Savings Allowance for 2026: €1,000 per person, €2,000 for couples

What is the saver's deduction?

A fixed deduction for income from capital assets. It amounts to €1,000 per person (Section 20(9) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)) and is deducted as income-related expenses. Spouses who file a joint tax return have a combined flat-rate allowance of €2,000. The deduction of actual income-related expenses is not permitted in addition to this; therefore, custody fees and similar expenses cannot be claimed separately. The flat-rate allowance cannot exceed the amount of capital gains reported.

What is an exemption order?

An instruction to the bank not to withhold tax on investment income up to a certain amount. The law ties the waiver of tax withholding to an exemption order on the officially prescribed form, provided that the income does not exceed the flat-rate amount (Section 44a(1) and (2) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). The instruction requires an identification number. Instructions without an identification number have been invalid since January 1, 2016 (Section 44a(2a) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)); the Federal Central Tax Office has implemented a verification procedure for this purpose.

How can the exemption order be distributed among several banks?

The flat-rate amount applies only once per person, not per bank. Therefore, anyone with accounts at multiple financial institutions must divide the amount into smaller portions. If the total of the transactions exceeds the flat-rate amount, this does not affect the amount of the flat rate (Section 20(9) of the Income Tax Act). The financial institutions report the amounts actually exempted to the BZSt by the end of February of the following year; the BZSt uses this information to detect any abusive claims.

What are the rules for married couples?

Spouses who file a joint tax return have a joint flat-rate allowance of €2,000. In the tax assessment, half of this amount is deducted for each spouse. If one spouse’s investment income is less than €1,000, the portion of the lump-sum allowance that exceeds this amount is deducted from the other spouse’s tax return (Section 20(9) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). A joint exemption request requires the identification numbers of both spouses (Section 44a(2a) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)).

What is the NV certificate for, and what are the rules for children?

The NV certificate is a non-assessment certificate issued by the tax office of residence. The law also permits waiving the tax withholding if it can be assumed that no tax would be due even under the more favorable treatment test and such a certificate is available (Section 44a(1), sentence 4, and (2) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). It is issued subject to revocation, is valid for a maximum of three years, and expires at the end of the year. If the requirements are no longer met or if the tax office requests its return, it must be returned.

The flat-rate allowance applies to every taxpayer with their own investment income, including children. An exemption request and an NV certificate are two different options: The request exempts a specific amount, while the certificate waives the tax withholding entirely.

How does the tax office handle an unused flat-rate deduction?

Upon request in the tax return. For investment income on which the bank has withheld tax, the tax may be reassessed (Section 32d(4) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). Typical cases include an unused saver’s allowance, losses not yet taken into account, or foreign taxes not credited. You can also file this request to have the basis or amount of the tax withholding reviewed—for example, if you believe the bank calculated it incorrectly—and to claim a reduction in church tax. The details are provided in Appendix KAP.

In addition, there is the "more favorable treatment" option: Upon request, investment income is taxed at the standard rate if this results in a lower tax liability (Section 32d(6) of the Income Tax Act). The request applies uniformly to all investment income; in the case of joint assessment, it applies to both spouses.

What are the rules for income above the flat-rate amount?

Investment income is subject to a flat-rate tax of 25% (§ 32d(1) EStG). In addition, a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% of the capital gains tax applies. The exemption threshold that applies to wages and in tax assessments does not apply here: Anyone who no longer pays the solidarity surcharge on their wages will still pay it on investment income. Together, this amounts to 26.375% on income exceeding the flat-rate allowance (25% plus 5.5% of that amount). If you are subject to church tax, the tax is reduced by 25% of the church tax attributable to the capital gains (Section 32d(1) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG)); the church tax is withheld separately. The 26.375% therefore applies without church tax: When church tax is included, the withholding tax and surcharge decrease, but the church tax is added instead. The bank deducts these amounts, which is why it is referred to as withholding tax: Once deducted, the tax on these earnings is generally considered settled.