Where the Steuer-ID is shown
According to the Federal Central Tax Office, the number is usually shown in the income tax assessment or on the annual wage tax statement.
The first time, it comes in a letter from the Federal Central Tax Office. The person must be informed of the allocation without delay (§ 139a Abs. 1 Satz 4 AO).
If the letter has been mislaid, no new number is issued — the same one is issued again. The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern will provide it again on request.
What about the payslip?
The Federal Central Tax Office does not name the payslip as a place to find it. If the number is on it, the employer printed it there. It cannot be relied on.
Request it again
According to the Federal Central Tax Office, this works as follows:
- via the input form on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office;
- by letter;
- via the online portal of the Federal Central Tax Office.
The input form is only intended for your own number, which is sent to the current registered address. For other cases, the office refers to its contact form.
To send the number, the Federal Central Tax Office needs these details:
- surname and first name;
- registered address with street, house number, postcode and town;
- date and place of birth.
The reply only comes by letter
For data protection reasons, the Federal Central Tax Office only sends the number by letter, not by e-mail and not by telephone.
As a rule, it is sent to the registered address. To another address only with the person's written power of attorney, by letter and with a copy of their identity document.
For the letter to arrive, the surname must be on the letterbox. According to the office, processing can currently take four weeks.
The child's number
For a newborn, the Federal Central Tax Office sends the number by post as soon as the registration office has transmitted the data. If nothing arrives, the registration office is the place to ask.
A child's number is, as a rule, sent to the child's registered address. To a parent at another address only if that parent declares that they have custody.
No number is issued for a child living abroad. The child is not liable to tax in Germany. This also applies if there is an entitlement to Kindergeld.
For another person
Anyone asking on behalf of another person encloses that person's power of attorney and a copy of their identity document. A court-appointed legal representative or guardian proves the appointment and its scope.
Requesting another person's tax ID under a power of attorney