GENERAL QUESTION · 291
Mensch & Gesellschaft · BAMF 07.05.2025
Why do you have to state on your tax return in Germany whether you belong to a church or not? Because …
Official German wording
Warum muss man in Deutschland bei der Steuererklärung aufschreiben, ob man zu einer Kirche gehört oder nicht? Weil …
Answer options
- Athere is a church tax that is linked to income tax and wage tax.Correct answer
- Bthis is important for statistics in Germany.
- Cyou have to pay more taxes if you do not belong to a church.
- Dthe church is responsible for the tax return.
EDITORIAL LEARNING AID
Why is this answer correct?
Anyone who belongs to a church that levies taxes pays church tax; it is charged as a surcharge on income and wage tax and collected by the tax office (Article 140 of the Basic Law in conjunction with Article 137 of the Weimar Constitution). Answer a is therefore correct. Statistics (b), higher taxes for non-members (c) and church responsibility (d) are not the reason.
Church tax is tied to income and wage tax – hence the question.
This translation and explanation are editorial learning aids. The official German wording and answer key govern the examination.
Source
Official BAMF question catalogue dated 7 May 2025. BAMF