Here is a fact that makes German student life noticeably cheaper, and that a surprising number of students never act on: if you worked a Werkstudent job and had tax taken off your pay, you almost certainly get most of it back. The German state quietly withholds wage tax from your monthly pay as if you would earn a full annual salary, then, when you file, discovers you earned far less and refunds the difference. The catch is that the refund is not automatic, you have to file to claim it. Skip filing, and you are leaving your own money with the tax office.
This guide explains why working students get refunds, how the tax-free allowance works, what you can deduct, and how to file and claim. For most Werkstudenten, it is the easiest few hundred euros you will make all year.
Why working students get money back
The mechanism is simple once you see it. When you work a Werkstudent or part-time job, your employer withholds wage tax (Lohnsteuer) from your monthly pay, calculated as if your monthly rate continued all year into a full salary.
But most students do not earn a full salary. They earn far less, often under the annual tax-free allowance. So the tax that was withheld assumes income you never earned. When you file a tax return, the Finanzamt recalculates against your actual, lower annual income, and refunds the over-withheld tax.
For a typical Werkstudent, the refund can be most or all of the Lohnsteuer that was deducted, genuinely your own money coming back. This is the same refund logic that benefits all over-withheld taxpayers in Germany, just especially favourable for students because their income is usually so far below the threshold.
The only reason students miss out is not filing. The refund waits for the return; no return, no refund.
The tax-free allowance
The number that drives all of this: the Grundfreibetrag (basic tax-free allowance) is €12,096 in 2025, and it applies to everyone, including students.
If your total annual income is below it, you owe no income tax for the year. So:
- Earned under €12,096 in the year? You owe zero income tax
- Had Lohnsteuer withheld from your pay anyway? It all comes back when you file
Most working students earn well under this figure across a year (a Werkstudent capped at ~20 hours during semesters rarely approaches it). So the typical student is in the happy position of owing no tax but having had some withheld, exactly the case where filing produces a clean refund. Even students who earn a bit more usually get a partial refund, since the first €12,096 is always tax-free.
Minijob vs Werkstudent: different tax
Not all student income is taxed the same, and this decides whether there is anything to reclaim:
- Pure minijob (up to €556/month): tax-free for you, with a flat employer contribution. There is usually no withheld wage tax to reclaim and often no need to file for it, the income arrives essentially untaxed already.
- Werkstudent / higher-earning jobs: have wage tax withheld, which is what makes filing worthwhile to get the refund.
So if you only ever did a minijob, there may be nothing to claim back (it was tax-free to begin with). If you did a Werkstudent role or any job with Lohnsteuer on the payslip, filing is where you recover it. The distinction matters, covered more fully in our minijob vs Werkstudent guide and visible on your payslip as the Lohnsteuer line. Check your payslips: if Lohnsteuer was deducted, file.
What you can deduct
Beyond the tax-free allowance, students can deduct study and work-related costs, which can increase a refund or create one. Common deductions:
- Course and semester fees
- Books, equipment, and a computer
- Commuting costs to your job or university
- Work materials
- In some cases, costs of a second household (if you keep one elsewhere)
A useful nuance: costs for a second degree (such as a master's after a bachelor's) are often more favourably deductible than first-degree costs, which have tighter rules. So master's students in particular should keep receipts and claim, the deductions can be significant.
Keep receipts to support deductions. Even modest study costs, added up, can raise your refund. The combination of the tax-free allowance plus deductions is why student returns so often come back positive.
How to file and claim
Filing is more approachable than students fear:
- ELSTER: the official German tax portal, free, where you submit your return directly
- Tax software / apps: several guide you through it step by step, some in English, which many students prefer for their first return
You report your income and deductions for the year, and the Finanzamt calculates your refund. For a simple student case, one or two jobs, modest income, a few deductions, it is straightforward, and a guided app makes it easy to claim the refund without tax expertise.
Timing: you can file after the tax year ends, and you generally have several years to file a voluntary return (so you can claim refunds for past years you missed, the same backfiling that lets anyone reclaim up to four years back). So if you worked as a student in previous years and never filed, you may still be able to claim those refunds now.
The bottom line for working students: filing is usually free money. The refund is your own over-withheld tax, the process is simple, and skipping it just leaves cash with the Finanzamt. If you had Lohnsteuer deducted, file, this year and any past years you missed.
What to do this week
- Check your payslips: if wage tax (Lohnsteuer) was withheld from a Werkstudent or part-time job, you almost certainly have a refund to claim by filing.
- Gather receipts for study and work costs (fees, computer, books, commuting), since these deductions can increase your refund, especially for a second degree like a master's.
- File via ELSTER or a guided (often English) tax app, and consider backfiling past student years you never claimed, since you generally have several years to do so.
