Starting a job in Germany
Your employer needs a few numbers from you before your first payslip: tax ID, social security number, health insurance and bank details. Then it helps to understand your tax class and what gets deducted.
Before your first day
- Tax ID (Steuer-ID) · Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer (IdNr, Steuer-ID) Mandatory
Your German tax ID is an 11-digit number sent by post after your first Anmeldung. When it arrives, how to request it again, and how it differs from the Steuernummer.
- Social security number · Sozialversicherungsnummer / Rentenversicherungsnummer (Versicherungsnummer) Usually required
How you get a German social security number: it is issued when you start your first job. What the number looks like, the Versicherungsnummernachweis and replacing it.
- Health insurance · Krankenversicherung (Krankenkasse) Mandatory
Health insurance is mandatory for everyone living in Germany. How public and private cover work, what employees pay in 2026, family cover and visa insurance.
- Bank account · Girokonto (current account) Usually required
How to open a bank account in Germany: online vs branch banks, opening without Anmeldung, ID checks, your right to a Basiskonto and why any EU IBAN must be accepted.
First payslip
- Tax classes · Lohnsteuerklasse (Steuerklasse) Depends on your situation
What German tax classes I to VI mean, which one you get, how married couples choose III/V or IV/IV, and how to change your class in ELSTER.
- Payslip · Lohnabrechnung / Gehaltsabrechnung Recommended
How to read a German payslip: gross pay, wage tax, church tax, solidarity surcharge and the 2026 social insurance rates that turn Brutto into Netto.
- Sick leave · Krankmeldung / Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung (AU) Mandatory
Off sick in Germany? Tell your employer at once, get a doctor's note by day 4, and receive full pay for 6 weeks, then Krankengeld. The 2026 rules explained.
After your first year
- Tax return · Einkommensteuererklärung (Steuererklärung) Depends on your situation
When a German tax return is mandatory or voluntary, 2026 deadlines, how to file in ELSTER, and common deductions for newcomers like moving costs and home office.