As an employee, income tax, solidarity surcharge and, if applicable, church tax are normally deducted monthly from your salary and transferred directly to the tax office. In most cases, this would fulfil your tax obligation and you would not have to file a tax return, especially if you have remained single and at your job throughout the year.
However, the tax office still requires a tax return under certain circumstances, the so-called mandatory tax return submission.
Here are the 5 most important aspects that lead to a compulsory tax return submission for employees:
– additional income above 410 Euro per year that has not already been taxed.
– working for several employers at the same time in the same year.
– allowances on the employment tax card (Lohnsteuerkarte) that need to be checked.
– spouses use different tax classes or have chosen the IV/IV factor method.
– receipt of income replacement benefits such as parental allowance, short-time allowance or unemployment benefit.
Besides, self-employed persons, tradesmen, landlords and pensioners must always file a tax return if the total amount of income exceeds the basic tax-free amount (Grundfreibetrag) (sect. 56 Income Tax Act Enforcement Order (EStDV)).