Tax classes

In addition to your income level, your tax bracket also determines how high your tax burden will be. To calculate your net wage, you must therefore indicate which tax bracket you belong to. In Germany, there are the following six categories:

Tax class I

Tax class 1 applies to single, separated, widowed or divorced employees without children. Note: Even if you are not yet divorced but already have two different places of residence, you must switch to tax class I.

Tax class II

Tax class 2 applies to single, separated, widowed or divorced employees with children.

Tax class III

Tax class 3 can be selected by a person in a marriage. It is particularly useful for the sole earner or for dual earners in a marriage. It is the counterpart to tax class V.

Tax class IV

Tax class 4 is assigned automatically if spouses do not switch to classes III and V on their own. It is also the right one if spouses earn a similar amount.

Tax class V

Tax class 5 is the counterpart to tax class III. It can be selected by a person in a marriage. It is useful for the person who brings the (significantly) lower income into the partnership.

Tax class VI

Tax class 6 only applies if an employee has two jobs. Tax class VI then applies to the additional income.