Church entry change wage tax

Prerequisites

Documents required

Please note

There are five religious communities in Hamburg that have the church / cult tax administered by the tax offices:

• Evangelical Lutheran Church (ev)
• Roman Catholic Church (rk)
• Old Catholic Church (ak)
• Jewish community in Hamburg (jh)
• Evangelical Reformed Church (rf).

Deadlines

When joining or re-joining a religious community, the change in the church tax deduction feature becomes effective for tax purposes on the 1st of the month following entry. Example: If you join the church on July 4th, this will take effect for tax purposes on August 1st.

Procedure

• The declaration of entry or re-entry is made to the respective religious community.
• The religious community informs the competent registration authority.
• The information is saved there and forwarded to the Federal Central Tax Office.
• The Federal Central Tax Office informs the tax offices.
• For employees, the wage tax deduction feature (ELStAM = electronic wage tax deduction feature) is made available in a database for the employer. The next time the employer accesses the wage tax deduction features, the employer will then be automatically informed of the new church tax deduction feature.

Fees

No

Legal basis

Section 39e (3) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)