Can I refund German taxes, if I was working at sea?

In Germany, tax residents are obliged to pay taxes for the full amount of income received from all around the world.
At the same time, non-residents are obliged to pay taxes for the income received on the territory of Germany (§ 49 EStG).

1) The income tax (called "Einkommensteuerrechner" in German) is calculated according to a progressive model, i.e. the higher the income, the bigger are taxes.

Income tax rates in 2018

• first rate from 14% to 42%,
• the income tax rate of 42% is applied for the income above 54,950€,
• the income tax rate of 45% is applied for the income above 260,533€

More detailed information about the tax rates can be found at the official website of the ministry

• § 32a Einkommensteuertarif

2) In addition to the income tax, one is obliged to pay the solidarity tax (called "Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz" (SolzG) in German), which is limited with the amount of 5.5% of the income tax.

3) In Germany, churches are allowed to impose the so-called church tax ("Kirchensteuer" in German) for the amount of 8-9% from the income of it's parishioners (the amount depends on the region).

Thanks to the basic personal allowance ✨ ("Grundfreibetrag" in German), one is able to receive zero rate of income tax for a specific amount of your Income.

The following specific amount is not taxed:
up to 9,408€ (in 2020); up to €9168 (in 2019), up to €9000 (in 2018), up to €8820 (in 2017), up to €8652 (in 2016), up to €8472 (in 2015)

⏩ The full amount of the basic personal allowance can be received by the following categories of taxpayers:

• German tax residents (for example, when a foreign person stays in Germany for more than 6 months in a row according to §9 AO).
• Foreign non-resident workers, who received more than 90% of the annual income in Germany; in this case the non-resident may be considered a person with unlimited tax liability, thus being able to pay taxes according to the progressive model and get access to the entire system of tax deductions for residents in Germany. In order for this to happen, one needs to submit a tax declaration (called "Einkommensteuererklärung" in German) and attach the certificate of income issued by the country of permanent residence (§1 Abs. 3 EStG; vgl. §32a Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 EStG).

☝ It's important to provide an official income certificate from the country of permanent residence!

• EU/EEA Certificate
• Non-EU/EEA Certificate

In addition, foreign employees have the right to get a wide range of tax credits by submitting a tax return to the authorities ⏬

Anna went to Germany in order to be an intern for 5 months (in 2018) and earned the amount of 9,600€. The employer cut the income and solidarity taxes in the amount of 1,000€.

In addition, Anna spent 1,500€ to buy books and pay for petrol.

Keeping in mind that it was the only source of income for Anna that year, as a non-resident she had a right to submit a tax statement and get tax refunds in full. Anna decided to use her right.

So, does Anna have an overpaid tax?

1. We need to add the untaxed amount of 9,000€ to the expenses (1,500€), thus having 10,500€ as the amount of tax allowance.
2. The income of 9,600€ is lower than the amount of tax allowance (10,500€)

As a result, the income of Anna is lower than the untaxed amount, so she's not obliged to pay the tax. Anna has a legal right to get a tax refund ✨ 💰 €1000

In Germany, the fiscal year from January 1 to December 31. According to local law, foreign employees with a single source of income with tax class 1 or 4 (Steuerklasse 1 or Steuerklassenkombination 4/4) are not obliged to submit tax returns.
☝By Germany Federal Statistics Office in 2013 the average of tax refunds was €935 per taxpayer. 💰 However, to enjoy the benefits of tax refunds you have to submit a tax return.

Mandatory tax return
You have to file a tax return if:

• you want to get a tax refund :)
• you run your own business or had income from self-employment or freelance work;
• you received an invitation from the tax office (Finanzamt) and are asked to file your tax return for whatever reason;
• you worked for more than one employer in tax year and a new employer didn't take into account an Income details from first employer (letter "S" in line 2 in your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung);
• you are a married couple with tax class 3/5;
• you received more than €410 per year in wage compensation benefits (e.g. illness, short-term work or parental leave, etc.);
• If you have additional income over the sum of €410 in tax year(e.g. renting out your flat or from self-employment);

More detailed information about who is obliged to file a German tax return.

