File a tax return (it's usually money back)

Good news for once: for regular employees a German tax return (Steuererklärung) is usually voluntary — and usually a refund, averaging over €1,000, because commuting, relocation costs, work equipment, and even your German course can be deductible. Moving-to-Germany year is often the best refund year of all: relocation expenses count.

Who must file: freelancers, anyone with multiple employers in a year, certain tax-class combinations for couples, and people with significant side income. Students with only a Minijob typically have nothing to file (but Werkstudenten often get all their withheld tax back by filing!).

How to file:

• ELSTER — the official (free, German-language, famously charmless) portal
• Tax apps (Taxfix, WISO Steuer, SteuerGo — some have English interfaces): €30–40, guide you like a quiz, worth every cent for your first return
• Steuerberater (tax advisor) or Lohnsteuerhilfeverein (wage-tax help association, cheap membership) for complex cases

Deadlines: mandatory filers — 31 July of the following year (later with an advisor); late-filing surcharges are automatic these days. Voluntary filers can file up to 4 years back — yes, you can still claim old refunds.

After filing comes the Steuerbescheid (assessment notice) — the Finanzamt's answer. Check it against what you filed: you have one month to object (Einspruch) if they got something wrong.

Red flags:

• Emails from "Finanzamt" or "ELSTER" with links or refund promises are phishing. The tax office writes by post or inside your ELSTER account, and never asks for card details.
• Ignoring the Steuerbescheid's one-month Einspruch window — after it closes, even obvious errors stand.
• "Advisors" without credentials who take a percentage of your refund — use ELSTER, a proper app, a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein or a real Steuerberater.
• Forgetting side income (freelance gigs, foreign income) — the Finanzamt increasingly cross-checks, and corrections initiated by them come with questions.