Termbase for Moving to Germany
This termbase is designed to help you navigate and understand German bureaucracy and terms that are used throughout this site.
Address Registration
When you complete your Abmeldung in Germany, you will be issued with a deregistration certificate, known as an Abmeldebestätigung.
Your Abmeldebestätigung is a simple A4 certificate that confirms that you have deregistered from your address in Germany. You can use this certificate to cancel your health insurance and any ongoing contracts that you have in Germany such as gym memberships, internet/mobile plans, gas and electricity contracts, etc.
For further details about how to obtain your Abmeldebestätigung, see our Abmeldung guide.
Abmeldung is the formal process of deregistering from a specific address in Germany to confirm that you no longer live there. In short, it is the opposite of the Anmeldung (address registration) process that you will have completed on arrival in Germany.
You must complete your Abmeldung if you are leaving Germany on a non-temporary basis. When you complete your Abmeldung, you will be issued an Abmeldebestätigung (deregistration certificate). You can use this deregistration certificate to cancel your health insurance and any ongoing contracts that you have in Germany such as internet plans, gym memberships, utility bills, etc.
In Berlin, you can complete your Abmeldung at a Bürgeramt or via mail/email. For further details about how to deregister from your Berlin address, see our Abmeldung guide.
When you complete your Anmeldung in Germany, you will be issued with an address registration certificate, known as an Anmeldebestätigung.
Your Anmeldebestätigung is a simple A4 certificate that details your official address in Germany. When completing administrative tasks in Germany or applying for a visa, you will be asked to show your address registration certificate.
For further details about how to obtain your Anmeldebestätigung, see our Anmeldung guide.
An Anmeldeformular is an address registration form that you must submit at your Anmeldung appointment at your local citizens’ office (Bürgeramt).
On the Anmeldeformular, you provide your personal details, passport details and information about the address where you are registering.
Here is a blank copy of the Anmeldung form for Berlin. For full information about how to complete your Anmeldung in Berlin, see here.
Anmeldung is the process of registering at a specific address in Germany. You complete the Anmeldung process at a local citizens’ office/town hall (Bürgeramt).
Anmeldung is often referred to as city registration, address registration or apartment registration.
Completing your Anmeldung is a crucial first step for any relocation to Germany. It is not only a legal requirement but also an essential pre-requisite for getting a German tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer), carrying our most administrative tasks and applying for a visa in Germany.
At the end of your Anmeldung appointment, you will be issued an address registration certificate (Anmeldebestätigung).
For full details of how to complete your Anmeldung in Berlin, see our guide.
A Bürgeramt is a local citizens’ office or town hall where you can complete a wide array of administrative tasks in Germany.
Often referred to as a Bürgerbüro, Bürgerdienst, Meldebehörde or Einwohnermeldeamt, your local citizens’ office is your one-stop-shop for completing your Anmeldung, certifying documents, exchanging your driving licence, obtaining a police check/certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis), etc.
In short, you can complete most admin tasks in Germany at your local Bürgeramt.
When you initially register at an address in Germany (Anmeldung), you will be issued with an address registration certificate (Anmeldebestätigung). However, over time your certificate might become lost or damaged. In this case, you will need to apply for a new address registration certificate, called a Meldebescheinigung.
An Anmeldebestätigung and Meldebescheinigung are essentially the same thing, but you receive an Anmeldebestätigung automatically when first registering your address while you can order a Meldebescheinigung as a copy or replacement if needed.
You can apply for a Meldebescheinigung at a local citizens’ office /town hall (Bürgeramt).
To complete your Anmeldung in Germany, you first need permission from the landlord of the property where you are living. A Wohnungsgeberbestätigung form is a simple form that grants you permission to register at an address in Germany.
You must bring the original Wohnungsgeberbestätigung form that has been completed and signed by your landlord to your Anmeldung appointment.
Here is a blank copy of the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung form for Berlin.
Taxes in Germany
A Finanzamt is a local tax office that administers taxes in Germany.
There are approximately 650 local tax offices throughout the country – when you register at an address (Anmeldung) in Germany, you will fall under the jurisdiction of one of these tax offices. To find your local Finanzamt in Germany, enter your postcode in this search tool.
Once you have completed your Anmeldung and received your German tax ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer), your local tax office will oversee all your tax affairs while you live in Germany.
As taxes in Germany can be complex and Finanzamt staff generally do not speak English, we recommend that you use a tax tool to assist you with managing and filing your taxes:
Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung
In order to start working as a freelancer or self-employed worker in Germany, you must notify your local Finanzamt about your freelance business via a freelance registration form known as the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung.
Crucially, you need to complete and submit this form to your local Finanzamt in order to receive your freelance tax number (Steuernummer), which is needed before you can legally invoice clients in Germany.
The Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung form is complicated and in German. With this in mind, we highly recommend using Sorted’s free freelance registration service, which guides you through the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung form in English. This ensures you understand the form fully and enter all the correct details. Better still, Sorted will then submit the completed form to your local Finanzamt on your behalf.
Once submitted to the tax office, you can expect to receive your Steuernummer within 3–6 weeks, after which you are free to invoice clients and receive payment for your work.
The Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung form is also where you can apply for your German VAT number (Umsatzsteurnummer) or declare that you are a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer).
Einkommensteuer is income tax that you pay on your salary or earnings while working in Germany. The amount you are required to pay is dependent on how much you earn in the financial year although the first €9,744 is tax-free.
As Einkommensteuer in Germany can be complex, we recommend that you use a tax tool to assist you with managing and filing your taxes:
Kirchensteuer is a church tax that is levied on residents in Germany that are members of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish denominations.
