Skip to content

German wage tax return (Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung)

With the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung an employer reports the total wage tax to be withheld and assumed for a filing period to the tax office of the place of business — and pays it over. Both are due at the latest on the tenth day after the end of that period (§ 41a(1) EStG). The filing period is the calendar month as a rule.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 22, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 15 min

This content is part of the path: Hiring your first employee in Germany· Step 9 of 10· Next step: German wage tax certificate (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung)

This content is part of the path: Employing mini-jobbers and temporary help· Step 7 of 7· Last step of the path

Deadlines

Tenth day after the end of the wage tax filing period
Filing AND payment — § 41a(1) sentence 1 numbers 1 and 2 EStG
On ending employment: the notification to the tax office
Without it the filing duty continues even though no wages are paid (§ 41a(1) sentence 4 EStG)
A different date where the tax office orders one
Possible where payment of the wage tax does not appear secured (§ 41a(3) sentence 2 EStG)

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • Tax number at the tax office of the place of business
  • Total wage tax to be withheld and assumed for the period
  • Breakdown of those totals by the calendar year of the wages
  • Wage tax payable for the preceding calendar year, to determine the filing period
  • Solidarity surcharge and church tax, where they must be withheld
See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Every employer who has wage tax to withhold or assume — ELSTER states the condition plainly: you are an employer
  • Anyone whose wage tax payable for the preceding calendar year exceeded 1,080 euros but was no more than 5,000 euros: the period is the calendar quarter (§ 41a(2) sentence 2 EStG)
  • Anyone whose wage tax payable was no more than 1,080 euros: the period is the calendar year (§ 41a(2) sentence 2 EStG)
  • Anyone who has just opened: what counts is the wage tax of the first full calendar month after opening the place of business, converted into an annual amount (§ 41a(2) sentence 4 EStG)
  • Anyone who no longer employs workers for whom wage tax must be withheld AND notifies the tax office: they are released from further filings (§ 41a(1) sentence 4 EStG)

Worked example

Sabine Kroll opens a place of business in March 2026 and hires two people

Because the place of business did not exist in the preceding calendar year, § 41a(2) sentence 4 EStG applies: what counts is the wage tax of the first FULL calendar month after opening, converted into an annual amount. That is April 2026, in which 210 euros of wage tax are payable; converted, that gives 210 × 12 = 2,520 euros. That figure is above 1,080 euros but not above 5,000 euros — so Sabine's filing period is the calendar quarter, not the calendar month. The return for the second quarter of 2026 must be transmitted by 10 July 2026, and the wage tax must be paid over by that same day.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Determine the filing period from the wage tax of the PRECEDING calendar year, or on a new opening from the first full month converted into an annual amount (§ 41a(2) EStG).
  2. Work out the total wage tax to be withheld and assumed for the period.
  3. Separate the totals by the calendar years in which the wages are received or deemed received — § 41a(1) sentence 1 number 1 EStG requires exactly that.
  4. Sign in to Mein ELSTER and select „Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung“ and the calendar year.
  5. Transmit the return with authentication to the tax office in whose district the place of business is located.
  6. Pay the wage tax over by the tenth day after the end of the period — filing alone does not discharge the duty.

Good to know

  • The competent office is the one of the PLACE OF BUSINESS, not of the company's seat: § 41a(1) sentence 1 number 1 EStG refers to the district in which the Betriebsstätte within the meaning of § 41(2) EStG is located.
  • The supreme tax authority of the Land may determine that the wage tax is filed and paid not to that office but to another public fund (§ 41a(3) sentence 1 EStG).
  • Where the place of business did not exist for the WHOLE preceding calendar year, the wage tax payable is converted into an annual amount to determine the period (§ 41a(2) sentence 3 EStG).
  • On request the tax office may waive electronic transmission to avoid undue hardship; the return is then filed on the official form and signed by the employer or an authorised representative (§ 41a(1) sentence 3 EStG).
  • Release from further filings has TWO conditions, not one: no more employees for whom wage tax must be withheld or assumed, AND the notification of that fact to the tax office (§ 41a(1) sentence 4 EStG).

Common mistakes

  • Simply stopping after the last wage payment. Without the notification to the tax office the filing duty continues — § 41a(1) sentence 4 EStG requires both conditions.
  • Setting the filing period by the current year. What counts is the wage tax of the PRECEDING calendar year (§ 41a(2) sentence 2 EStG), except on a new opening.
  • On a new business, using the first partial month. The statute names the first FULL calendar month after the opening of the place of business (§ 41a(2) sentence 4 EStG).
  • Filing with the tax office of the company's seat. The competent office is that of the place of business (§ 41a(1) sentence 1 number 1 EStG).
  • Lumping the totals of two calendar years together. They must be stated separately by the calendar years in which the wages are received or deemed received.
  • Filing on time and paying later. Number 2 of § 41a(1) sentence 1 EStG ties payment to the same date as the return.

Frequently asked questions

Monthly, quarterly or yearly — what decides?

The calendar month is the filing period as a rule. Where the wage tax payable for the preceding calendar year exceeded 1,080 euros but was no more than 5,000 euros, it is the calendar quarter; where it was no more than 1,080 euros, the calendar year (§ 41a(2) EStG).

I have only just opened — which period applies to me?

Where the place of business did not exist in the preceding calendar year, what counts is the wage tax of the first full calendar month after opening, converted into an annual amount (§ 41a(2) sentence 4 EStG). That annual figure is then measured against the same limits.

Must I keep filing if I no longer employ anyone?

Only until you notify. The employer is released from filing further wage tax returns where they no longer employ workers for whom wage tax must be withheld or assumed AND they notify the tax office of that (§ 41a(1) sentence 4 EStG).

Which tax office receives the return?

The one of the place of business, that is the office in whose district the Betriebsstätte within the meaning of § 41(2) EStG is located (§ 41a(1) sentence 1 number 1 EStG). The supreme tax authority of the Land may designate another public fund (subsection (3) sentence 1).

Can the tax office demand a different date?

Yes. The tax office of the place of business, or the competent other public fund, may order that the wage tax be filed and paid on a date other than the tenth where its payment does not appear secured (§ 41a(3) sentence 2 EStG).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.