Tax declaration 2025: My first time – and what I learned about it

If July 31st gets closer, I will become silent. This day you hear this one terrible word more and more: tax return. If it falls, I don’t know anything to say and keep my mouth. Because: I’ve never made a tax return. A small shame for me and thousands of euros for the state that I have missed in recent years.

End with it! I want and will do it this year. Even if I have no idea, no desire, even if everything arises in me, to start at all, to make me smart what a tax return is actually.

So, in there, let’s go!

Who, like me, has never made a tax return before: What is that anyway?

Before you find a simple answer, it gets more complicated. Because by “tax return” is actually “income tax return”.

Their official definition is: The income tax return is a written declaration of a taxpayer about his income relationships of a calendar year to the tax office.

The zero helps to understand. Simply explained: You tell the tax office what you deserved and what costs you had. The tax office then calculates whether and how much tax you have to pay. Sometimes you have paid too much, then you get money back. Sometimes you still have to pay something.

This actual explanation takes place via different forms, which fortunately has no longer have to be filled out analogously.

The first practical step: Registration with the State Tax Portal Elster. When I feel slightly ashamed of people, slightly proud that I was registering with Elster for the first time, the reactions are quite unanimous.

“The saddest app in the world”

A colleague said that she cried during use. A colleague did not even register. My desire for digital “making tax” does not reduce that. I think it’s funny that a program to help get money back is called a thieving bird.

Elster is an abbreviation and stands for tinectronic StyourheClarification. The registration runs smoothly contrary to all expectations.

You can register on the Elster.de website. Despite my optimism, I expect a hurdle with every step that does not come. Identification by identity card with the Nect Wallet app immediately works, and Elstersecure also works immediately.

Did I do something wrong?

“It’s all not a crack,” I think for the first time when I click on “Start income tax return” after registering.

An investment assistant leads me to a multi -page questionnaire. Do I have children? No. Do I get a pension in Germany? No. And abroad? Neither. Although I have no idea, I can answer all questions without any problems.

Your purpose: Based on my answers, the assistant determines which systems, i.e. which forms, I have to fill out.

Now it’s going to be made. I tighten myself and open the main form. First of all, I check all the information I have already made. Tax ID is right, name, address and bank details too.

I click through the input masks for the “Application for determining the employee savings allowance” and “Supplementary information on the tax return”, impose terms and search for amounts in my income tax certificate.

When filling out the “Appendix N” I almost give up. This is the central form for employees. There you can provide information on income from non -independent work and associated advertising costs.

It is particularly important here: All amounts must be taken from the tax certificate exactly. Otherwise there will be problems during the exam. As far as advertising costs are concerned: By default, the tax office reduces the employee lump sum from income.

If your own “professionally prompted expenses” (e.g. travel costs, work equipment, further training, moving costs, application costs, double housekeeping), you should list them individually – then you will receive a higher tax refund.

When I am at the end of the “system special edition” and my nerves, Elster checks my entries and reports: “There are still mistakes.” I fold my laptop. It is still a few days until the 31st.