Today's words · 🧾 Taxes & payslips
Payslip panic? 10 German words to decode it
B1B2C1
Your contract says 3,500, so why is your bank account showing so much less?
The day my first German payslip (Gehaltsabrechnung) arrived, I just stared at it. Line after line of deductions: Steuer, Sozialabgaben, Kirchensteuer… What was all this?
Today's ten words come up on every payslip and tax form. With them you can read your payslip on your own and get the gist of any letter from the tax office. 🧾
📋 The ten words at a glance
- die Steuer — tax
- die Steuererklärung — tax return
- das Finanzamt — tax office
- brutto — gross, before tax
- netto — net, after tax
- die Steuernummer — tax number, tax ID
- der Steuerbescheid — tax assessment (notice)
- die Sozialabgaben — social security contributions
- die Kirchensteuer — church tax
- absetzen — to remove from office; to sell; to deduct (tax); to stop (medication)
🧠 Words, examples and memory tricks
die Steuer
[SHTOY-er]tax(Pl. die Steuern)
📌 Von meinem Gehalt gehen viele Steuern ab.
→ A lot of tax comes off my salary.
💡 The state ‘stores’ a slice of your money 💸 Tax is die Steuer.
⚠ das Steuer is a steering wheel. One article changes everything.
die Steuererklärung
[SHTOY-er-air-klair-oong]tax return(Pl. die Steuererklärungen)
📌 Die Steuererklärung muss bis Ende Juli abgegeben werden.
→ The tax return must be submitted by the end of July.
💡 Steuer + Erklärung (explanation) = explaining your money to the state 📑 -ung, so die.
Bonus to do your tax return = die Steuererklärung machen
das Finanzamt
[fee-NANTS-amt]tax office(Pl. die Finanzämter)
📌 Das Finanzamt hat mir 400 Euro zurückerstattet.
→ The tax office refunded me 400 euros.
💡 Finanz (finance) + Amt (office) = tax office 🏛️ See it on an envelope? Open it!
⚠ Plural with umlaut: die Finanzämter
brutto
[BROO-toh]gross, before tax📌 Sie verdient 3.500 Euro brutto im Monat.
→ She earns 3,500 euros gross a month.
💡 Italian for ‘rough, unrefined’ 🪨 The raw amount, nothing taken off yet.
Bonus gross salary = das Bruttogehalt
netto
[NET-toh]net, after tax📌 Netto bleiben ihm davon nur etwa 2.300 Euro.
→ After tax he is left with only about 2,300 euros.
💡 Like English net: what's left after filtering 🥅 The money that actually lands in your account.
Bonus Remember: brutto − Abzüge = netto
die Steuernummer
[SHTOY-er-noo-mer]tax number, tax ID(Pl. die Steuernummern)
📌 Selbstständige müssen ihre Steuernummer auf jeder Rechnung angeben.
→ Self-employed people must give their tax number on every invoice.
💡 Steuer + Nummer = tax number 🔢 Freelancers put it on every invoice.
⚠ It's not the same as the Steuer-ID (personal tax ID) employees use.
der Steuerbescheid
[SHTOY-er-buh-shite]tax assessment (notice)(Pl. die Steuerbescheide)
📌 Laut Steuerbescheid bekomme ich dieses Jahr 400 Euro zurück.
→ According to my tax assessment I'm getting 400 euros back this year.
💡 A Bescheid is a ‘here's the result’ letter 📬 The one you wait for after filing.
Bonus Bescheid sagen = to let someone know: Sag mir Bescheid!
die Sozialabgaben
[zoh-TSYAHL-ap-gah-ben]social security contributions(Pl. (mostly plural))
📌 Ein großer Teil des Bruttolohns geht für Sozialabgaben drauf.
→ A large part of the gross wage goes on social security contributions.
💡 sozial + Abgabe (what you hand over) = money for the social system 🤝 Pension, health and unemployment insurance.
⚠ Almost always plural: die Sozialabgaben
die Kirchensteuer
[KEER-khen-shtoy-er]church tax(Pl. die Kirchensteuern)
📌 Wer Mitglied einer Kirche ist, zahlt in Deutschland Kirchensteuer.
→ In Germany, anyone who is a member of a church pays church tax.
💡 Kirche (church) + Steuer = church tax ⛪ This line surprises a lot of newcomers.
absetzen
[AP-zet-sen]to remove from office; to sell; to deduct (tax); to stop (medication)(setzt ab – hat abgesetzt)
📌 Die Kosten für das Arbeitszimmer können von der Steuer abgesetzt werden.
→ The costs of a home office can be deducted from tax.
💡 ab (off) + setzen (set) = set it off your taxes ✂️ The joy of a deduction.
⚠ Separable: Ich setze den Laptop von der Steuer ab.
🇩🇪 A spoonful of German culture
If you're employed in Germany, your employer takes income tax (Lohnsteuer) straight out of your salary. Many employees don't strictly have to file a tax return, but lots do anyway, because things like your commute or work equipment can be abgesetzt and money often comes back.
After you register your address (Anmeldung), your Steuer-ID usually arrives by post within a few weeks. Your employer will ask for it, so keep it somewhere safe.
Church tax can apply if you register as a member of a church such as the Catholic or Protestant church. It's worth thinking about what you put in the religion box before you register. 📋
✅ Quick quiz
Q. Your payslip says 3.500 Euro brutto. What do you call the amount that actually reaches your account?
- ① brutto
- ② die Kirchensteuer
- ③ netto
Show the answer
③ netto
netto is your take-home pay after tax and social contributions.
Say your salary (real or dream) out loud: „Ich verdiene … brutto, netto bleiben …“ Bonus number practice included! 💶
🔜 Tomorrow's topic: 🚆 At the train station