Change in church tax deduction upon joining the church

When you join or re-join a church, you are obliged to pay church tax. The procedure for this is largely automated.

If you join or re-join a tax-levying religious community, you must pay church tax in accordance with the church tax laws of the federal states, as a surcharge on income or wage tax (Lohnkirchensteuer). The employer must therefore withhold not only the wage tax but also regularly the church tax from the employee's wages and pay it to the tax office each time the wage is paid. The corresponding procedure for deducting the wage church tax is largely automated. Therefore, you generally do not have to do anything further after declared entry to meet your church tax obligations.

The religious communities themselves regulate how and to which office church membership is to be declared. Church membership is recorded by the registration authorities of the federal states and can only be changed by them. The tax authorities have no influence on this. This is important, for example, if the authorities have incorrect data.

The registration authorities notify the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) of changes in church affiliation and the corresponding date. The BZSt stores the electronic wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM) in a database. The stored data also includes characteristics for church tax deduction.

The BZSt makes the ELStAM available to the employer for automated retrieval free of charge. The ELStAM are decisive for the withholding of church tax by the employer in the tax deduction procedure, i.e. the employer is bound by them and does not need to check the question of church tax liability.

• for church entry or re-entry: religious community
• for administrative change of religious affiliation: registration authorities according to state law
• for storage and provision of characteristics for church tax deduction: Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (Federal Central Tax Office)

You do not need to submit any documents.

• Forms: no
• Online procedure possible: no
• Written form required: no
• Personal appearance required: no

• personal declaration of joining or re-joining the church to the religious community
• the individual requirements depend on the respective religious community

You submit the declaration of entry or re-entry to the respective religious community.

• The religious community informs the relevant registration office. There, the information is stored and forwarded to the Federal Central Tax Office.
• The Federal Central Tax Office informs the tax offices.
• No application or notice is required vis-à-vis the tax office, since the data is forwarded to the employer by the registration authorities via the Federal Central Tax Office.

When joining or re-joining a religious community, the change in the church tax deduction feature becomes effective for tax purposes on the 1st of the month following the entry.
Example: If your church entry occurs on 7/4, this becomes effective for tax purposes on 8/1.

There are no costs for you.