Elektronische Lohnsteuerabzugsmerkmale (ELStAM): Änderung beantragen

Since 2014, it has no longer been necessary to submit a certificate for payroll tax deduction. The employer receives the wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM) electronically from the tax authorities. To retrieve the data, the employer now only needs the employee's date of birth and tax identification number, as well as information on whether the employment relationship is primary or secondary. In the case of existing employment relationships, the employer already has this information. The employee's tax office of residence is responsible.

Applications for wage tax reduction can be submitted only until 30.11. of the year.

Competence of tax offices:

• Tax class change/change
• (Non-)consideration of children (over 18/registered outside the municipality of residence of the parent/lack of maintenance)
• Wage tax reduction

Responsibility of registration office:

Changes of address and changes in civil status, e.g.

• Church entry or exit
• Marriage and establishment of a civil partnership
• birth, adoption or death

are still managed by the citizens' offices of the cities and municipalities and automatically transmitted to the tax authorities for changes in personal income tax deduction characteristics.

There is an obligation to notify the tax office if, in the case of the taxpayer

• the prerequisite for a less favorable tax class has occurred (e.g. the entry of tax class I, due to "living permanently separated" in the previous year and thus the prerequisite for tax class III no longer applies),
• a lower number of child allowances is to be taken into account,
• the prerequisite for a tax class II granted on application has ceased to apply.

Other changes to the ELStAM can be indicated, such as:

• Entry of tax class 2 (for example, after the birth of a child in the case of a single person).
• Entry of a less favorable tax class, for example, tax class 1 instead of 3 or 4
• Change of tax class between 3/5, 4/4 or 4/4 with factor

You can find more information here:

Tax office of the employee's residence