Employment Contract and Taxes
If you have an employment contract at TU Dortmund University, you will receive your salary from the State Office for Salary and Pensions (LBV). If you work in Germany formore than six months, you are obliged to pay taxes.
Employment Contract at TU Dortmund University
If you have any questions regarding your employment contract (holiday entitlement, incapacity to work, business trips etc.), please contact the Personnel Department.
Please contact the Landesamt für Besoldung und Versorgung (LBV) (only in German) if you have any questions about your salary payments or your tax class.
Important Notes:
The police clearance certificate is an official certificate of a person's previously registered criminal offences.
To apply for the certificate, you need a registration certificate from the City of Dortmund or a valid residence permit. According to this, you must have registered your place of residence beforehand.
You can apply for the police clearance certificate either at your local registration office or online, if you have an electronic residence permit. Further information on how to apply and the respective requirements can be found at the service portal of the City of Dortmund (only in German).
To schedule an appointment, please select the respective administration office > click on "Jetzt Online-Termin reservieren" > "EWO - Einwohnermeldeangelegenheiten" > "1 Sonstiges" > choose a date.
You will receive the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN or tax ID) by post, as part of the registration documents and after the successful registration of residence. Therefore, please make sure that your mailbox is labelled accordingly.
If you have already registered a place of residence in Germany in the past, you will already have received your TIN with your first registration. This number is valid for life and will not automatically be sent to you again when you register in Germany another time, but will only be issued upon request. You can apply for a renewed notification of your TIN on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office. You will receive it by mail to your current registration address.
Your pay slip will be sent to your home or work address at the end of the month. Please note that you will not receive a pay slip every month, but only if something changes.
Your salary is paid by the LBV on the last working day of the month. In the first month of payment there may be a slight delay in payment. From the second month onwards you will receive your salary as agreed in the contract.
It is your responsibility to check the payslip. The salary should be in accordance with your employment contract. You should also check your tax class. If some details are unclear or incorrect, contact the LBV (only in German).
Taxes
As soon as you live and work in Germany for more than half a year, you will also pay taxes here. Income tax is deducted directly from your salary. How much tax you have to pay depends on the amount of your income and whether you have a family and which tax bracket you choose.
Germany has concluded a double taxation agreement with some countries. This prevents you having to pay taxes in your home country at the same time. Some agreements also regulate how you are taxed as a scientist. The Personnel Department or your local tax office (only in German) know which regulation applies to you.
You can get a part of your taxes refunded through a tax return. You can submit the tax return to the tax office in your place of residence.
Important note: Those who receive a scholarship are usually exempt from tax. However, please clarify with your scholarship provider whether you will have to pay tax on your scholarship in your home country.
Further information:
- Tax information from the Federal Ministry of Finance
- Interactive wage and income tax calculator of the Federal Ministry of Finance (only in German)
- Tax information from EURAXESS Germany
Sources: EURAXESS, Research in Germany