SteuerGo FAQs

How to tax your pension income with SteuerGo

• At the beginning of the interview, activate the "Income from pensions" option:
• Specify who the pension provider is.
• Enter the individual items with their description and amount in the input mask. You can also enter any related expenses here.

What you should know when declaring pension income in your tax return:

Most pensions are taxable. These include old-age pensions, disability pensions, (large and small) widow's or widower's pensions, orphan's pensions, company pensions (from direct insurance), and pensions from life insurance. Different tax rules apply depending on the type of pension.

You do not need to pay tax on a pension received from statutory accident insurance (occupational accident insurance), a war pension, a severely disabled pension, or a reparation pension.

A pensioner is required to submit a tax return if their total taxable income exceeds the annual basic allowance of 8,004 Euro (16,008 Euro for married couples). Taxable income includes private and statutory pensions, rental and capital income, and much more.

Not every Euro of the statutory pension is part of a pensioner's taxable income. This means that someone receiving a statutory pension of 1,500 Euro per month does not have to pay tax on the entire annual sum of 18,000 Euro. The taxable amount of the pension depends on the year the employee retired.

Example: For Manfred Mustermann, who retired in 2005, the taxable pension is 50 percent. Like all pensioners who retired by 2005, he receives an allowance of 50 percent, which is not taxable. From 2005, this allowance decreases annually.

For Mr Mustermann: He received a pension of 18,000 Euro in 2005. His allowance is therefore 9,000 Euro. This annual allowance remains constant for the rest of his life. The married pensioner Mustermann and his wife have no other income. Therefore, they do not have to submit a tax return, as their income is below the basic allowance of 15,668 Euro. If Max Mustermann were single, it would be different. With 9,000 Euro taxable annual pension, he would be above the basic allowance of 8,004 Euro and would have to submit a tax return. If both spouses exceed the basic allowance, they must each submit a separate form.

The non-taxable portion of the pension has been decreasing by two percent each year since 2005, and by one percent from 2021. Pensioners who retire in 2040 will have to pay tax on 100 percent of their pension at their personal tax rate for the first time. Pensioners who first received a pension in 2009 must already pay tax on 58 percent of it, and from 2010, it is 60 percent.

Tip: Pensioners who have to submit a tax return should also ensure that they declare all possible expenses in their tax return. This includes, in particular, expenses related to pension income.