Money
ELSTER: filing your German tax return yourself
Step-by-step guide to filing Einkommensteuererklärung for Indian employees. Deductions, deadlines, and what Steuerberaters actually cost.
Most Indian employees in Germany get a €800-2,500 refund by filing. ELSTER is free but German-only. Alternative: Taxfix/Wundertax (€35-70, English). Key deductions: relocation flat-rate €964, home office €6/day, commute €0.30-0.38/km, language classes, double household. Deadline: 31 July.
Most Indian employees in Germany get a tax refund of €800 to €2,500 in their first year just by filing. Germany overtaxes at the monthly payslip level and reconciles it at the end of the year. Not filing means leaving money on the table.
This guide walks through filing yourself via ELSTER, the official German tax platform. Free, in German, surprisingly usable once you know the flow.
Do you need to file?
You must file if:
- You are self-employed or freelance (any amount)
- You have income beyond your primary job (rental, investments, side gigs)
- You received unemployment benefits, parental leave pay, or short-time work pay
- You and your spouse both earned in the year and used tax class III/V or IV with factor
- You are requested to file by the Finanzamt (you will get a letter)
You should file (even if not required):
- You are a regular employee on tax class I or IV, single-source income. Not required, but almost always results in a refund.
- You relocated to Germany during the tax year
- You have significant work-related expenses (training, relocation, home office)
The numbers: what you can deduct
This is where the refund comes from. Track receipts for:
Relocation (Umzugskosten) - fully deductible in the year of move:
- Flights and baggage shipping from India
- Temporary accommodation (first 14 days in Germany)
- Rental deposit interest (rare)
- Estate agent fees
- One-off flat-rate: €964 for the main person, plus €643 per additional household member (2026 numbers)
Work-related expenses (Werbungskosten):
- Commute (0.30 €/km for first 20km, 0.38 €/km after, one way, per working day)
- Home office: €6/day, max 210 days = €1,260/year
- Laptop, phone, desk, chair (up to €800 net, fully deductible same year; more = depreciated)
- Professional literature, memberships, subscriptions
- Work clothing if specific to the job
- Business trips, conferences, training (including flights back to India for training)
Language courses: German classes count as continuing education (Fortbildung) and are fully deductible.
Double household (doppelte Haushaltsführung): if you maintain a household in India plus a German residence, you can deduct:
- Rent, utilities, furniture for the German flat (up to €1,000/month)
- One flight home per month
- Meal allowance (Verpflegungsmehraufwand) during the first 3 months at the new work location: €28/day for full days away from your primary household This is one of the biggest refunds for first-year Indian arrivals.
Insurance premiums:
- Health insurance (basic portion)
- Unemployment insurance
- Pension contributions (automatic, no receipt needed)
- Rürup or Riester pension (if you have one)
- Liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung), often €60 to €100/year
Other deductions:
- Charitable donations (Spendenbescheinigung required for claims > €300)
- Church tax (if you pay it)
- Childcare expenses (Kita, Tagesmutter, babysitter): 2/3 of costs up to €4,000/year per child
- Tax advisor fees from previous years (recursive deduction)
Keep receipts for 4 years. The Finanzamt can audit up to 4 years back.
Deadlines
- By 31 July of the following year if you file yourself (e.g. 2025 return due 31 July 2026).
- By 28 February of the year after that if a Steuerberater files for you (e.g. 2025 return due 28 Feb 2027 via advisor).
- If you are not required to file, you have up to 4 years retroactively. You can file for 2022 until 31 Dec 2026. Useful if you missed a year.
Option 1: File yourself via ELSTER (free)
Step 1: Register for an ELSTER account
- Go to elster.de → "Mein Benutzerkonto" → Registrieren
- Choose "Für mich persönlich" and "Zertifikatsdatei"
- Enter your tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer) and date of birth
- You will be mailed an activation letter by post. This takes 2 to 3 weeks. Start the process early.
- Activation letter contains a code. Go back to ELSTER, enter the code, download your .pfx certificate file and save it securely.
Step 2: Fill out Formulare
ELSTER auto-suggests the forms based on your situation. For a standard employee with one job:
- Hauptvordruck (ESt 1A) - personal details
- Anlage N - employment income (fill from your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, the annual tax summary from your employer)
- Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand - insurance and pension premiums
- Anlage Sonderausgaben - church tax, donations, etc.
- Anlage Kind - if you have children
- Anlage AV - if you have a Riester pension
For Werbungskosten (work expenses), fill Anlage N line 40 onwards. For relocation costs, fill Anlage N line 75 (Umzugskosten).
