When Employees are Required to Submit a Tax Return and Applicable Deadlines
Here is a brief summary of the main cases in which employees are required to submit an income tax return and the deadlines to be observed:
I. Mandatory Submission
S in Line 2 of the Income Tax Certificate: An income tax return must be submitted by any employee who worked for multiple employers in one year if the second employer did not consider the values of the other employer in the income tax calculation. This is indicated by a large S in line 2 of your income tax certificate.
Tax Class VI: If you work simultaneously for two employers and are taxed under tax class VI for the second job, you must submit an income tax return.
Severance Payment: If your employment was terminated and you received a severance payment, you are required to submit an income tax return if your former employer withheld the income tax using the “fifth method.”
Spouses: Tax Classes III/V and IV with Factor: Spouses or registered life partners must submit an income tax return if they have the combination of tax classes III and V and the partner with tax class V received wages, or if they chose tax class IV with a factor.
Separate Assessment for Spouses or Life Partners: If you are in a marriage or life partnership and your partner submitted a separate tax return, you are also required to submit an income tax return.
Divorce and Remarriage: If you divorce or become widowed and remarry in the same calendar year, you are required to submit an income tax return.
Wage Replacement Benefits: Wage replacement benefits such as unemployment benefits, sick pay, short-time work benefits, or parental allowance are always tax-free. However, these benefits are subject to the progression clause, which increases the personal tax rate on the remaining income. If you received more than €410 per year in wage replacement benefits, you must submit a tax return.
Additional Income: If you have additional income, for example from rental income or freelance work, or from abroad, you must submit a tax return if this additional income was more than €410 per year.
Income Tax Allowance: If you have entered allowances on your income tax certificate for the income tax deduction, perhaps due to high travel expenses or maintaining two households, you are required to submit an income tax return. Exemptions include lump sums, for example for the disabled or child allowances.
Capital Gains: If you have earned capital gains for which no withholding tax has been deducted, you must also submit an income tax return.
Loss Carryforwards from Previous Years: You are also required to submit an income tax return if you have loss carryforwards from previous years.
II. Deadlines
If you prepare and submit the tax return yourself, you generally have until July 31 of the year following the assessment period.
If you entrust a lawyer or tax advisor with this task, the deadline is automatically extended until the end of February of the second year following the assessment period.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, these deadlines have been adjusted for several years:
- The tax return for 2022 must be submitted by October 2, 2023, if you prepare it yourself. If you engage a lawyer or tax advisor, the deadline is extended to July 31, 2024.
- The tax return for 2023 must be submitted by September 2, 2024, if you prepare it yourself. If you engage a lawyer or tax advisor, the deadline is extended to June 2, 2025.
- The tax return for 2024 must be submitted by July 31, 2025, if you prepare it yourself. If you engage a lawyer or tax advisor, the deadline is extended to April 30, 2026.
How We Can Help
If you have any questions about taxes, the advisors at WYN LEGAL are available to assist you personally at our offices in Frankfurt am Main and Siegen, or online.
