing required.
InvestingIRS PLR 202636015, released 4 September 2026, shows what it costs an American to fix a PFIC mistake after the fact: affidavits, a user fee, and years of amended returns.
Pension & RetirementRiester's subsidy clawback can cost eight years of expats leaving the EU thousands of euros, while Rürup's 2026 deduction cap rewards freelancers in the 42% bracket instead.
AccommodationDestatis logged the strongest building permit jump since 2026 in June 2026, while Grunderwerbsteuer still ranges from 3.5 to 6.5 percent by state. Here is what actually closes a purchase for a non-citizen buyer.
InvestingThe BMF set the 2026 Basiszins at 3.20 percent, and that number decides whether your ETF depot gets debited a few euros or a few hundred each January without a Freistellungsauftrag.
Pension & RetirementFive years of contributions is the magic number for a German pension, and a 2026 tax-phase-in law means your taxable share depends on the year you first draw it, not a flat rate.
Salary & BenefitsA 65,000 EUR gross offer can shrink to roughly 39,000 to 41,000 EUR net depending on your Steuerklasse, which is why German negotiators anchor to take-home pay, not headline figures.
InvestingA 300 EUR monthly MSCI World Sparplan at 7% growth nets about 13,046 EUR of a 16,000 EUR gain after Vorabpauschale and Abgeltungssteuer, roughly 18.5% tax drag thanks to Teilfreistellung.
TaxesYour tax class changes how much wage tax your employer holds back each month, not what you finally owe. What the six Steuerklassen mean, when to switch, and how to read your real take-home pay.
Freelancing & BusinessGoing freelance sounds simple until three offices each want different paperwork on their own timeline. The order to do it in: the permit, Freiberufler versus Gewerbe, the Finanzamt, and health insurance.
Pension & RetirementRiester, Rürup, or a company scheme: the right private pension depends on whether you are employed, freelance, and planning to stay. Who each one actually pays off for, with the 2026 numbers.
TaxesWhere you count as tax resident decides whether Germany taxes your worldwide income. How the 183 day rule really works, what the treaties do, and how to avoid being taxed twice.
Salary & BenefitsYour first payslip looks like a wall of abbreviations swallowing half your gross pay. Here is what Lohnsteuer, Sozialversicherung, and the rest actually take, line by line.
TaxesFiling a tax return in Germany is not mandatory for most employees, but the average refund is 1,063 EUR. Here is how to file and what you can deduct.
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