Your German tax ID (Steuer-ID): how to get it and why it matters
Facts as of 07/2026 · reviewed every 6 months · by Benjamin Farmer
The short answer
You don't apply for the German tax ID — it is generated automatically after your first address registration (Anmeldung) and arrives by post at your registered address, usually within one to three weeks. The eleven-digit Steueridentifikationsnummer stays with you for life, through every move and job change. Your employer needs it to tax you correctly: without it you are placed in the highest tax class (VI) and see noticeably less net salary until it's fixed — you get the difference back, but only later. If nothing arrives after three weeks, you can request the number in person at your local Finanzamt or order a new letter from the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
- How to get it
- automatically after Anmeldung — no application needed
- Arrival
- by post, typically 1–3 weeks after registration
- Format
- 11 digits, valid for life (survives moves and job changes)
- Cost
- free
- If it doesn't arrive
- ask at your Finanzamt in person, or request a re-issue from BZSt online
- Without it
- employer must use tax class VI — highest deductions until corrected (refunded later)
Steuer-ID vs. Steuernummer — two different things
Germany confusingly has two tax numbers. The Steuer-ID (Steueridentifikationsnummer, IdNr) is the lifelong eleven-digit personal identifier your employer, bank and the Familienkasse (child benefit) ask for. The Steuernummer is a separate number issued by your local Finanzamt mainly for tax returns and self-employment — most employees never need to think about it. When HR asks for your "tax ID", they mean the eleven-digit Steuer-ID.
The clock starts with your Anmeldung
The tax ID is generated from your address registration. That's the practical reason the Anmeldung is your first errand in Germany: register in week one, and the tax ID letter usually lands before your first payroll run. Register late, and payroll runs without it.
Make sure your name is on the letterbox. The letter is addressed exactly as registered — if the postman can't match the name, the letter goes back and you wait weeks longer. This is the single most common reason the tax ID "never arrived".
What happens at payroll without a tax ID
Your employer doesn't punish you — the law simply forces tax class VI, the class with the highest deductions, whenever no tax ID is on file. Once your ID arrives and your correct class applies, the overpaid tax is balanced in a later payroll or via your tax return. Annoying, not dangerous — but easily avoided by registering early and handing HR the number the day the letter arrives.
It didn't arrive — the fast fixes
- After ~3 weeks: go to your local Finanzamt with your passport and Meldebescheinigung — in many offices they can look up and hand you the number directly.
- Re-issue by post: request a new notification letter from the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) online — free, but allow up to a few weeks for delivery.
- Already had one? If you lived in Germany before, your old Steuer-ID is still valid — a new one is never issued. Dig out old payslips or tax documents; the number is printed there.
Common mistakes
- Registering your address late and then wondering why payroll uses the highest tax class.
- No name on the letterbox — the number-one reason the tax ID letter bounces.
- Confusing Steuer-ID (11 digits, lifelong) with Steuernummer (Finanzamt, tax returns) and giving HR the wrong one.
- Paying an agency to "apply" for a tax ID — there is nothing to apply for; it's automatic and free.
- Requesting a new ID after a previous stay in Germany — you keep the old one for life; look it up instead.
Free tool
Relocation checklist
Anmeldung → tax ID → bank → insurance: the checklist puts your first weeks in the right order — free, no sign-up.
Benjamin Farmer
Executive German coach and licensed § 34d broker in Bavaria. I place international professionals with German employers — free for candidates — and walk them through exactly these steps every week.
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This guide is general information for orientation — not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; the facts above were last verified 07/2026 against the sources listed below and are reviewed every six months. For decisions about your specific case, rely on the responsible authority or on qualified professionals — legal questions are handled by our partner immigration lawyers, tax questions by cooperating tax advisors.
Sources: BZSt — Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer · § 139b Abgabenordnung (AO)