Ehegattensplitting is Germany’s joint tax assessment for married couples and registered civil partners: the Finanzamt adds both spouses’ taxable incomes together, divides the total by two, applies the normal progressive income tax rate to that half, and then doubles the tax owed on it. That doubled figure is your combined income tax bill. Because Germany’s rates climb from 14% up to 42% (and 45% above €277,825), pushing half of a lopsided household income into a lower zone of the curve produces real savings. The wider the gap between what the two of you earn, the more you save. When both spouses earn the same, splitting changes nothing.
Who Can Use Joint Assessment
Section 26 of the Einkommensteuergesetz sets three conditions, and all three have to be met. Both partners must have unlimited income tax liability in Germany, meaning each keeps a primary residence or habitual abode in the country. The couple must be legally married or in a registered civil partnership. And they must not be permanently separated.
The conditions only need to exist at some point during the tax year, not for the whole year. A couple who marries on December 31 can apply splitting to their entire year’s income. Permanent separation means the shared domestic and economic partnership has ended for good; a work relocation or hospital stay does not count, but if one spouse moves out with no intention of returning, eligibility ends for the following tax year.
If one spouse dies, the survivor can still use joint assessment for the year of death, because the marriage existed during that year. Section 32a Abs. 6 EStG then extends the splitting tariff to the surviving spouse’s own income for one additional year (informally called Gnadensplitting or widow’s splitting), provided the couple met all requirements at the time of death and the survivor does not remarry within that period.
The Splitting Formula Step by Step
The mechanics in § 32a Abs. 5 EStG are simple arithmetic:
- Add the taxable income of both spouses.
- Divide the total by two.
- Apply the standard progressive tax rate to that halved amount.
- Multiply the resulting tax by two. That is the couple’s combined income tax.
The saving comes entirely from the shape of the rate curve. For 2026, an individual pays 0% on the first €12,348 (the Grundfreibetrag), then rates climb progressively from 14% through the zone up to €69,878, sit flat at 42% between €69,879 and €277,825, and reach 45% above that. Under joint assessment, each threshold effectively doubles: the couple pays no tax on the first €24,696 of combined income, and the 42% zone doesn’t start until combined income exceeds roughly €139,756. That doubling of thresholds is the whole engine.
A Worked Example
Say one spouse earns €90,000 and the other €20,000. Filed individually, the higher earner sits well inside the 42% bracket while the lower earner barely touches the progressive zone. Under splitting, the Finanzamt treats each as earning €55,000. At €55,000, the marginal rate is still climbing and hasn’t reached 42% yet. Doubling the tax on €55,000 produces a smaller bill than the two separate returns would have generated, by several thousand euros.
Narrow the gap and the benefit shrinks. Two spouses each earning €55,000 get nothing from splitting, because halving €110,000 already gives €55,000 on each side. Splitting is not a general tax break for married people. It is a correction for unequal earnings between spouses.
Tax Classes During the Year
Splitting decides your final annual tax bill. Tax classes decide how much your employer withholds from each paycheck. The annual return settles the real number either way, but the class combination you pick controls your cash flow all year.
Class IV / IV
When you marry, both spouses are automatically placed in class IV. Each paycheck is taxed as if the person were single. This fits couples who earn roughly the same and produces no large refund or back-payment at year-end.
Class III / V
The higher earner can switch to class III and the lower earner to class V. Class III withholds much less each month; class V withholds considerably more. Household take-home rises during the year, which helps when the family relies mainly on the higher income. The lower earner’s paycheck shrinks noticeably, though, and the couple almost always owes a back-payment when the return is filed, because class III under-withholds by design. It is generally recommended only where one partner brings in at least 60% of household income. There has been political discussion about ending the III/V combination; as of early 2026 no binding legislation has taken effect.
