?When can I get my tax back?
You can apply for a tax refund after the end of the relevant tax year. You can apply for the previous 4 tax years.
?How much money will I get back?
Taxback.com will get you back as much overpaid German tax as is legally possible. The amount of your tax refund depends on factors like:
The average refund we get for our German tax clients is €1,020!
The quickest way to check how much you are owed is to use our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much money you could get back.
?How long will it take to receive my German tax refund?
As soon as we have it, you'll have it, because we contact you immediately when we receive your refund from the tax office to organise the easiest way to get it to you.
On average it takes 3-4 months to get your tax refund from Germany. But ultimately it depends on how busy the Tax Office is.
?How does Taxback.com work?
Here's how our easy three-step service works:
- Register online or get a FREE online refund estimation and then download the TaxPack for German tax returns.
- Send us your documents and signed forms. We'll estimate your refund and give you your own online tracking account (Tax Tracker®). If you're missing any documents, we can get replacements for you.
- Relax while we file your tax return and get you the maximum possible legal refund.
?How do I know what's happening with my tax return?
You can watch the step-by-step progress of your application on your online Tax Tracker® account. We’ll set you up with this when you register.
?What are the advantages of using taxback.com?
Thousands of people choose our service because:
?How much will it cost?
First of all, our FREE Online Refund Estimation costs nothing! You can get a free estimate of your tax refund entitlement in just a few minutes. We'll email your refund estimation straight to your personal email with no obligation to use our service.
When you send us your documents and signed forms, we'll evaluate your refund and what additional services you need (such as document retrieval). We’ll then let you know how much it will cost to file your return for you.For tax refunds from Germany, we charge 16.5% + handling fee of the refund received, subject to a minimum fee of €50 + handling fee.
When submitting a tax return, it’s possible to take advantage of many different types of tax deduction in order to boost your refund due.
With this in mind, it’s important to note that tax consulting fees (such as the fee paid by Taxback.com customers) are eligible to be deducted on your German tax return.
?Why the minimum fee?
Our fee covers all the things that make filing your German tax return with us so easy such as:
?I lost my documents / I never received my documents – what do I do?
We know it's easy to lose documents in the move back home or to not even receive them in the first place. That's why we have a document retrieval service to organise replacements for you. If you're missing documents, just contact us at germany@taxback.com and we'll sort it out for you. Please note that there is a cost for this service.
?What is a Lohnsteuerbescheinigung?
To claim your German tax refund we'll need your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung. This is the official government form that you receive from your employer at the end of the tax year. It outlines your earnings and the amount of tax you paid in that year.
If you've misplaced your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, or you never received it, our document retrieval service can sort out replacements for you.
?What is a Steuernummer?
If you've applied for a tax rebate in Germany before, you'll have a Steuernummer, it’s issued by your local Tax office in Germany. Even if this is your first tax refund application ever in Germany you will have a Steueridentificationsnummer (a tax identification number), it lasts for a life time and doesn’t change no matter how many times you move or leave Germany. If you have one it can speed up your tax refund application so make sure you tell us. You'll find the number on any documents you’ve received from the tax office.
?I was still paying rent in my home country while I was paying rent in Germany – can that affect my refund?
Yes! If you paid rent in Germany and in your home country at the same time, this can increase the refund we get for you. To get more money back for you, we need to know how much rent you paid in Germany. We also need your rental contracts from both countries. A rental contract is the agreement between you and your landlord.
?I earned money outside of Germany during the year – do I need to declare it?
Yes. You need to tell us about all your earnings for the entire year - including earnings outside of Germany. This doesn’t mean that your foreign income will be taxed in Germany, the German Tax authorities require this information to assess the correct tax rate for you.
?Can I get my tax back myself?
Every tax office in the world is set up to accept applications directly from taxpayers so yes, you can file your return yourself. The reality is though once you submit it, there's no updating process and no feedback until you get a yes or a no, which is frustrating and very worrying.
Preparing your German tax return will involve getting all the tax forms and trying to put all the information together – and it's not as easy as it looks.
The tax system in Germany is very complex and filing their own tax return is a challenge that many German citizens don't even attempt themselves.
Our taxback.com customers rely on us as technical professionals to file their German returns and get their tax back. Our customers tell us they knew trying to file it themselves would lead to stress and a possible loss of money in refunds. They'd rather focus on their university courses, their day-job or, more importantly, on tasting the local beers.
Filing your return yourself can result in lots of stress and leave you out of pocket if you miss out on refunds you're owed. It makes sense to use an expert.
?What's the difference between filing my tax return and getting my tax refund?
We file your German tax return in order to organise your tax refund.
A tax return is the annual submission of tax forms documenting your earnings, taxes paid, deductable expenses and allowances that you send to the tax office for review. They review it according to the information submitted by your employer and the current laws that apply to your case.
If you get a tax refund, this means the tax office review found you had overpaid tax in Germany and were due some back.
Our estimate of your refund is based on our prediction of what the tax office will decide when they review your tax return - providing they have the same information as us.
Use our FREE online tax refund calculator to see how much cash you could get back!
?Can you guarantee that I'll receive the refund amount you estimated for me?
No, but we do guarantee to get you the most money back that we legally can.
Our estimate is based on your documents and our experience in filing thousands of tax returns every week since 1996. Naturally, the German tax authority has the final decision in your tax refund based on their systems and tax codes.
When our tax technicians prepare and file your returns, they check for any allowances or benefits you could get and ensure we apply for the maximum rebate possible.
