When you start at a new company, you'll be asked to enter your personal details in a digital employee questionnaire. This data is needed for your payroll. Here you'll learn which fields are particularly important, where to find the correct information, and why complete data prevents delays with your first payslip.
The following overview focuses on fields that commonly raise questions. Simple fields like name, first name, or date of birth are omitted for simplicity.
Personal data
This information is used to uniquely identify you. It is needed for reports to authorities and social insurance carriers, among other things.
Nationality
Your nationality is required for social insurance reports. If you do not hold German nationality, additional information may be required, such as a work permit or residence title.
Select your nationality from the dropdown list. If you hold dual nationality, enter the one that is relevant for your residence status in Germany.
Marital status
Your marital status affects, among other things, your tax class and your eligibility for certain tax allowances. Enter your current marital status. If your marital status changes (for example, through marriage), inform your HR admin so the information can be updated.
Religious denomination (church tax indicator)
Your religious denomination determines whether and how much church tax is withheld from your salary. The correct information can be found on your income tax certificate or in correspondence from your tax office.
If you are not subject to church tax, select the corresponding option. A missing or incorrect entry can result in too much or too little church tax being withheld.
Tax and social insurance data
This information is required so that your payroll can be processed correctly from both a tax and social insurance perspective. Missing or incorrect values almost always lead to follow-up questions and can delay your first salary payment.
Tax identification number (Steuer-ID)
Your tax ID is an 11-digit number that has been permanently assigned to you. It is required for your electronic income tax certificate and for registering wage tax.
You can find it on your income tax certificate, in correspondence from your tax office, or on your income tax assessment. If you can no longer find your tax ID, you can request it again from the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern).
Without a tax ID, your employer must calculate wage tax using tax class VI - this means significantly higher deductions from your salary.
Tax class
Your tax class determines how much wage tax is deducted from your salary each month. It is assigned by the tax office and depends on your marital status:
Tax class I - single, divorced, or widowed
Tax class II - single parent
Tax class III - married (higher income)
Tax class IV - married (both earn roughly the same)
Tax class V - married (lower income)
Tax class VI - second job or missing tax ID
Your tax class is usually retrieved automatically via ELStAM data (Elektronische Lohnsteuerabzugsmerkmale). The entry in the master data form is used for the initial setup.
Child allowances (Kinderfreibeträge)
Child allowances affect the amount of your solidarity surcharge and church tax. You can find the number on your income tax certificate or in the ELStAM retrieval.
Each child is typically counted as 0.5 per parent (1.0 for joint assessment). Enter the value shown on your income tax certificate.
Parental status (Elterneigenschaft)
Whether you have children is relevant for your long-term care insurance contribution. Childless employees aged 23 and over pay a higher contribution rate.
If you do have children, the number may also be relevant: parents with multiple children under 25 pay a lower contribution rate.