Taxation

Taxation

in Germany

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If your research visit to Germany is supposed to take place in the framework of a fellowship you may, un-der certain circumstances, be exempt from taxation under German income tax law. It is certainly worth consulting the organisation which has awarded the fellowship on this point. Furthermore, you should fi nd out whether the fellowship paid in Germany is subject to taxation in your own country.

The preconditions for tax exemption on fellowships in Germany are:

■ award from public funds or via a public or non-profi t agency (recognised under German law)

■ sponsoring research or academic or artistic training or continuing education

■ no higher than the amount required to fulfi l the research task or to cover living and training needs

■ grant according to the regulations of the donor ■ no quid pro quo requirement or employment of

the recipient

9.1 Research Visit Based on a Fellowship

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Taxation

If your research visit is based on an employment con-tract in Germany and will last more than 6 months you will effectively be liable to taxation in Germany on your globally-earned income and assets.

Income tax

Income tax is deducted from your salary at source and paid to the state directly by your employer, i.e. the university. The amount of taxation depends on income, marital status and tax bracket. When you fi rst start work and at the beginning of every subse-quent calendar year, you will have to hand a “Lohn-steuerkarte” (tax card) in to your employer. It contains personal details that are relevant for taxation, such as whether you are married and have children. You can obtain this card from the “Einwohnermeldeamt” (Residents’ Registration Offi ce) in your place of resi-dence. However, an electronic system is currently be-ing developed: in future, every person registered will be issued with a life-long ID number. You will usually be sent this number by post a few days after register-ing at the Residents’ Registration Offi ce. During the transition period, a paper tax card will still be issued; it will probably be abolished completely in 2011 and replaced by the “Steuer-Identifi kationsnummer” (tax identifi cation number).

9.2 Research Visit Based on an

Employment Contract

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In order to avoid a situation in which foreigners are liable to pay tax both in Germany and in their own countries, double taxation agreements have been signed with many countries. They regulate in which country you have to pay tax.

If you stay in Germany for less than 6 months, your income will be taxed in your own country provided that you work for a foreign employer and that the double taxation agreement assigns the right of taxa-tion to your own country. If one of these conditions is not met, your salary will be taxed in Germany. Agreements exist with some countries stating that university teachers and researchers who come to

Germany for a maximum of two years to work on research at a public research institution may pay their taxes in their own countries. Details can be found in the double taxation agreements between the Member States of the EU and other countries.

9.3 Double Taxation Agreements

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In Bochum

You can download the application form for em-ployees subject to unlimited tax liability from thewebsite of the Ministry of Finance in NordrheinWestfalen:

www.fm.nrw.de/go/vordrucke> Lohnsteuer / Lohnsteuerermäßigung > Lohnsteuerermäßigung für Grenzpendler/ Steuerbefreiung bei Auslandstätigkeit > ‚Antrag auf Erteilung einer Bescheinigungfür beschränkt einkommensteuerpfl ichtige Arbeitnehmer‘ (pdf)

You will fi nd an English translation of the form(for information only) on the website of the Wel-come Centre under “formalities, taxes”

You can download the application and hand it overto the relevant administrator at Ruhr-UniversitätBochum. If you do not know your administratorBo

ersonally, please contact Stephanie Hesse. Shepethe Welcome Centre’s contact in the Personnelis epartment.De

Stephanie HesseRuhr-Universität BochumDepartment 3, Personnel MattersUV Building, Room 26144780 Bochum

Tel.: 02 34 / 3 22 70 87

Email: Stephanie.Hesse@uv.rub.de

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Taxation

At the end of each calendar year you may apply to the tax offi ce at your place of residence for a “Lohnsteuer-ausgleich” (income tax adjustment).

This may entitle you to a partial refund of tax paid. The necessary documents can be obtained from the local “Finanzamt” (tax offi ce) or “Rathaus” (town hall).You can also submit a tax return from your own coun-try if you have already returned home. It must reach the local tax offi ce by May of the following year; at the very latest by 31 December. When the tax offi ce has processed the tax return you will receive a “Steuerbe-scheid” (tax statement) informing you whether and to what extent tax will be refunded.

It may be worth paying a “Steuerberater” (tax account-ant) to help you complete your tax return.

9.4 Tax Return

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For matters relating to double taxation the “Fi-nanzamt” (tax offi ce) in Düsseldorf is responsiblefor staff at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum. It is here that the applications are examined and therespective tax bracket allocated. If you have any other questions you can get advice at the Düs-seldorf Tax Offi ce. Your contacts there are:

Finanzamt Düsseldorf-SüdKruppstr. 110-11240227 Düsseldorf

Andrea ThönnesTel.: 02 11 / 77 98 37 36

Irene PützerTel.: 02 11 / 77 98 36 25

Wolfram WenzelTel.: 02 11 / 77 98 31 04

www.fi nanzamt-duesseldorf-sued.de

For further useful information, forms and leaf-lets on the topic of taxation and double taxationin Nordrhein-Westfalen visit the website of the “Oberfi nanzdirektion Rheinland” (regional taxoffi ce):

www.oberfi nanzdirektion-rheinland.de

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9.5 Church Tax

An unusual feature of taxation in Germany is state-collected “Kirchensteuer” (church tax). Under certain circumstances, churches can have their tax collected for them by the tax offi ce. In the case of the major churches, church tax (roughly 9% of income tax) is collected by the state together with income tax and automatically deducted from your monthly salary. This is the reason why you are asked to state your religion when you register at the Residents’ Registra-tion Offi ce.

If you belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Reformed Protestant Church, the Jewish Community or certain Protestant Free Churches you are required to pay church tax in Ger-many. This does not apply, however, if you belong to the Anglican Church or the Orthodox Church. If in doubt, ask for advice at the Residents’ Registration Offi ce.

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For useful information on the subject of taxation in Germany visit:

www.steuerliches-info-center.de/en(Federal Central Tax Offi ce)

www.bundesfi nanzministerium.de(Federal Ministry of Finance)

www.dstv.de(German Association of Tax Advisers –tax accountant database)