Step 3: Submit
Review, sign with your certificate file, submit electronically. You get a receipt (Abgabebestätigung) instantly.
Step 4: Wait for Steuerbescheid
The Finanzamt processes your return in 4 to 12 weeks (varies by region). You get an official Einkommensteuerbescheid (tax assessment) by post. It tells you your refund (or, rarely, that you owe more).
Refund is automatically transferred to the bank account you provided.
Option 2: Use a paid filing service
If ELSTER feels overwhelming (it is all in German), these paid services are in English and cost €35 to €70:
- Taxfix (taxfix.de): €40 flat fee, guided questions, mobile-first. Popular with expats.
- Wundertax (wundertax.de): €35, web-based, English interface.
- Smartsteuer (smartsteuer.de): €35, established German brand.
- ExpatTax: slightly more expensive, expat-focused.
These file for you via ELSTER APIs. They typically get 85 to 95% of the refund a Steuerberater would, at 10x less cost.
Option 3: Hire a Steuerberater
When to hire one:
- You are self-employed or freelance
- You have foreign income (Indian salary, rental, dividends)
- You have company equity (RSUs, options, ESPP)
- You own property in India or Germany
- You make more than ~€80k/year with complex deductions
Cost: €200 to €800 for employees, €600 to €2,500 for freelancers, depending on complexity. Fees are regulated by the StBVV fee schedule, which caps what they can charge.
How to find one: Use our directory or search Datev's Steuerberater lookup.
Indian Steuerberaters: Several exist in Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart who speak Hindi, Tamil, or Gujarati. Searchable in our directory.
First-year specifics for Indian arrivals
If you moved to Germany mid-year, your tax situation has quirks:
Split-year residency: Your German tax liability starts on your Anmeldung date (or actual move-in date, whichever Finanzamt accepts). Income earned in India before that is not German-taxable, but it may affect your tax class calculation.
World income clause: Germany taxes your worldwide income from the date you become tax-resident. If you earned Indian salary after moving, that is German-taxable (with credit for Indian tax under the India-Germany DTAA).
DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement): India and Germany have a treaty. Short version: tax paid in India on specific categories (rental, interest) is credited against German tax. Get a tax advisor if you have significant Indian income.
RSU/ESPP from Indian or US employers: German tax rules are different from Indian. You are taxed on vest, not sale, for RSUs. Keep records of vest dates, vest prices, sale prices.
Housing loan interest in India: Can be deducted from rental income if you rent the property out. Does not reduce German tax on German income.
Common first-year deductions to remember
A typical newcomer from India with €60k salary, no kids, moved 1 May:
- Relocation flat-rate: €964 + €643 per additional household member
- Baggage + flights actual: ~€2,500
- Language classes: ~€1,200
- Laptop for work: €1,500
- Home office 180 days: €1,080
- Double household (if maintained): €6,000+
- Work equipment, books: €400
Net: €5k to €12k additional deductions. At a marginal rate of ~35%, this is ~€2k to €4k cash refund.
What to save year-round
Open a folder (physical and digital) called "Tax-2026" on Jan 1. Drop in:
- Every employer pay slip (Gehaltsabrechnung)
- Annual Lohnsteuerbescheinigung (arrives in Jan/Feb for previous year)
- Insurance premium statements (arrive in Jan/Feb)
- Receipts for work equipment, training, relocation
- Home office hours/days log (simple spreadsheet)
- Commute km records (for days in office)
- Donation receipts (Spendenbescheinigungen)
One mistake people make
Filing too early. The tax forms for a year are released in the January of the following year. If you file in February 2026 for the 2025 tax year without waiting for your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung and insurance statements, you underreport deductions and miss refunds.
Wait until mid-February when all your annual statements arrive. File between February and July. Do not rush it.
Prefer a Steuerberater over DIY? Browse tax advisors in the directory →
Related guides on this site
Frequently asked
Do I need to file a tax return in Germany as an employee?
Usually not required for simple single-source employees on tax class I or IV, but almost always worth doing. First-year Indian arrivals typically get €800 to €2,500 refunds by claiming relocation, language classes, work equipment, and home office deductions.
When is the German tax return deadline?
31 July of the following year if you file yourself via ELSTER. 28 February of the year after that if a Steuerberater files for you. If filing is voluntary, you have up to 4 years retroactively.
Can I file my German tax return in English?
ELSTER is German only, but third-party services like Taxfix, Wundertax, and Smartsteuer offer English interfaces for €35 to €70. They file through ELSTER APIs and typically get 85 to 95% of what a Steuerberater would recover.
Found something wrong or missing?
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