First payslip is shockingly low (tax class VI)

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Your first German salary arrived hundreds of euros lighter than every calculator promised. The payslip shows Steuerklasse VI — the emergency class employers must use when they don't have your tax data, which withholds the maximum. This is a paperwork gap, not a real tax rate — and the money comes back: Check the cause: HR is missing your Steuer-ID. Send it today (it's in the letter that arrived after your Anmeldung — lost it? Our Problems entry on the lost Steuer-ID covers recovery). Occasionally the issue is a second registered employment — if you have two jobs, class VI on the second one is correct. Once HR has the ID, the next payroll run uses your proper class (usually I for singles) — many employers correct the overpaid months automatically in a later payslip; ask payroll whether they will. If the year ends before it's fixed, file a tax return — the overpayment comes back in full. This is one of the cases where filing is guaranteed money. Escalate politely if HR is slow: every payslip in class VI is your money interest-free with the state.