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TAXES

Germany’s official online tax portal is now available in English

Anyone who has filled out official forms online in Germany knows how frustrating it can be to translate applications line by line. Fortunately, this year’s tax process may be just a bit less painful for English speakers.

Published: 10 April 2024 16:46 CEST
ELSTER tax return
Germany's ELSTER tax return portal is now available in English. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-tmn | Christin Klose

Non-native German speakers who need to file taxes this year are in luck – ELSTER, Germany’s online portal for self-reporting taxes, is now available in English.

German residents who are required to file taxes, including freelancers and self-employed workers, may have used ELSTER before to submit tax information to the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern).

ELSTER, which is a kind of clunky acronym for ‘ELektronische STeuerERklärung’ or electronic tax declaration, was designed by the tax office and serves as the official online tax submission portal.

Now, visitors to the ELSTER webpage can click on three dots in the top right corner of the screen to reveal a drop down menu with a link to the English version of the site. Text on the website – and its tax forms – are then automatically translated.

However, it should be noted that translations are automated via DeepL, so some phrases are bound to be a bit wonky.

Also, ELSTER’s English service is not without limitations, such as more detailed instructional pages and explainer videos that are still only available in German. So for those with little to no German comprehension, it may still be advisable to have a German friend or colleague on-call when you begin to file.

READ ALSO: 8 unlikely tax breaks that international residents in Germany need to know

Who can file their taxes with ELSTER?

Anyone who is filing taxes in Germany can use ELSTER to do so electronically.

Freelancers and self-employed workers are required to file taxes in Germany, as are people who earn more than €410 in additional income (like from rental income). 

Additionally, people must submit a tax return if they have received more than €410 in wellfare benefits, such as unemployment (Arbeitslosengeld), sickness (Krankengeld), parental allowance (Elterngeld) or short-time working benefits (Kurzarbeitsgeld).

Full and part-time employees generally aren’t required to file taxes in Germany. But some wage and salary workers choose to file in order to get a tax refund, especially when they qualify for specific tax write-offs.

The filing deadline for taxes was extended during Covid, so taxpayers have until September 2nd this year to file for income earned in 2023. Next year the deadline will return to normal, so a 2024 tax return will be due by July 31, 2025.

READ ALSO: What are the 2024 deadlines in Germany to submit my tax return?

If you wish to file your German taxes electronically, you will need to create an account with ELSTER, which requires a residence permit with an activated eID function. 

While ELSTER is Germany’s official tax filing portal, there are also several apps with an English-language function which residents can use to file their taxes, such as TaxFix and Wundertax. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

Should travellers in Germany buy flights before ticket tax hike in May?

The German government is raising an air travel tax by around 20 percent from May. What does this means for travellers?

Published: 26 April 2024 13:03 CEST
Should travellers in Germany buy flights before ticket tax hike in May?

Air travel from Germany is getting more expensive. 

That’s because, from May 1st, the Luftverkehrsabgabe or ‘aviation taxation and subsidies’ air traffic tax is being hiked by around 20 percent. The extra costs will likely be passed onto customers. 

Here are the most important points.

What is the air traffic tax – and why is it being raised?

Since its introduction in 2011, the air traffic tax – also known as the ticket tax or air traffic levy – has generated high revenues for the state. Recent figures show that it brought the government almost €1.2 billion revenue in 2022 and €1.6 billion in 2023.

The move to raise the ticket tax from May is part of German government measures to save money following a ruling on spending by the Federal Constitutional Court last year. The government expects additional annual tax revenue of between €400 and €580 million in the coming years from raising the ticket tax.

READ ALSO: Five budget cuts set to impact people in Germany in 2024

How much is it going up?

All flight departures from a German airport are taxed. The tax currently costs between €13.03 and €56.43 per ticket depending on the destination. These costs are ultimately passed on to passengers.

From May 1st 2024, the tax rates will be between €15.53 and €70.83 per ticket – depending on the destination. 

Here are the additional costs at a glance:

  • Up to 2,500 kilometres – for flights within Germany or to other EU countries, the tax rises to €15.53 per person and journey from €13.03
  • Up to 6,000 kilometres – on medium-haul flights, the ticket tax increases to €39.34 from €33.01
  • More than 6,000 kilometres – for longer flights over 6,000 kilometres, the tax rises to €70.83 from €59.43

Only flight tickets for children under the age of two – provided they have not been allocated their own seat – and flights for official, military or medical purposes are exempt from the tax. 

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in May 2024

Does this mean I should buy a ticket to fly before May?

It could make sense to book a flight before May 1st if you are planning a trip or holiday abroad. Those who buy a flight before the tax is increased will pay the lower tax – even if the flight is later in the year. 

There is still a question mark over whether the tax can be backdated on the pre-paid flight ticket. However, according to German business outlet Handelsblatt, it would be legally difficult for airlines to demand an increased tax retrospectively.

German travel outlet Reisereporter said this is one reason “why the airlines have not yet informed air travellers of the planned increase in ticket tax”.

What are airlines saying?

They aren’t happy about the hike, mostly because they already feel bogged down by fees and operating costs at German airports. 

The airline association ‘Barig’ has warned that charges at airports and in airspace are already high. According to the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry, the departure of an Airbus A320 in Germany costs around €4,000 in government fees, while in Spain, France and Poland it is between €200 and €1,500. These costs are generally passed onto customers,  making buying tickets from Germany more expensive than other places. 

The effects of the increased ticket tax will be most noticeable for low-cost airlines offering budget flights. 

A spokesperson from EasyJet recently told The Local that it was “disappointed with the increase of the passenger tax”, and that the “cost increase will result in higher fares for consumers and damage Germany’s connectivity”.

READ ALSO: ‘Germany lacks a sensible airline policy’: Is budget air travel on the decline?

Meanwhile, the aviation industry is concerned that air traffic in Germany is lagging behind other European countries and is recovering at a slower pace since the pandemic. According to the German Aviation Association BDL, around 136.2 million seats will be offered on flights in Germany from April to September 2024. This is six per cent more than in 2023, but only 87 per cent of the number of seats available before the pandemic (2019).

In the rest of Europe supply is expected to rise above the pre-pandemic level. 

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