How to File a Tax Return via ELSTER in Germany

ELSTER is the official online service of the German tax administration. Through it, you can register for free, complete your Einkommensteuererklärung, submit your tax return to the Finanzamt, and receive electronic tax messages. For employees, the most common case is a return using the form Einkommensteuererklärung unbeschränkte Steuerpflicht (ESt 1 A) with attachments such as Anlage N, Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand, and, if needed, Anlage Kind.

You can file the return yourself if your situation is simple: one or two salaried employees, German salary income, standard insurance, and ordinary work-related expenses. If you are self-employed, have foreign income, rental property, complex family circumstances, or a dispute with the Finanzamt, it is better to discuss the case in advance with a Steuerberater or a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein.

What to prepare before registering and filling it out

Before working in ELSTER, gather the documents and numbers most often needed for a tax return:

• Identifikationsnummer / Steuer-ID is your permanent tax identification number. It is usually sent after your first address registration in Germany.
• Steuernummer is the number assigned by a specific Finanzamt. After your first return, it may be assigned or updated; if you move, it sometimes changes.
• Lohnsteuerbescheinigung from your employer for the relevant tax year.
• Your spouse’s details if you are filing a joint return (Zusammenveranlagung).
• An IBAN bank account for any tax refund.
• Expense documents: receipts, invoices, contracts, Nebenkostenabrechnung, proof of payment, benefit statements, and insurance contribution certificates.

Tax ID and Steuernummer are not the same thing. Tax ID stays with the person permanently, while Steuernummer is tied to the tax office and the specific tax case.

Registering with Mein ELSTER

Start from the official registration page: elster.de/eportal/registrierung-auswahl.

For private individuals, the typical login method is a Mein ELSTER account with a certificate. The service offers different identification options, but for first-time self-filing, people usually choose a certificate file: it is stored on a computer or separate device and used together with a password.

Registration usually works like this:

1. You choose the login method and create an account.
2. You enter your personal data, email, and Steuer-ID.
3. You receive activation data: one part by email and one part by regular mail.
4. You enter the activation codes and create the certificate.
5. You save the certificate file and sign in to Mein ELSTER with your password.

Because part of the process arrives by regular mail, registration takes more than a day. If you need to submit the return by a deadline, it is better to create the account in advance.

Logging in to ELSTER using a certificate file and password.

How to create a new return

After logging in to your personal account, check your profile under Mein ELSTER — Meine Profile. It is convenient to save the main details there in advance: name, address, tax number, and family member information if you regularly need it for your tax return.

Drafts and already submitted forms are located in Mein ELSTER — Meine Formulare. To start a tax return, choose Neue Formulare starten and find the form Einkommensteuererklärung unbeschränkte Steuerpflicht (ESt 1 A).

Creating a new tax return in ELSTER.

ELSTER does not send a draft by accident. Before submission, the form goes through validation, and the user separately confirms the transfer of data to the Finanzamt. Until then, the return can be saved, corrected, and supplemented.

Which tax return to choose

For employees, Einkommensteuererklärung unbeschränkte Steuerpflicht (ESt 1 A) is usually the right form. It is used when a person is considered fully liable for tax in Germany and declares income for the calendar year.

Additional attachments depend on the situation:

• Anlage N for employment income and work-related expenses.
• Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand for pension, health, and other insurance contributions.
• Anlage Kind for children, Kindergeld, and related expenses.
• Anlage WA-ESt for certain cases involving foreign circumstances and income.
• Other Anlagen for self-employment, rental income, capital income, special expenses, and non-standard cases.

If you had income not only from a German employer, worked as a freelancer, had payments from abroad, or are not sure which Anlage is required, do not fill in the form by guesswork.

How the tax return is structured in ELSTER

Inside the form, a tree of sections is displayed on the left. Completed blocks are marked, and errors are highlighted after validation. Many fields have a help icon: the explanations are written in German, but they can still be useful as guidance for the meaning of the field.

To add or remove attachments, open Anlagen hinzufügen / entfernen. ELSTER will show a list of available sections.

Main sections of a tax return for employees without children.

Do not add every attachment one by one. The more irrelevant sections there are, the higher the risk of mistakes and unnecessary questions from the Finanzamt.

Hauptvordruck: taxpayer details

Hauptvordruck is the main section of the tax return. It includes:

1. the details of the main applicant (Steuerpflichtige Person);
2. the details of the spouse or partner in a joint return;
3. the spouses’ tax assessment type (Veranlagungsart);
4. bank details for a possible refund;
5. additional declarations and information if they apply to your situation.

Applicant details and bank information in the tax return.

In some cases, the Hauptvordruck includes payments that are not themselves taxed as regular income tax but may affect the rate through Progressionsvorbehalt. Such payments include, for example:

• Arbeitslosengeld, unemployment benefit;
• Elterngeld, parental allowance;
• Insolvenzgeld.

The list of tax-free payments that still affect the tax rate should be checked against ELSTER help and your documents for the reporting year.

Anlage N: salary and work-related expenses

Anlage N is completed by employees. It has two key parts: employment income and Werbungskosten, meaning expenses connected with professional activity.

Income from the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung

The main amounts are transferred from the employer’s annual certificate, the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung:

• Bruttoarbeitslohn is gross salary.
• Lohnsteuer is withheld income tax.
• Solidaritätszuschlag is the solidarity surcharge withheld, if applicable.
• Insurance contributions go into the relevant sections and attachments.

The Lohnsteuerbescheinigung contains line numbers and amounts that are transferred into the tax return.

