Income Tax for Foreigners in Germany

Euro Symbol

Euro Symbol

Living in a foreign land can result in a myriad of frustrations and difficulties, with taxes being at the forefront. Germany is no different in that area.

A tax authority is the portion of each country’s government that collects taxes and levies fines. The main tax authority of Germany is the Federal Revenue Administration. To be considered a resident, and therefore be subject to income taxes, you must maintain a habitual place of residence in Germany. To do this, you must reside in your place of residence for the majority of days in the year, meaning more than six months.

As you are preparing to file your income tax returns, you must understand that the exact deadline in which you must file your income tax returns is by May 31. The returns that you file are for the previous tax year.

There are a great number of ways in which you can file your income tax return that will also save you a lot of time. You can choose to file by sending your tax returns through the mail to the Federal Revenue Administration or you can do so by going online and filing electronically with the Elster system that you can find on the tax authority’s website. You can pay your taxes with debit through one of the banks or by using a check.

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About Addison Sears-Collins

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