German tax classes, church tax and your Steuer-ID

Your first German payslip depends on three things most Brits have never met: an 11-digit tax ID, a tax class, and the religion box you ticked at the Bürgeramt.

The short version

Your Steuer-ID is an 11-digit number posted to you after your Anmeldung. It never changes, even if you move or marry [1][4].
There are six tax classes (Steuerklassen). Singles are in class I, single parents in II, and married couples or civil partners choose between IV/IV, IV with the factor, or III/V [5].
A couple can change classes during the year, but the application must reach the Finanzamt by 30 November to count for that year [6].
Church tax in Berlin is 9% of your income tax, charged only if you're registered as a member of a church that levies it [9]. Leaving costs EUR 30 (about £25) at an Amtsgericht [8].
If you file your own return, it's due seven months after the end of the tax year, so the 2026 return is due by the end of July 2027 [7].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = EUR 1.2002).

Your Steuer-ID: the number that follows you

Once you've registered your address, the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt) sends your tax identification number by post [1]. It's 11 digits long, contains no information about you, and stays the same for life, through house moves, name changes and marriage [4]. Think of it as the German cousin of your National Insurance number.

Your employer needs it to pull your tax details from the electronic system (ELStAM) and put you in the right class [1]. Without it, payroll can deduct tax at the punishing class VI rate until you hand it over.

Lost the letter? You can ask the BZSt to send it again using its online form or by letter. It only goes out by post, never by phone, and only to your registered address unless you give written authority and a copy of your ID [4]. Don't confuse it with the Steuernummer, the separate tax number the Finanzamt gives you for a return or a business; our freelancing guide explains that one.

The six tax classes

The class doesn't change how much tax you owe over the year. It changes how much is taken from each payslip, and the yearly return settles the difference.

Class	Who it's for
I	Single, divorced, separated or widowed people, and married people whose spouse lives abroad and isn't fully taxable in Germany
II	Single parents who qualify for the single parent relief
III	The higher earner in a married couple, when the partner takes class V on a joint application
IV	Married couples where both are fully taxable in Germany and not permanently separated; the default
V	The partner of someone in class III
VI	Your second and any further jobs at the same time

Source: § 38b of the Income Tax Act [5]. Civil partners are treated like spouses.

A quirk for Brits: if you move to Berlin first and your husband or wife stays in Manchester to sell the house, you'll usually start in class I. Once you both live here, you can switch to the married classes.

III/V, IV/IV or IV with the factor?

IV/IV suits couples who earn roughly the same. Each payslip is taxed like a single person's.
III/V suits a big gap in pay. The higher earner keeps much more each month in class III, while class V takes a heavy slice of the lower earner's pay. It can feel unfair to the person in class V, and it can matter beyond tax, because some benefits such as parental allowance are worked out from net pay.
IV with the factor (Faktorverfahren) spreads the benefit of joint assessment across both payslips according to who earns what, so neither of you has a nasty surprise.

Couples apply to change classes at the Finanzamt or through ELSTER. The law doesn't cap how often you can switch, but the application must be in by 30 November to apply that year, and it takes effect from the following month [6].

There has been talk for years of scrapping III and V in favour of the factor method from 2030 [10]. That's a proposal, not law: when we checked, § 38b still had all six classes [5].

Couples in III/V or IV with the factor must file a tax return each year, because payroll only guesses the right figure. Ehegattensplitting itself, where your joint income is split down the middle and taxed as two halves, is applied on that return. Our German taxes for Brits guide has the 2026 rates.

Church tax: the box that costs you 9%

Germany collects tax on behalf of the main churches. In Berlin, church tax (Kirchensteuer) is 9% of your income tax, capped at 3% of your taxable income [9]. Your employer deducts it through payroll, and banks deduct it from savings income too [9]. If you're married to a church member and you aren't one, Berlin can also charge a special levy (Kirchgeld) when you're assessed jointly [9].

How does the taxman know? The Anmeldung form asks your religion, and that answer flows into your tax record. Brits tend to tick a box without thinking at the Bürgeramt, then wonder why their payslip shows "KiSt".

Answer that box accurately. If you don't belong to a church that levies tax, saying so up front is far less faff than leaving later. If you're Church of England and unsure how that maps onto the German Protestant church, ask the church or the Bürgeramt before you sign, rather than guessing.

How to leave the church in Berlin

In Berlin you leave (Kirchenaustritt) at the local court (Amtsgericht) for where you live, not the Bürgeramt [8].

Find your court. Berlin has seven courts that take declarations: Charlottenburg, Köpenick, Kreuzberg (which also covers Tempelhof), Lichtenberg, Neukölln, Schöneberg and Spandau. Court districts don't always match the boroughs [8].
Take your documents: your passport or ID card, your registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung), birth certificates for children under 14 you're declaring for, and a marriage certificate if you want it noted with the registry office [8].
Declare in person. Nobody can do it for you. Alternatively, write your own declaration, have a notary certify your signature (at extra cost) and send it in [8].
Pay EUR 30 in advance. The court doesn't notify anyone until it's paid [8].

Church tax stops at the end of the month in which your declaration reaches the court [8]. Children aged 14 and over decide for themselves; children of 12 and 13 must come with their parents and agree [8].

The yearly tax return

Lots of employees in Germany don't have to file, but many do anyway, because a return often brings a refund for work costs, a home office, moving costs or childcare. Others have no choice: couples in III/V or with the factor, anyone with a class VI second job, and anyone with untaxed income such as UK rent.

Who files	Deadline
You, yourself	Seven months after the end of the calendar year, so 31 July of the next year [7]
A tax adviser (Steuerberater) or a wage tax help association	The last day of February of the second year after the tax year [7]

So the 2026 return is due by the end of July 2027 if you file it yourself; when a deadline falls at a weekend, it moves to the next working day. The Finanzamt can ask for a return earlier, and transitional rules have given advisers more time in recent years [7].

Most people file through ELSTER, the free online portal. It's in German and registration involves an activation code sent by post, so allow a couple of weeks before your first go. The FCDO adds one more job: declare assets held outside Germany when you file, as there are "severe penalties" if you don't [1]. That includes the old Halifax account and your ISA. See ISAs when you move abroad.

The UK side

None of this replaces the UK paperwork. Tell HMRC you've left with form P85, or the SA109 pages if you file Self Assessment [2], and check split-year treatment for the year you go. Your German tax class and church membership mean nothing to HMRC, so keep copies of your German tax assessments (Steuerbescheide) in case you ever need to prove German tax was paid on income the UK–Germany double taxation convention covers [3].

This is general information: a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your situation. And if you want to know how other Brits got through their first ELSTER registration, our community group for Brits in Germany is a friendly place to ask.

German tax classes, church tax and your Steuer-ID: the payslip puzzle explained