A short description of what you should arrange directly
Here is a brief description of what you need to do if you want to work in Germany. If you are going to work for your German employer in the Netherlands or also in other countries, please enquire at a Grenzinfopunkt [border information point].
Registering with a health insurance
In Germany, you are insured against sickness costs and could receive a sickness allowance. To do this, you must register with a health insurance. You tell your employer which health insurance you have chosen; your employer then pays the contributions to this health insurance. You ask the health insurance for form E106 and register with the CZ for the â€Verdragspolis†[contract policy] in the Netherlands. This gives you health insurance in Germany and you can use the health insurance and WLZ in the Netherlands.
Do you have an income above the wage threshold? If you apply for voluntary insurance with a health insurance, you can also use the CZ-Verdragspolis in the Netherlands.
You can find more information about health insurance here.
Taxes: Tax office forms
You live in the Netherlands and work in Germany and have to pay tax on this salary in Germany. You must meet the prerequisitesto file a tax return in Germany in order to benefit from tax advantages. Is your Dutch income higher than the € 9,168 wage threshold? If so, you do not meet the conditions and have a “limited†tax liability in Germany.
Apply for a tax ID at the tax office and submit it to the tax office to which you are subject.
Is your Dutch income lower than € 9,168 per year? In this case, too, it may make sense to opt for “limited tax liabilityâ€. In this case, you are not obliged to file a tax return, but you may do so if it gives you an advantage. If you are not married or your married partner has an income that is approximately equal to or higher than your income, you will also be placed in the tax class 1. In this case, it does not matter whether you opt for limited or unlimited tax liability for deducting income tax from your salary.
If you are married and your partner has no or only a very low income, you can opt for “unlimited tax liability†in Germany. You then apply for unlimited tax liability in Germany using the form. You must fill in this form and send it to the Dutch tax office in Heerlen. This tax office will check and stamp the form. You will receive the German and Dutch-language part back and hand it over to the tax office in Germany where you belong. This tax office sends a letter to your employer informing you that you will be placed in tax class 3.
If you are placed in tax class 3, you are obliged to file a tax return in Germany together with your partner.
Does your partner have a higher Dutch income? If so, it is advisable to apply for limited tax liability. You and your partner can then file a tax return together in Germany and claim back the excess tax paid.
Claiming child supplement
If your partner works in the Netherlands, they are entitled to the Dutch child benefit and possibly the child-related budget. You are entitled to additional German child supplementin Germany. If your partner does not work, you are entitled to full German child benefit. Please note that child supplement must be applied for in a timely manner at the Family Benefits Office in Saarbrücken and will only be paid retroactively for a maximum of 6 months. The application forms for German child supplement are also available in Dutch. You use the
standard application form and an annex abroad (KG51) for each child.
Occupational pension scheme
You build up a state pension in Germany, the amount of which depends on your salary. Generally, this is higher than the Dutch state pension.
If you are sure that you will work in Germany for a longer period of time, at least 5 years, you can build up a supplementary pension through your employer to have a higher income in retirement. The contributions for this insurance are deducted from your gross salary and your employer supplements this contribution by at least 15%.
Information
Use this website. Here you will find the forms for the tax office and links to the various other forms for claiming the child supplement and the CZ website.
The consequences of working in Germany are different for everyone. For this reason, it may be advisable to check with the Grenzinfopunkt to see if there are any problems you should be aware of.