Income tax class; requesting a change
The wage tax class is part of the electronic wage tax deduction characteristics (ELStAM). If you want to change it, you must apply to your tax office.
Description
You can have the tax class stored as ELStAM changed at your tax office. In principle, a change of tax class can only be made with effect from the month following the application.
In the case of marriages during the calendar year, the tax class combination IV/IV is automatically formed for spouses. The spouses can jointly apply for a change of the automatically formed tax class combination IV/IV to III/V or IV/IV with factor (§ 39 f EStG). In this case, the change of tax classes becomes effective - in contrast to the usual cases of changing the tax class combination - from the beginning of the month of marriage or from the 1st of the month of marriage.
You are obliged to have the tax class and the number of child allowances changed by the tax office if the entries deviate from the actual circumstances, for example, because the spouses/life partners live permanently separated and the requirements for tax class III have therefore ceased to apply.
This obligation also applies if tax class II is certified, but the prerequisite for consideration of the relief amount for single parents ceases to apply during the calendar year.
Deadlines
You can have the tax class stored as ELStAM changed at your tax office during the calendar year by November 30 at the latest.
In principle, the (selected) tax class combination of spouses/life partners continues to apply in the following year if the legal requirements are met. However, the consideration of a factor must be applied for again after two years at the latest.
Links to more information
Status: 13.03.2023
Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Finanzen und für Heimat
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