I have a specific situation and looking forward for some expert comments.

I was a GC holder and now myself, my wife and our two kids are all German nationals.
Our kids(both German nationals) are going to India for schooling due to some private reasons.
Kids will be here in Germany for at least 2-3 months a year during school holidays.
My wife is not working and will be spending some months in India and some months in Germany.
I will be continue to work here in Germany and will be paying taxes here. Now I have Tax class III

As per my tax consultant,

1. My tax class will not change as I maintain the apartment space and anmeldung.
2. An abmeldung is not necessary as I maintain the living space here in Germany and are german citizens
3. I will not get Kindergeld as the kides are not hear.
4. I could claim double housing.

I am not really sure what the tax consultant says. Any comments ?
Do I need to inform finanzamt about my situation ?
For me to be in Tax class III,does my wife have to stay in Germany for atleast 183 days in a year ?
Has anyone with the same situation ?

Looking forward for some expert comments

Regards

J.Kumar

1. My tax class will not change as I maintain the apartment space and anmeldung.

Your tax class depends on your marital status and the locality of your partner and not whether you have anmeldung and apartment space.

"Lohnsteuerklasse III (3)

Verheiratete, die nicht dauernd getrennt leben und nicht die Steuerklasse IV gewählt haben."

2. An abmeldung is not necessary as I maintain the living space here in Germany and are german citizens

True

3. I will not get Kindergeld as the kides are not hear.

True

4. I could claim double housing.

Theoritically possible but Tax Class 3 requirement is that your partner also lives in germany. So expect lots of questions from the finanzamt in this regard.

Hi Jayakumar,

You have made a point:
Our kids(both German nationals) are going to India for schooling due to some private reasons.

If I may ask you did you decide so, as the School system here in Germany is different and difficult ? would appreciate if you share your opinion as I am in a similar dilemma.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Richtig

We had the same dilemma regarding the schooling here but finally we have decided to do this. In India you have the choice to select the best school you want as there are many.
It is not free but we found it very competitive. Before making a decision, we have made a three months test training at the new school in India and the development of the kid during this time was above our expectations.

There were also other reasons like grant parents want to see the parents etc.
It is an expensive matter as you have to maintain two homes and have to fly more often.
You should have a good family base to support the kid in your absence.

I could not make a comparison with German schools as I have no direct experience.

Right now we think we have made a good decision, may be..

Jayakumar

@Raj,

Thanks for your feedback.

What will happen if my wife stay over 6 months (eg. 7 months) continuously in ausland. Will this affect the tax class ?

Can anybody clarify this ?

Regards

Jayakumar.

My opinion is that if she stays more than 180 away then it will have a say in your tax class. but since your Tax Consultant says it is not, then i have to accept he is the professional and therefore right. Just ask your local finanzamt about it if you are still unsure, they are mostly friendly and answer your questions.

I asked the same Q in KVR in munich, he told tax class will not change if spouse is away for more than 6months. But he told spouse needs to apply for fresh visa.

Hi,

Thanks for the update.

My wife is German, so I think there should be not be any problems in my case.

Regards

JK.

Hi JK,
As you say you got GC, I assume u r a SW professional. How abt a thought of working as a freelancer? and going for private krankenversicherung as my family is not with me here and getting rid of tax class headaches. etc etc.
If i dont have my family with me, i have the freedom to work anywhere as a FL and i take take my holidays as long as i want and no need to wait for approval of my manager .
I work 8 months a year and spend 4 months in india with my family.(theoretically !!)
-peace

Hi Gandhian,

Thanks for your update.

I thought about freelancing as well but not sure if it's really worth for me to work as FL as currently I work for major company with

100K Gehalt
Private penison
Flexibility on holiday selection
Less stress and no travelling


Best Regards

JK

Hi JK,

Can you please explain what do you mean by private pension ? Is it not a standard Renteversicherung which is about 10% of base salary.

Are there any added benefits with private pension ?

Thanks in advance

@msingh
"1: Your tax class is I or III", you have to change your tax class to I as it can be III only if your spouse and children live on German soil
"2: Do you get kendergeld? ", you shouldn't because of 1.
"3. Do you maintain double housing?", you can't maintain double housing as double housing can be made only if it is work related, unless things changed since last time I checked

D.