A Guide to Church Tax in Germany
This page provides a detailed overview of church tax (Kirchensteuer) in Germany. We cover what it is, how much it costs and, most importantly, who needs to pay it!
⛪ You have moved to Germany, you have registered your address and started your brand new job – pay day has finally arrived! But on your payslip you notice a curious entry labelled Kirchensteuer, and a decent chunk of your hard-earned change heading straight to the church’s coffers.
Over the years, church tax (also known as German religious tax) has puzzled, bewildered and angered many newcomers to Germany, who often find themselves stuck paying this tax each and every month despite sometimes having no religious beliefs and little affiliation with the church.
So, what on earth is church tax in Germany all about?
What is the German church tax?
In Germany, members of certain religious communities are required to pay church tax, known as Kirchensteuer in German. While this does not apply to all churches in Germany, the tax is levied on members of the following church communities:
Evangelical (Evangelisch-lutherische)
Reformed (Reformierte Kirche)
Roman Catholic (Römisch-katholische)
Old Catholic (Altkatholische)
Jewish (Jüdische Gemeinde)
Put simply, the church tax applies to registered members of the Catholic, Protestant and Jewish churches. Other faiths are not subject to a religious tax in Germany.
How much is German church tax?
💰 If you are a registered member of one of these religious communities (whether in Germany or overseas), then you are probably wondering how much this is all going to cost you:
In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, church tax equates to 8% of your income tax.
For the rest of Germany, church tax equates to 9% of your income tax.
For example, if you are an unmarried employee working in Berlin and earning €45,000, your church tax contributions will be €562 per year. Here is a useful tax calculator that you can run your own circumstances through to see your church tax liability.
As with your income tax, health insurance and pension contributions in Germany, the church tax will be drawn straight from your salary by the tax office (Finanzamt) before being passed on to the respective church.
For an exact amount of how much church tax you are paying in Germany, look for an entry on your payslip titled Kirchensteuer or KS.
How did they know?!
For many expats moving to Germany, the first church tax contribution may come as a bit of a surprise. After all, how did the German tax authorities discover your religious affiliations.
In most cases, the answer is quite simple. Most newcomers to Germany unwittingly sign themselves up for church tax when registering their address (Anmeldung) in Germany. Here you are asked about your religion on the address registration form:
What may have seemed like a throwaway piece of personal data when you completed your Anmeldung has been forwarded straight to the tax office (Finanzamt), who have subsequently set up your church tax liability in Germany.
To avoid church tax in Germany, you must specify that you are not religious when registering your address in Germany. To do this, simply enter Keine Religion (no religion) or a dash (—) in the relevant box on the address registration form.
⚠️ Even if you declare that you are not religious when completing your address registration in Germany, this is not foolproof as the churches share data internationally. For example, if you are registered as Catholic in Spain, the Catholic Church in Germany may be able to get hold of this information – in this instance you will receive a bill for the backdated church tax that you owe since your arrival in Germany.
How to stop paying church tax in Germany
If you find yourself paying church tax in Germany and do not wish to continue doing so, the fix is unfortunately quite a bureaucratic one.
To get out of paying church tax, you must formally renounce your membership of the church. The process of leaving the church is called Kirchenaustritt in German, and can be completed at your local county court (Amtsgericht) or registry office (Standesamt).
As residents in Germany are leaving the different churches in record numbers, there is even a website dedicated to the process called Kirchenaustritt.de – here you will find details of where and how to formally leave the church based on where you are living in Germany as well as the associated costs for completing the process.
While the process varies from state to state, you will generally be required to attend an in-person appointment with a valid form of ID and pay approximately €30 in administration fees.
We hope this quick overview has clarified everything you need to know about the German religious tax. Whether or not you wish to pay this church tax, you now have all the information you need to avoid being caught off-guard when that payslip lands in your inbox.
For further tips on living, working and travelling in Germany, see our homepage and other blog posts.