If you worked as a Werkstudent or Minijob during the year and paid any income tax, you probably overpaid. The German tax office (Finanzamt) withholds based on monthly income, not annual totals. Someone earning €800 in January and €0 in February ends up overpaying. Filing a Steuererklärung (tax return) gets it back.
Do You Have to File?
Most students don't have to file, but filing almost always gets you money back. The average student refund runs €300 to €700. If you earned below the tax-free allowance (Grundfreibetrag) of €11,604 in 2024, you owe zero tax, so anything withheld comes back entirely.
Deadline
Voluntary filers have until December 31 four years after the tax year. So for 2023, you can file until December 31, 2027. If you're required to file (usually not the case for students), the deadline is July 31 of the following year.
What You Can Deduct
- Werbungskosten (work-related expenses): commute costs (€0.30 per km each way for car; flat-rate for public transport), work equipment (laptop, textbooks if job-related), professional memberships
- Sonderausgaben (special expenses): health insurance premiums you paid yourself (GKV contributions beyond employer coverage), church tax if applicable
- Ausbildungskosten (study costs): tuition, textbooks, study equipment — deductible from the second degree or if studying after vocational training, not first degree. Still worth listing them as "Anlage N."
- Umzugskosten (moving costs): if you moved for work or university, a flat-rate deduction of €886 applies without receipts
How to File
ELSTER (elster.de): the official free portal. Requires registration with your Steueridentifikationsnummer (the 11-digit number from the letter sent after Anmeldung). Setup takes a few days; download the certificate. No German required once you're in — the forms are in German but the logic is straightforward.
Wundertax: guided questionnaire in English and German, €34.99 per return. Worth it if ELSTER intimidates you. Averages a €1,000 refund per filing.
Steuererklärung apps: TAXFIX (€39.99), SteuerGo (€34.99) — both available in English. Fill in the blanks on your phone.
Documents You Need
- Lohnsteuerbescheinigung: your annual wage statement, sent by your employer by February. Contains everything the Finanzamt needs about your employment income.
- GKV contribution statements from your Krankenkasse
- Receipts for any deductible expenses you're claiming
- Your Steuer-ID (11-digit, from your Anmeldung letter)
Timeline
File online, and the Finanzamt typically responds within six to eight weeks. The Steuerbescheid (tax assessment letter) tells you the refund amount and pays directly to your bank account within two weeks of the letter.
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