{"id":12411,"date":"2025-03-26T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/?p=12411"},"modified":"2025-04-22T11:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T11:02:33","slug":"lohnabrechnung-in-deutschland-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-arbeitgeber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/lohnabrechnung-in-deutschland-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-arbeitgeber\/","title":{"rendered":"Payroll accounting in Germany: Obligations for foreign employers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Companies from abroad that employ or second employees in Germany must comply with the German wage tax and social security system. The Payroll accounting<\/strong> is a central aspect here. Errors in billing can lead to high back payments, penalties or legal problems<\/strong> lead.<\/p>\n

1 Who has to prepare a payslip in Germany?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Principle:<\/strong>
As soon as an employee in Germany is subject to social security contributions or German wage tax, a German payroll accounting<\/strong> be created.<\/p>\n

- Payroll accounting is mandatory for:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • German companies with employees<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Foreign companies with a branch or permanent establishment in Germany<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Employers from other EU countries who employ workers permanently in Germany<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Practical example:<\/strong>
    A Polish construction company opens a branch in Germany and hires construction workers. As the employees work in Germany and are subject to social security contributions, the company must prepare German payroll statements.<\/p>\n

    2 What must a payslip in Germany contain?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Payroll accounting is required by law and must contain certain mandatory information. These include:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Employer data:<\/strong> Name, address, company number<\/li>\n
    • Employee data:<\/strong> Name, tax ID, social security number<\/li>\n
    • Gross income:<\/strong> Basic salary, supplements, bonuses<\/li>\n
    • Deductions:<\/strong> Wage tax, social security contributions, church tax (if applicable)<\/li>\n
    • Net earnings:<\/strong> Final amount received by the employee<\/li>\n
    • Payment date and bank details<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Important:<\/strong>
      Payroll accounting must monthly<\/strong> and made available to the employee.<\/p>\n

      Practical example:<\/strong>
      A French company hires a sales representative in Germany. Every month, he receives a payslip with details of his gross and net salary, tax deductions and social security contributions.<\/p>\n

      3.<\/strong>When do foreign employers have to pay income tax in Germany?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      -Wage tax liability exists if:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. The employee must usual place of work in Germany<\/strong> has.<\/li>\n
      2. The employee receives his salary from Germany.<\/li>\n
      3. There is no A1 form for a posting from another EU country.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Important:<\/strong>
        Even if an employer is not based in Germany, it may be obliged to do so, Paying wage tax in Germany<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Practical example:<\/strong>
        A Dutch company has no registered office in Germany, but has a German sales team. The company must pay income tax in Germany and pay a Company number<\/strong> request.<\/p>\n

        4 How do foreign employers register for payroll and social security?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

        1. apply for a company number<\/strong>
        With the Federal Employment Agency<\/strong> - necessary for registration for social insurance.<\/p>\n

        2. payroll tax registration with the tax office<\/strong>
        Employers not based in Germany must register with the relevant tax office.<\/p>\n

        3. registration of employees with a health insurance fund<\/strong>
        The chosen health insurance fund takes over the registration with the pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance.<\/p>\n

        4. prepare monthly payroll accounting and transfer taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • Wage tax<\/strong> to the tax office<\/li>\n
        • Social security contributions<\/strong> to the health insurance company<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Practical example:<\/strong>
          A Belgian company with employees in Germany applies for a company number and registers with the tax office in order to carry out payroll accounting correctly.<\/p>\n

          5. sanctions for errors in payroll accounting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

          -Missing or incorrect payslips can be expensive:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • Penalties for incorrect payroll tax accounting:<\/strong> Back payments + fines of up to \u20ac50,000<\/li>\n
          • Social security contributions not paid:<\/strong> Penalties + back payments up to 4 years retroactively<\/li>\n
          • Missing reports to customs (for minimum wage occupations):<\/strong> Penalties of up to \u20ac500,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Practical example:<\/strong>
            A Czech construction company pays wages without withholding tax. After an audit, the tax office demands \u20ac250,000 in back taxes and a penalty.<\/p>\n

            ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Unternehmen aus dem Ausland, die Mitarbeiter in Deutschland besch\u00e4ftigen oder entsenden, m\u00fcssen sich an das deutsche Lohnsteuer- und Sozialversicherungssystem halten. Die Lohnabrechnung ist dabei ein zentraler Aspekt. Fehler in der […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[211,219,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arbeitsrecht-mitarbeiter-aus-dem-ausland","category-lohnabrechnung-in-deutschland-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-arbeitgeber","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12446,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12411\/revisions\/12446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}