Class IV With Factor
The middle path is class IV with the Faktorverfahren. The Finanzamt calculates a factor from your projected annual incomes and applies it to each spouse’s monthly withholding, spreading the splitting benefit across both paychecks instead of concentrating it in one. Withholding lands closer to the truth, year-end adjustments stay small, and neither spouse sees a gutted net income. You apply at your local Finanzamt, the factor must be renewed every two years, and choosing this method makes filing an annual return mandatory.
When Separate Filing Beats Splitting
Joint assessment is not always cheaper. Either spouse can trigger separate assessment (Einzelveranlagung under § 26a EStG) simply by choosing it on the return; the other does not need to agree. Situations where it’s worth running the numbers both ways:
- One spouse received wage-replacement benefits such as Elterngeld, unemployment benefits, or Kurzarbeitergeld. These are tax-free but lift the rate on other income through the Progressionsvorbehalt, and joint filing spreads that effect across both spouses’ earnings.
- One spouse received a severance lump sum eligible for the Fünftelregelung. Pooling it with a high-earning spouse’s income can shrink or eliminate the reduced-rate benefit.
- Both spouses individually earn above roughly €69,878. Both halves already sit in the 42% flat zone, so splitting adds little.
- One spouse has large medical or extraordinary expenses. The deductible threshold (zumutbare Belastung) depends on income, and a lower individual income can clear the threshold that the joint figure wouldn’t.
- One spouse has a business loss to carry forward. Separate filing preserves the loss while the other spouse still uses their full personal allowances.
- The spouses belong to different denominations, or only one belongs to a church. Joint filing can trigger the besonderes Kirchgeld on the non-member’s income; separate filing avoids it.
ELSTER and most commercial tax software let you compute the return both ways before you submit, which is the safest approach when any of these situations applies.
Filing the Joint Return
Both spouses file a single combined return. The cover sheet (still commonly called the Mantelbogen, formally the ESt 1 A) is where you tick Zusammenveranlagung to request joint assessment. Each partner enters their eleven-digit Steueridentifikationsnummer. The attachments depend on what you earned:
- Anlage N for employment income and work-related deductions, one per employed spouse.
- Anlage KAP for investment income and capital gains, if you want the Finanzamt to check whether your personal rate beats the 25% flat withholding.
- Anlage G for trade or business income.
- Anlage S for self-employment or freelance income.
Each spouse completes their own income attachments. The Finanzamt combines all reported income into the joint total before applying the splitting formula.
The standard channel is ELSTER, the official electronic tax portal. After registering for a digital certificate you can complete and submit the return through a browser, and the system generates a confirmation protocol as proof of filing. Paper filing is still allowed. Each spouse can hold their own ELSTER account, but the joint return goes in as a single submission under one account, and the submitting spouse’s certificate covers the electronic signature for both.
Deadlines
For the 2025 tax year filed in 2026, the deadline is July 31, 2026. If a certified tax advisor or income tax assistance association prepares the return, it moves to February 28, 2027. Voluntary filers (for example, a IV/IV couple with only employment income) face no penalty for late submission and generally have four years to claim a refund. If you were required to file and miss the deadline, the Verspätungszuschlag is at least €25 per month overdue, calculated as 0.25% of the assessed tax per month, and interest can accrue on any unpaid balance.
Reviewing the Steuerbescheid
Once the Finanzamt processes your return, it issues a Steuerbescheid showing the final calculation, deductions applied, and whether you owe or are owed. Processing takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Refunds go directly to the bank account on the return.
Check the notice against your own records. You have one month from the date of the notice to file an Einspruch (objection), in writing or electronically. The Finanzamt then reviews the whole assessment, not just the points you raised, and issues a corrected notice or a formal rejection. A rejection can be challenged at the competent tax court within one month.
Filing an objection does not suspend your obligation to pay. If the notice shows tax owed, pay by the deadline stated even while the objection is pending. You can request Aussetzung der Vollziehung (suspension of enforcement), but it is not granted automatically.