Elster (Elektronische Steuererklärung) is Germany’s official online tax filing system. Filing a tax return (Einkommensteuererklärung) is mandatory for self-employed people and voluntary for employees — but for most employees, a voluntary return gets a refund of €900–1,500 because of deductions they never claimed.
Who Must File
You must file if: you’re self-employed or freelancing, you have income from multiple employers, you have investment income above €801 (Sparerpauschbetrag), you receive German welfare benefits, or you chose tax class III/V as a married couple. Employees in class I with only one employer can skip filing but almost always lose money by doing so.
Common Deductions Employees Claim
Home office (up to €1,260/year for 2023+), commuting costs (Pendlerpauschale, €0.30/km one way, above 20km €0.38/km), work-related education and courses, professional books and software, moving costs for a work-related move, and charitable donations. If your deductible expenses exceed the standard allowance (€1,230 flat Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag), you’ll get money back.
Using Elster
Register at elster.de — you’ll need your Steuernummer (from your employer’s payslip) or Steuer-ID (a permanent 11-digit number assigned at birth/registration, printed on your Anmeldungsbestätigung). Registration by post takes 2–3 weeks; online registration with an eID takes minutes.
The Elster interface is in German only. If you prefer English, use a tax app: Wundertax, Taxfix, or SteuerGo are popular and walk you through each field with explanations. They’re free for basic returns or charge €15–35 for complex ones.
Deadlines
For mandatory filers: July 31 of the year following the tax year (so July 31, 2025 for tax year 2024). If you use a Steuerberater, the deadline extends to February 28 of the year after. For voluntary filers: you have 4 years to claim a refund retroactively — filing a 2020 return in 2024 is still valid.
