Does a favourable tax class save tax?

No. The tax class only controls how much wage tax the employer withholds each month. The annual tax depends solely on annual income and is fixed in the assessment. A different class shifts money between the months and the assessment — it does not reduce the tax.

Which tax class do married couples have?

After marriage both are placed in class IV automatically. The options are IV/IV, III/V and IV/IV with a factor. All three lead to the same annual tax; they differ only in the monthly deduction and therefore in the size of the refund or the amount due.

Why does III/V so often end in a payment due?

In class III too little is withheld, because the deduction already anticipates the benefit of joint assessment month by month. Together with the high deduction in class V, the total withheld often does not match the actual annual tax — and the difference is demanded afterwards.

When does tax class 6 apply?

To the second and every further employment. It has no allowances at all, which is why the deduction is highest there.

Number format: this calculator uses German notation throughout — a comma is the decimal separator and a dot groups thousands. “1.234,56” means one thousand two hundred thirty-four euros and fifty-six cents. The figures come from German tax law, so they are shown the way German authorities write them.

Tax classes explained

Your tax class decides how much wage tax your employer withholds each month. It does not decide how much tax you owe in the end. That single distinction clears up most of the misunderstandings — and it is why “the most favourable tax class” is a question with no answer.

The one sentence that matters

Your annual tax depends solely on your annual income. The tax class only shifts when you pay it: more each month and less in the assessment — or the other way round. Changing class to save tax saves no tax. Changing class to have more cash each month does exactly that — and later brings a correspondingly smaller refund, or an amount to pay.

There is one exception with a real effect: wage replacement benefits such as Elterngeld, short-time working allowance or unemployment benefit are based on net pay before the benefit starts. Switch beforehand to a class with higher net pay and the benefit is larger. That is not a tax saving, but it is money.

The classes one by one

I Single people, the permanently separated, and the widowed from the second year after the death: The basic scale with the basic allowance, the employee standard deduction and the special expenses standard deduction.
II Single parents with at least one child in the household for whom child benefit is drawn: As class I, plus the relief amount for single parents (§ 24b EStG). It has to be applied for — it is not granted automatically.
III Married people whose partner is in class V or does not work; the widowed in the year of death and the year after: The benefit of joint assessment is already applied month by month. The highest net pay — and the greatest risk of owing money later.
IV Married people who earn roughly the same (the default after marriage): Both are treated as single. The amount withheld comes closest to the annual tax when the incomes are similar.
IV with a factor Married people who want the deduction split in proportion to who causes it (§ 39f EStG): The tax office forms a factor from the ratio of the joint-assessment tax to the sum of the individual taxes. Each pays their share each month — which makes amounts due rare.
V The partner of the spouse in class III: No basic allowance, because it is already applied in class III. That is why the deduction is highest here — regularly felt as unfair, although it is simply the other side of class III.
VI The second and every further employment: No allowances at all. The deduction is the highest of any class, because the allowances are already used up in the first employment.

For couples: III/V, IV/IV or IV with a factor?

All three combinations lead to the same annual tax. They differ only in how much is withheld each month:

IV/IV — the default after marriage. A good fit when the incomes are similar. Few surprises in the assessment.
III/V — more net pay for the higher earner, appreciably less for the other. Sensible with very different incomes when monthly cash matters. Note: with this combination filing a tax return is compulsory (§ 46 (2) no. 3a EStG), and owing money is the norm, not the exception.
IV with a factor — the tax office splits the deduction by the ratio of the joint-assessment tax to the sum of the individual taxes (§ 39f EStG). Each pays their share, and the assessment usually comes out near zero. The price: you have to apply for it.

Compare all three combinations side by side in the calculator →

Changing class: how, and how often

The change goes through the tax office — for some years now without giving reasons and more than once a year. It takes effect from the month after the application. On marriage both are placed in class IV automatically; every other combination has to be applied for.

What this calculator cannot do: tell you which class is “right” for you. That depends on whether you prefer cash each month or a quiet tax return, and on whether a wage replacement benefit is coming up in the next few months. What it can do: show you the figures for every option.

Further

Gross-to-net calculator— put your class in and see the net figure
Tax class choice for married couples— the three combinations compared
Income tax for the year— what is actually assessed in the end
Tax class in the glossary— the short definition with its legal basis

Terms used on this page

Each term has its own page with a plain-language explanation, the technical detail and a worked example.

Child allowance count (Kinderfreibeträge) — A figure from the ELStAM records; it does not reduce the wage tax itself, only the solidarity surcharge and church tax.
Choice of tax class (Steuerklassenwahl) — It does not change the tax owed for the year, only the monthly amount withheld.
Net to gross — The inverse of the net calculation — which gross salary produces a desired net figure?
One-off payment (sonstiger Bezug) — One-off payments such as a 13th salary or a bonus, taxed by the annual-scale method, not like regular pay.
Tax class (Steuerklasse) — Assigns the wage tax deduction to your family situation and determines which allowances are already taken into account each month.

All terms in the glossary