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German wage tax certificate (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung)

On the ending of an employment relationship OR at the end of the calendar year, the employer must close the employee's wage account (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG). On the basis of the entries in that account the employer must then transmit, for EACH employee, the electronic wage tax certificate to the tax authority competent for that employee's income taxation, in accordance with § 93c AO (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG) — and that provision's deadline is the LAST DAY OF FEBRUARY of the following year (§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO). The employee must be handed a printout in the officially prescribed form within a reasonable time, or be given it electronically (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG).

Up to date for 2025 — verified on October 3, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 25 min

This content is part of the path: Hiring your first employee in Germany· Step 10 of 10· Last step of the path

Deadlines

Closing the wage account: on the ending of the employment relationship or at the end of the calendar year
§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG — two triggers, not one
Transmission: by the last day of February of the following year
§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO, to which § 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG refers
Paper cases with no electronic transmission duty: the same February deadline, counted from the closing of the wage account
By the last day of February of the calendar year following the CLOSING OF THE WAGE ACCOUNT (§ 41b(1) sentence 4 EStG)
Handing it to the employee: within a reasonable time
§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG — as a printout or made available electronically

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • A closed wage account for each employee
  • Each employee's tax identification number
  • The electronic wage tax deduction features retrieved
  • The name and number of the tax office the wage tax was remitted to
  • The duration of the employment and the number of capital letters U
  • The type and amount of wages paid and the capital letter S
  • The employee's unemployment insurance contributions
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 keeping a wage account — the duty applies for EACH employee, not only those still employed at the year end (§ 41b(1) sentences 1 and 2 EStG)
  • Employers on the ENDING of an employment relationship during the year: the wage account must then be closed, not left until December (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG)
  • Employers NOT obliged to transmit electronically: they issue a wage tax certificate in the officially prescribed form and send it to the establishment tax office (§ 41b(1) sentence 4 EStG)
  • Employers WITHOUT computerised payroll who employ only marginally employed staff in their own private household within § 8a SGB IV and issue no electronic certificate (§ 41b(3) sentence 1 EStG)
  • Not the employee: they receive the certificate, they do not produce it (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG)

Worked example

Buchbinderei Krauss parts company with an employee in June 2026

Mr Ilic leaves the business on 30 June 2026; the other four staff stay. The owner, Ms Krauss, assumes she will deal with all the wage tax certificates together in January 2027. The wording, however, names TWO triggers: the wage account must be closed on the ending of an employment relationship OR at the end of the calendar year (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG). For Mr Ilic it must therefore be closed at the end of June 2026. Transmission itself then follows § 93c AO, to which § 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG refers: the data must be transmitted after the end of the tax period by the last day of February of the following year (§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO) — for 2026, therefore, by the end of February 2027, and that applies to Mr Ilic just as to the four remaining employees. What Ms Krauss may not defer is handing it over: the employee must be handed the electronic wage tax certificate in the officially prescribed form WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME as a printout, or be given it electronically (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG). Mr Ilic needs it for his own income tax return, and he has already left the business.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Establish for each employee which trigger applies: the ending of the employment relationship or the end of the calendar year (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG).
  2. Close the wage account — the certificate is produced ON THE BASIS of the entries in the wage account, not alongside them (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG).
  3. Assemble the electronic wage tax deduction features retrieved, together with the name and number of the tax office to which the wage tax was remitted (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 no. 1 EStG).
  4. Record the duration of the employment during the calendar year and the number of capital letters U noted (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 no. 2 EStG).
  5. Record the type and amount of wages paid and the capital letter S noted (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 no. 3 EStG).
  6. Log in to Mein ELSTER and select the wage tax certificate form (new/correction); a correction runs through the same form.
  7. Transmit the data by the last day of February of the following year (§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO).
  8. Hand the employee a printout in the officially prescribed form within a reasonable time, or make it available electronically (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG).
  9. Submit any certificates not handed over to the establishment tax office (§ 41b(1) sentence 6 EStG).

