Apply for a certificate for the deduction of income tax

Tax office can issue certificate for wage tax deduction if retrieval of electronic wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM) is not possible.

The wage tax deduction is usually carried out for you by your employer on the basis of the electronic wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM). In some cases, however, it is not possible to retrieve the ELStAM, for example, because

• Reporting data is incorrect,
• Your employer does not participate in the ELStAM procedure,
• you have not (yet) been allocated an identification number, although you are subject to unlimited tax liability and are required to register in Germany,
• you belong to a group of persons who cannot yet participate in the ELStAM procedure because they are not required to register in Germany:
  • Employees with unlimited tax liability who do not have a place of residence (e.g. homeless persons, prisoners).
  • Employees with limited tax liability within the meaning of § 1 (4) EStG who apply for an allowance in the wage tax reduction procedure
  • Employees with extended unlimited tax liability within the meaning of § 1 Para. 2 EStG
  • Employees who are to be treated as employees with unlimited tax liability within the meaning of § 1, para. 3 EStG upon application.

The responsible tax office will then issue you with a "certificate for wage tax deduction" on application, which can be used as a substitute by your employer as a basis for wage tax deduction (so-called substitute certificate). If your employer does not have such a certificate, he must deduct the wage tax according to tax class VI.

The responsibility lies with the tax office responsible for you (depending on the reason for the application: in principle your tax office of residence, in cases with a foreign connection the permanent establishment tax office of your employer).

You can find the tax office responsible for your place of residence via the tax office search on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office.

You can find the tax office responsible for your employer's place of business on your pay slip or on the printout of the electronic wage tax certificate.

Depending on the reason for the application

Depending on the reason for application:

• Form "Application for the Issue of a Certificate for the Deduction of Income Tax 20__"
• Form "Application for the issue of a certificate for the deduction of income tax 20__ for employees with limited income tax liability".
• Form "Application for the issue of a certificate for the deduction of income tax 20__ for employees with extended unlimited income tax liability and for other recipients of wages from domestic public funds".
• Online procedure possible: no
• Written form required: yes
• Personal appearance required: no

Retrieval of the electronic wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM) is not possible.

Section 39 (1) sentences 2 and 3 and Section 39e (8) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG)

none

Letter from the Federal Ministry of Finance dated 8.11.2018 (BStBl I p. 1137) and 7.11.2019 (BStBl I p. 1097).