• § 46 Veranlagung bei Bezug von Einkünften aus nichtselbständiger Arbeit

One is able to apply for a tax refund at the end of the fiscal year and not later than 4 years (AO, § 169). One needs to keep in mind that people in Germany are allowed to apply for a tax refund only for 4 years. For example, one is able to submit a voluntary tax return for 2015 until December 31, 2019.
More detailed information about the tax rates can be found at the official website of the ministry.

• § 169 Festsetzungsfrist

💡 Important information:

• In case if you have to submit a tax return for the previous year, you have to make it before May 31 of the current year.
• For example, the last day of the voluntary tax return submission in 2016 is December 31, 2020. As a result, the tax authority of your region has to receive your signed tax return for 2016 not later than on December 31, 2020!

Lohnsteuerbescheinigung is an official document that confirms the amount of your income and shows the amount of deducted taxes.
The document is issued by your employer at the end of every tax year.

One needs to know that all the data from the certificated is sent to the local authorities. As a result, one needs to have a certificate in order to get a tax refund, submit a tax return or confirm the amount of income in order to get assistance and benefit.

Which data can be found in the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung?
There are two main charts. The first one includes your personal and tax information.
The second one is a chart with information about your salary, church, and other taxes, as well as social insurance payments.

I haven't received a certificate yet! Maybe it's too early?
According to the law (§41b EStG), an employer has to issue a certificate before February 28, after the end of the calendar year. In the majority of cases, your accountant or HR department will send the certificate by the end of the year. In case you haven't received one yet, you need to submit a request to get the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung.

💡 A special number is used to make your certificate unique and associate it with you: it's called eTIN. This number consists of your name, date of birth and several other numbers.

Full tax calculation and the real meaning of Bescheid. It's worth noting that Bescheid is a document with tax calculation for a single tax year issued by the tax authorities.

The calculation consists of the following information:

On the first page:

• ваш общий доход из всех источников;
• the total income from all sources;
• the breakdown of your tax credits and allowances and taxes paid during the year;
• all overpayments (mithin sind zuviel entrichtet) or underpayments (mithin sind zuwenig entrichtet);
• the bank account number used to pay the overpaid taxes;

On the second page:

• The second and sometimes the third page of the tax calculation contains detailed information about the results shown on the first page.
• In addition, one is able to find explanations related to the tax calculation in order to understand why specific expenses weren't included in the calculation.
• Finally, these pages contain information about the actions required to appeal against the tax calculation. In case if you have no legal information in your calculation, the period to submit an appeal petition is extended from one month to one year.

Appealing against the tax calculation

One is able to submit an appeal petition in order to adjust or rectify mistakes in the calculation. For example, in case you forgot to add expenses for a uniform. One is able to send an appeal petition in four weeks after the date indicated on the postal stamp of the calculation and three additional days.

When you will receive the Bescheid

1. The tax calculation will be sent in 8-12 weeks after the submission of the tax statement.

Why does the process of calculation take so long?
In case if you submit your statement in advance, the tax authority will start working on it in March. They could wait for information from employers or insurance companies.

💡 By the way, in case you send a tax statement and haven't received the calculation in 6 months, you are able to demand the immediate processing of your statement.

In Germany, a special number called "Identifikationsnummer" is used to identify the citizens. This number is permanent and allows having access to social benefits, state services, and other information in Germany. There are several names of this number in German: Steuer-ID, IdNr., ID-Nr, Identifikationsnummer, Steuer-IdNr., Steueridentifikationsnummer.

• Please note that the IdNr always consists of 11 digits.

💡 How and where to get the IdNr:

• One is able to get it automatically from the tax authority by sending a letter with the tax calculation (Steuerbescheid) or together with a certificate from the employer. Lohnsteuerbescheinigung
• If you are in Germany and you have a confirmed address in the Meldebescheinigung letter, you can submit an online form in order to get number Mitteilung der Steueridentifikationsnummer. Your IdNr will be issued in around 4 weeks after the application.