Good to know

  • The certificate is not a separate document alongside the payroll: it is produced ON THE BASIS of the entries in the wage account, once that account has been closed (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG).
  • The data go to the authority competent for the EMPLOYEE's income taxation (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG) — not the establishment tax office, which is the addressee only in the paper cases in subsections 1 sentence 4 and 3.
  • Anyone not obliged to transmit electronically sends the certificate to the establishment tax office and hands the employee a DUPLICATE (§ 41b(1) sentences 4 and 5 EStG).
  • For employers without computerised payroll who employ only marginally employed household staff under § 8a SGB IV, the same paper route with a duplicate applies (§ 41b(3) EStG).
  • Certificates not handed over must be submitted to the establishment tax office (§ 41b(1) sentence 6 and (3) sentence 3 EStG) — they do not simply lapse.
  • Where the employer did not know the employee's tax identification number, up to the 2022 assessment period an identifier had to be formed from surname, first name and date of birth and processed solely for tax purposes (§ 41b(2) EStG).
  • Where SEVERAL establishment tax offices are competent for one employer, the office of the domestic place of management is competent, failing which that of the establishment with the most employees (§ 41b(4) sentences 2 and 3 EStG).
  • The § 93c AO data record expressly carries whether the notification is an INITIAL, a CORRECTED or a CANCELLING one (§ 93c(1) no. 2 AO) — correction is provided for in the procedure.

Common mistakes

  • Starting all certificates only in January. The wage account must be closed on the ENDING of the employment relationship, not just at the year end (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG).
  • Transmitting the data to your own establishment tax office. The recipient is the authority competent for the EMPLOYEE's taxation (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG); the establishment tax office is the addressee only in the paper cases.
  • Reading the February deadline as the deadline for handing the certificate to the employee. That must happen within a REASONABLE time (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG); the February deadline concerns transmission to the tax authority (§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO).
  • Giving departed employees nothing. The duty to hand over admits no exception for ended employment; certificates not handed over must be submitted to the establishment tax office (§ 41b(1) sentence 6 EStG).
  • Omitting the capital letters U and S. They are expressly part of the particulars to be transmitted (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 nos. 2 and 3 EStG).
  • Trying to cure an error with a second, informal message. The data record provides for whether the notification is initial, corrected or cancelling (§ 93c(1) no. 2 AO), and ELSTER carries new and correction in the same form.
  • Confusing the certificate with the wage tax return. The return declares the tax withheld on a running basis; the certificate closes the wage account for each employee.

Frequently asked questions

When must I close the wage account?

On the ending of an employment relationship or at the end of the calendar year (§ 41b(1) sentence 1 EStG). Both events trigger the duty, and the first can fall mid-year.

By when must I transmit?

§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG refers to § 93c AO, under which the data must be transmitted after the end of the tax period by the last day of February of the following year (§ 93c(1) no. 1 AO).

Which tax office receives the data?

The authority competent for the employee's income taxation (§ 41b(1) sentence 2 EStG). Only an employer not obliged to transmit electronically sends the certificate to the establishment tax office (§ 41b(1) sentence 4 EStG).

What does the employee get?

The electronic wage tax certificate in the officially prescribed form, handed over as a printout within a reasonable time or made available electronically (§ 41b(1) sentence 3 EStG). In paper cases they receive a duplicate (§ 41b(1) sentence 5 EStG).

I only employ a household helper on a mini-job — does this apply to me?

A separate route then applies. An employer without computerised payroll who employs only marginally employed staff in their private household within § 8a SGB IV and issues no electronic certificate produces one in the officially prescribed form and sends it to the establishment tax office by the last day of February of the calendar year following the closing of the wage account (§ 41b(3) sentence 1 EStG).

How do I correct a certificate that is wrong?

Through the same procedure. The § 93c AO data record states whether the notification is an initial, corrected or cancelling one (§ 93c(1) no. 2 AO), and the ELSTER form carries 'new/correction' in its title.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

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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.