(2023) Which tax class applies to whom?

As a taxable employee, you will be assigned to one of six tax classes for the current income tax deduction. The amount of tax deducted mainly depends on your tax class. The tax class depends on your marital status:

Tax class 1

• Single, widowed, divorced, permanently separated couples, and married individuals with a spouse living abroad,

Tax class 2

• Single parents who can claim the single parent allowance,

Tax class 3

• Married individuals whose spouse is either not working or belongs to tax class 5 (provided the spouses live together),
• Widowed in the first year after the death of the spouse (provided the deceased was fully taxable and the spouses lived together).
• Tip: The tax class combination III/V is particularly beneficial if one spouse earns significantly more than the other.

Tax class 4

• Married spouses who live together and are both fully taxable. 

The tax class choice 4/4 is most favourable for spouses who earn approximately the same amount.

Tax class 5

• Married individuals when the other spouse is in tax class III. (Provided the spouses live together)

The tax class combination III/V is particularly beneficial if one spouse earns significantly more than the other.

Tax class 6

• Employees who work for more than one employer.

Since 2010, working couples have had an additional option for tax classes. In addition to the tax class combinations 3/5 and 4/4, there is now also the so-called factor method. With the tax class combination 4-factor/4-factor, allowances are taken into account in the income tax calculation from the outset. This reduces the difference between the income tax paid and the actual tax liability at the end of the year.

Special case: Tax class 0

Employees residing abroad receive the special tax class 0. The wages are then tax-free in Germany due to a double taxation agreement.