Private individuals

Applications

You have various options for transmitting your tax data electronically to the tax office.

My ELSTER

The Online Tax Office allows you to submit your tax data (for example your income tax return) using your Internet browser.
A one-off registration is required to use the service. To the registration

einfachElster

The application einfachElster offers a service especially for pensioners to submit their annual income tax return quickly and easily. The clear user interface guides you step by step through the paperless preparation of your tax return. Further information

Apps from ELSTER

With MeinELSTER+ and ElsterSecure, ELSTER currently offers two different apps for Android and iOS that fulfill different purposes. Further information

Other Software products that support ELSTER

Electronic transmission is also possible with a variety of commercial software products: List of software products

Information on

Benefits and advantages of electronic tax returns

• Transfer of data from the previous year
• Pre-filled tax return (retrieval of certificates)
• Collection of documents and use for the tax return
• Plausibility check during transmission leads to significantly fewer queries from the tax office
• Non-binding tax calculation
• Display of your notification data and comparison with the transmitted values
• Receive your income tax assessment digitally

Pre-filled tax return (retrieval of certificates)

The pre-filled tax return is a free service offered by the tax authorities to make it easier for you to prepare your income tax return. Further information

You must be registered with an identification number Glossary for Show identification number in Mein ELSTER: To the registration

Submission of documents for the income tax return

The submission of receipts is only required if requested by the tax office. Further information

Digital income tax assessment

You can receive your income tax assessment electronically. To do this, you must give your consent to the electronic provision of notices and other correspondence once. Consent to electronic disclosure

Electronic income tax card (ELStAM)

The information on your electronic income tax card is available in Mein ELSTER. Further information

The prerequisite is registration with an identification number in Mein ELSTER: To the registration

Wage tax certificate

After closing the payroll account, the employer is obliged to send an electronic wage tax statement to the tax authorities. This must be given to the employee as a printout or provided electronically. Frequently asked questions about the wage tax certificate

Digital powers of attorney

You can submit powers of attorney electronically to your tax office. The power of attorney also includes the retrieval of data stored by the tax authorities (certificate retrieval). You can find further information on the various forms of power of attorney in the help section. Manage powers of attorney.

Legal matters

Information on legal obligations and regulations can be found at Legal matters