Electronic income tax deduction features Change of tax class after the death of a spouse or partner
Your tax bracket will be automatically converted to tax bracket III from the first month following the date of death of your spouse or partner (hereinafter referred to as both: partner). In the following year, you will also remain in tax class III.
However, you do not qualify for tax class III if you were permanently separated at the time of death. From the beginning of the second calendar year after the death of your partner, you will be in tax class I.
Instead of tax class I, you may be eligible for the more favorable tax class II if you are entitled to the relief amount for single parents. You can apply for classification in tax class II at your local tax office.
Process flow
You do not have to arrange anything in order to receive tax class III after the death of your partner. The registration office notifies the Federal Central Tax Office of any changes in marital status.
If you wish to be classified in tax class II, you can apply for this. Follow these steps:
- In the form management system of the Federal Tax Administration, select the appropriate application form in the "Tax forms" section under "Wage tax (employees)": "Application for wage tax reduction" with the attachment Children for the respective year
- Fill out the application by hand on the electronic device or printed out and sign it.
- Send the application by post to your local tax office.
- You will receive a notification.
Alternatively, you can also apply for classification in tax class II online and barrier-free via ELSTER. ELSTER is a barrier-free and platform-independent access to the electronic services of the tax administration.
For electronic authenticated submission, you need a certificate. You will receive this after your registration on ELSTER. Please note that the registration process can take up to 2 weeks.
Who should I contact?
The responsibility lies with the municipality, the joint municipality and the city.
Requirements
You and your deceased partner were not permanently separated at the time of death.
Which documents are required?
You do not need to submit any documents.
What are the fees?
There are no costs for you.
What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?
You don't have to meet any deadlines.
Processing duration
Conversion to tax class III: none
Application for tax class II: depending on the workload in the responsible tax office
Legal basis
Applications / forms
Forms: none
Online procedure possible: yes
Written form required: yes
Personal appearance required: no
Technically approved by
Lower Saxony State Tax Office
Author
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
