1. What is meant by “Steuerklasse” (tax class)?

A Steuerklasse is a tax class that is determined mainly by a person’s family status (single, married, widowed, etc.) and directly affects how much income tax is deducted from the monthly salary.

Tax Class 3 + Tax Class 5: only for married couples

When both spouses live together, are officially registered as married and are not legally separated, they can choose one of the following tax systems:

Tax Class 3 (Steuerklasse 3)

• Usually assigned to the spouse who earns more.

• Offers the highest tax allowances.

• Only a relatively low amount of tax is deducted from the monthly salary.

Tax Class 5 (Steuerklasse 5)

• Assigned to the spouse who earns less.

• Provides almost no own tax allowances.

• A relatively high amount of tax is deducted from the monthly salary.

Practical example:

• Husband: Salary: 4,000 € gross per month

• Wife: Salary: 1,500 € gross per month

Tax class distribution:

• Husband: Tax Class 3 → pays very little tax

• Wife: Tax Class 5 → pays a high amount of tax

The aim of this split is to reduce the overall tax burden of the family. However, this happens at the expense of the spouse in Tax Class 5, who pays more tax every month.

Important notes:

• This system is usually beneficial only if there is a significant difference between the spouses’ incomes.

• If the spouses have similar incomes, it is generally recommended to choose Tax Class 4 / 4 with the “Faktorverfahren” in order to distribute the tax burden more fairly.

• When filing the annual tax return (Steuererklärung), all figures are recalculated precisely. As a result, you may have to pay additional tax or you may receive a refund.

Short comparison:

• Tax-free allowances:

  • Tax Class 3: very high

  • Tax Class 5: very low

• Monthly tax rate:

  • Tax Class 3: low

  • Tax Class 5: high

• Who does it suit?

  • Tax Class 3: the higher earner

  • Tax Class 5: the lower earner

• Effect on monthly net salary:

  • Tax Class 3: noticeably higher net salary

  • Tax Class 5: noticeably lower net salary

Key German terms:

• Lohnsteuerklasse = tax class for wage/income tax

• Ehegattensplitting = joint taxation method for married couples where the combined income is split for tax purposes

• Faktorverfahren = “factor method” used with Tax Class combination 4 / 4 to distribute the tax burden more fairly between spouses

• Steuererklärung = annual income tax return submitted to the tax office

Editorial note:
The editorial team of the website makes a great effort to provide accurate and reliable information by conducting thorough research and consulting multiple sources. However, mistakes may occur, and some information may not always be completely certain or up to date. Therefore, the information presented in these articles should be regarded only as an initial, non-binding reference. For binding and up-to-date information, you should always contact the competent authorities or qualified professional advisers.