TAX REFUND FROM GERMANY

Tax refund process

If you have worked in Germany during the last four years, you can file for an income tax return. It is a simple procedure with RT Tax: register, gather the necessary documents, provide them to us, and we will take care of the rest!

Clients from Germany usually get 1072 EUR returned on average.

Registration

Register for a tax return. Immediately after the registration you shall receive the documents submission form and further instructions. Our consultants shall contact you in 24 hours and answer all potential questions.

You can also download the documents submission form on your own. Find its filling examples here. After filling it in, you will have to gather all the documents necessary for a tax return.

Documents necessary for a tax return:

A copy of your passport or ID card;

Official documents certifying the holder’s identity and citizenship.

Identifikationsnummer (IdNr. or Steuer-ID);

11 symbol tax identification number (Identifikationsnummer) is provided by Federal Central Tax Office for a person working in Germany, once he/she is registered with the residents’ registration office. The number can be found in a letter from Federal Central Tax Office, Lohnsteuerbescheinigung form, payslip or other work related document.

Example:

Identifikationsnummer

Lohnsteuerbescheinigung form or last payslips from all employments;

Lohnsteuerbescheinigung form – a document provided by employer which contains information on a person’s total income and paid taxes.

Last payslip – a document which contains information on a person’s total income and paid taxes. Last payslip is usually issued by employer together with the salary.

Example:

Lohnsteuerbescheinigung

Income certificate for the whole year from your local tax office (with translation in English or German) or form EU/EWR;

These documents show income that you have received in your home country. Form ES/EEE form can be issued only for EU citizens. Download the form here.

Rental agreement (Mietvertrag) (if you have it);

Copies of rent payments (if you have it).

Copies of rent payments (if employer did not compensate them).

NOTE: If you do not have your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung form – no problem! You can still begin your tax return process. Our experienced tax return specialists will retrieve your missing documents.

Submission of documents

Submit all the necessary documents and the documents submission form to us. Bring or send all the documents to our representative office via mail:

RT Tax
E. Ožeškienės 15
LT-44254 Kaunas
Lithuania

Having received your documents, we will begin your tax return process immediately and inform you. You can follow the process by logging in to an online account, created especially for you.

When the foreign tax office returns your taxes, you will be informed by e-mail about the successful tax refund.

Other services

If you worked in Germany, you could use Child Benefits return service. If one of the parents is working/has worked in Germany and the other lives with the child in a European Economic Area (EEA) country, the child may be entitled to a child benefit. RT Tax specialists can help you to prepare documents for you to receive Child Benefit allowance.

Child’s money (Kindergeld) belong to children until they turn 25 (if a child does not work and is still in school/university). The purpose of Child’s money is to help parents to defray some of the cost of raising children.

Amount of the allowance: if you have one or two children, each child is entitled to 219 EUR per month; the third child is entitled to 225 EUR per month and each subsequent child is entitled to 250 EUR per month.

Necessary documents:

Documents from the employer:
• Copy of form Lohnsteuerbescheinigung or last 6 pay slips from the employer. If you don’t have any of them, we can provide document search service and get them from your employer;
• Original Certificate Arbeitgeberbescheinigung from the employer;
• Copy of Employment contract in Germany (Arbeitsvertrag). Note: If you don’t have it the procedure to get Child Benefit will take longer;

Documents from the German Authorities:
• Copies of Residential areas in Germany check-in / check-out documents (Anmeldung / Abmeldung). If you don’t have it you should provide full address in Germany and the copy of Lease Agreement or document from the employer confirming the address of your stay in Germany.

Your personal documents:
• Copy of Lease Agreement in Germany (Mietvertrag) or document from the employer confirming the address of your stay in Germany. Note: If you don’t have it the procedure to get Child Benefit will take longer;
• Copies of both parents’ passports or ID cards;
• A copy of marriage certificate (translated and certified by a translation agency);
• Copy(-ies) of child(-ren) birth certificate(s) (translated and certified by a translation agency);
• Copy(-ies) of child(-ren) passport (s) or ID card (s) (if any);
• If your child is 18-25 years old, a certificate from the school / university is also required (translated and certified by a translation agency, original document)

Limitation period: according to the new regulations, child benefits from Germany may be returned for 6 previous and current month. Regulation is applied from 1st of Jan 2018.

Important information:

• To apply for German Child Benefit you must file German Income Tax declaration first. If you did not file it yet we will have to do that before starting the Child Benefit procedure. If you just started working in Germany we can apply for the Child Benefits, but we will have to file German Income Tax declaration after the year ends.

• If you stop working in Germany, you have to inform Family Benefits Office (Familienkass) because you will no longer be eligible for Child Benefit allowance. If you stop working in Germany but you still receive Child Benefit allowance, Family Benefits Office may calculate a debt for you.
• According to the limitation period, you are eligible for an allowance for prior months. A full allowance will be deposited at once when Family Benefits Office confirms that you meet the requirements for the allowance.
• Family Benefits Office considers if you are eligible for Child Benefit allowance in Germany. RT Tax is not responsible for the timeframe, outcome or the amount of allowance.