When it comes to church tax in Germany, your local tax office (Finanzamt) doubles up as the collection agency. Depending on where you are living in Germany, the Finanzamt will withhold an additional 8–9% of your income tax, which will be funnelled through to your respective religious denomination.
Kirchensteuer is automatically drawn from your monthly salary if you have indicated that you are a church member when completing your address registration (Anmeldung) in Germany. To avoid the tax altogether, follow the instructions listed in our blog post on church tax.
In Germany, a Kleinunternehmer is a small business owner (freelancer or self-employed worker) whose annual revenue (income before deductions) is below €22,000. The small business owner regulation (Kleinunternehmerregelung) in Germany is designed to simplify tax obligations for freelancers and self-employed workers that have a low annual revenue.
Most notably, a Kleinunternehmer does not need to charge VAT when invoicing customers. This not only simplifies their accounting as they do not need to collect and pay VAT but also allows them to charge considerably lower prices than their VAT-paying competitors.
You can apply to be recognised as a Kleinunternehmer when registering as a freelancer in Germany via the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung form. Rather than battle through the complex German form on your own, we recommend using Sorted's free English service to help ensure you complete the form and are successfully registered as a Kleinunternehmer.
At the end of the financial year in Germany, your employer will provide you with an annual wage and tax statement, known as a Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.
Amongst other things, your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung includes details of:
Your employment activity in the financial year.
How much you earned in the financial year.
Income tax, solidarity tax and any church tax (Kirchensteuer) that has already been withheld.
Any grants, benefits or allowances that you have received.
You need your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung in order to file your annual tax return as an employee in Germany. Check out our blog post on Taxfix to find out your best option for completing your annual tax return in Germany.
Every household in Germany is required to pay a broadcasting contribution (Rundfunkbeitrag), which is effectively a TV and Radio Tax to fund Germany's public channels.
The Rundfunkbeitrag tax is charged per household and is a flat fee set at €17.50 per month. The Rundfunkbeitrag is compulsory even if you do not have a TV or radio or use any public service broadcasting channels.
For further details, check out our blog post on the topic.
Sorted is an online tax tool aimed at freelancers (Freiberufler) and small business owners (Kleinunternehmer) in Germany.
By combining user-friendly software with a wide array of tax services, Sorted helps freelancers set up and manage their businesses. From applying for a freelance tax number (Steuernummer) and tracking revenue/expenses to preparing invoices and even submitting annual tax reports, Sorted’s software has all the functionality needed to operate as a freelancer in Germany.
For further information about Sorted, check out our guide on how to manage your taxes as a freelancer in Germany.
Also known as a Steuer-ID or Persönliche Identificationsnummer, your Steueridentifikationsnummer is your German tax ID number. This tax ID is a life-long, permanent number used by the German tax office (Finanzamt) to identify you for tax purposes.
Essentially, your German Tax ID is used to process everything regarding your income tax. When starting a job in Germany, your employer will need your Steueridentifikationsnummer in order to process your income tax correctly.
To receive your Steueridentifikationsnummer, you must first officially register at an address in Germany, a process that is known as Anmeldung. Once you have completed your Anmeldung, your tax ID will be automatically generated and posted to your registered address. You will usually receive this within 2–4 weeks of completing your Anmeldung.
For more information, see our blog post on the Steueridentifikationsnummer.
Freelancers and self-employed workers need a Steuernummer (Freelance Tax Number) when working in Germany. The Steuernummer is issued by your local tax office (Finanzamt) and is a unique identifier of you and your freelance work.
The Steuernummer is needed in order to issue invoices and correctly process tax on freelance income. It is a legal requirement that your Steuernummer is shown on your invoices, and many clients will not accept invoices that do not have this all-important number on them.
As the application process for getting a Steuernummer is a lengthy 8-page German form, we recommend using Sorted for this process. As part of their Free plan, Sorted offer a super helpful online service that guides you through the Steuernummer form in English. This ensures you understand the form fully and enter all the correct details. Better still, Sorted will then submit the completed freelance tax number form to your local tax office (Finanzamt) on your behalf.
For more information about the Steuernummer, see our blog post on the differences between a Steuernummer and Steueridentifikationsnummer in Germany.
Taxfix is a digital tax app that assists employees in Germany with their annual tax returns.
By combining a user-friendly app with smart tech, Taxfix is working to replicate and automate the expensive services of a tax accountant (Steuerberater), in the process helping thousands of employees in Germany submit optimised tax declarations and receive the tax return that they are owed.
Via the Taxfix app, completing an annual tax return takes around 20 minutes and costs just €34.99, which is a bargain when considering that users receive an average tax refund amount of €1027.
For further information about Taxfix, check out our review and guide to using the Taxfix app.
Umsatzsteuer (or Mehrwertsteuer) is the German term for value-added tax (VAT). VAT is a sales tax levied on the supply of goods and services. The standard rate for Umsatzsteuer in Germany is 19% although this can be as low as 7% for certain products and services.
If you are a freelancer or self-employed worker in Germany, you will be required to charge VAT (Umsatzsteuer) when invoicing clients unless you are classified as a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer). If you are required to charge VAT, you will need to obtain a VAT identification number (Umsatzsteuernummer) from your local tax office (Finanzamt).
An Umsatzsteuernummer is a German VAT number, commonly known as a USt-IdNr or Umsatzsteuer-ID.
If you are a freelancer or self-employed worker in Germany, you will need an Umsatzsteuernummer in order to report VAT payments you receive to your local tax office (Finanzamt) as well as to claim back any VAT expenses you incurred.
You can apply for your Umsatzsteuernummer when registering as a freelancer in Germany via the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung form. Rather than battle through the complex German form on your own, we recommend using Sorted's free English service to help ensure you complete the form correctly and successfully apply for a German VAT number.