What is a Finanzamt?

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:

  • For regular employees in Germany, we recommend that you use Taxfix to submit your annual tax return to your local Finanzamt.

  • For freelancers and self-employed workers, we recommend that you use Sorted to submit your income tax return, annual profit report and VAT returns to your local Finanzamt.

Lana Zee