If the employer has submitted the data electronically, some information may already be pulled into ELSTER through the pre-filled tax return service. But responsibility for checking it still remains with the person filing the return.

Werbungskosten: what can be claimed

Work-related expenses usually include only costs connected with work that were not reimbursed by the employer. Common examples:

• commuting to work (Entfernungspauschale);
• work tools, equipment, and special work clothing;
• professional training (Fortbildungskosten);
• application and interview expenses;
• bank charges if they relate to work;
• home office, if the conditions for the relevant deduction are met.

If your actual Werbungskosten do not exceed the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag, the Finanzamt still automatically applies the standard amount. For 2026, tax law uses 1,230 euros as the reference amount for employment income. If your documented work-related expenses are higher, it makes sense to state them in detail.

For home office, there are two different approaches:

• Tagespauschale for days worked from home when there is no separate recognized office;
• expenses for a häusliches Arbeitszimmer if a separate room truly is the center of all professional activity and meets the legal requirements.

For the Tagespauschale, the limit is up to 6 euros per day, with a maximum of 1,260 euros per year. If you have a separate office room, the calculation may be more complex: floor area, rent, utility costs, and the actual use of the room are taken into account.

Example of calculating work-related expenses when there is a home office room.

Apartment floor plan and explanation for the home office example.

Keep proof of your expenses. In Germany, documents usually are not attached to the return right away, but the Finanzamt may request them later. If there is no proof, the expense may be rejected.

Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand: insurance contributions

In Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand, you declare contributions to social and private insurance, including:

• pension insurance (Rentenversicherung);
• statutory health insurance and Pflegeversicherung;
• private health insurance, if applicable;
• unemployment insurance;
• some other insurance policies, for example Haftpflichtversicherung, Unfallversicherung, or Kfz-Haftpflicht.

Other insurance policies for “preventive measures” are usually entered in the relevant lines of Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand. The exact tax effect depends on the type of insurance and the individual deduction limit.

Anlage Außergewöhnliche Belastungen: exceptional burdens

In Anlage Außergewöhnliche Belastungen, you can declare unusual necessary expenses, for example medical costs not covered by insurance:

• operations and procedures;
• dental implants;
• co-payments for physiotherapy;
• trips to doctors;
• other documented expenses if they meet the rules.

Medical expenses are entered with both the total cost and any reimbursements from insurance.

Such expenses do not reduce your tax base from the first euro. The Finanzamt first calculates the zumutbare Belastung, which is an individual reasonable burden. It depends on income, marital status, and the number of children. That is why small everyday expenses usually have no practical effect.

Anlage Haushaltsnahe Aufwendungen: household services

This attachment is used for expenses on services performed in the household, for example:

• cleaning;
• repair work;
• gardening;
• tradespeople’s services;
• part of the costs from the Nebenkostenabrechnung for tenants.

Example of accounting for expenses on a tradesperson’s service.

It is important to separate labor costs from materials and utility charges. Gas, water, and electricity as consumption are not deductible as haushaltsnahe Dienstleistungen. Usually, you need an invoice, a separately stated labor amount, and non-cash payment.

Anlage Kind: children and childcare expenses

Add Anlage Kind if a child is taken into account in the tax return. In this section, you enter the child’s details, period of residence, relationship, Kindergeld, and expenses that may have tax relevance.

Childcare expenses in Germany can only be claimed if the conditions are met. In 2026, the rule for Kinderbetreuungskosten is that usually 80% of the costs can be considered, but no more than 4,800 euros per child per year. As a rule, this concerns childcare for a child under 14; separate conditions may apply for children with disabilities.

Such expenses may include:

• kindergarten;
• nanny;
• after-school care;
• recognized forms of Betreuung.

Payments for extracurricular classes, sports clubs, tutors, and developmental activities are usually not considered childcare expenses. The rules for school, Ausbildung, and education away from home are different, so they should not be mixed with Kinderbetreuungskosten.

Kindergeld is entered for the relevant year based on documents from the Familienkasse.

Checking and submitting the tax return

At the top of the form, the main actions are available:

• Eingeben for entering data;
• Prüfen for checking the form, highlighting errors, and getting a preliminary calculation;
• Versenden for sending it to the Finanzamt after successful validation.

Tax return control panel: the Eingeben tab.

Before sending, check:

• whether the tax year matches your documents;
• whether the amounts from the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung were transferred correctly;
• whether the required Anlagen were added;
• whether any expenses were entered without proof;
• whether draft comments and test values were removed;
• whether the correct assessment type for spouses was selected.

The Prüfen tab shows errors and a preliminary calculation.

After submission, the Finanzamt processes the return and issues a Steuerbescheid. Sometimes the tax office requests additional documents. If electronic delivery of documents is enabled, the notification about the Bescheid comes through ELSTER; with paper delivery, the decision arrives by mail.

Common mistakes in a first tax return

• Confusing Tax ID and Steuernummer.
• Adding unnecessary attachments and leaving empty or random values in them.
• Claiming private expenses as work-related.
• Entering home office expenses without understanding the difference between Tagespauschale and häusliches Arbeitszimmer.
• Not keeping proof of major expenses.
• Forgetting payments subject to Progressionsvorbehalt, such as Elterngeld or Arbeitslosengeld.
• Sending the return without checking the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.

When it is better not to file on your own

Filing through ELSTER yourself is convenient, but not always the best option. Seek professional help if you have foreign income, self-employment, cryptocurrency, rental housing, complex family changes, residence in several countries within one year, or disputed expenses. In such cases, a mistake can cost more than a consultation.