Simply put, think of ELSTER as your personal online tax office. So before you jump straight into how you can easily file your tax return online in Germany, you might be wondering what is ELSTER? Or as it’s officially known, Mein ELSTER (My ELSTER).ĮLSTER is an online portal launched by the German tax authorities, through which tax data (tax returns, VAT returns, tax notifications, etc.) can be recorded and submitted over the internet. And the cool part? We’ve translated every step of the way so you don’t even need to ‘Deutsch Sprechen’ (speak German).įile Your German Taxes Online for FREE with ELSTER So whether you’re a freelancer, self-employed, employee or retired, simply follow this step-by-step guide to register for free on ELSTER to get started with filing your tax return in Germany. Now the only certainty for us expats living in Germany is FREE and easy tax returns! Besides improving our German (because the ELSTER website is only available in German), we found that it’s actually easy to do your German taxes online. We’ve heard the stories too! And that’s probably why you’re here.īut you see, we recently filed our own taxes as freelancers in Germany using the FREE and easy to use ELSTER platform.

Now we know you’ve probably heard from fellow expats that they’ve had to pay hundreds and hundreds of Euros to tax practitioners ( steuerberater) to help them with their German taxes. But that’s the furthest thing from the truth. And if you live in Germany, you’re probably thinking that death-by-taxes might get you first given how incredibly difficult and expensive it seems to file your German tax return. We’ve all heard the saying that nothing in life is certain but death and taxes. Whether you’re a freelancer, self-employed, employee or retired, follow this step-by-step guide to discover how to do your German taxes online for FREE. Easily do your taxes in Germany online and for free with ELSTER.įiling your tax return in Germany has never been this easy.

Registrierung elster online