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US Expats in Germany

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Inhaltsverzeichnis

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Ger­many is one of the most pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tions in Europe for Amer­i­cans liv­ing abroad — known for its rich cul­ture, strong econ­o­my, and high qual­i­ty of life. But before you book your one-way tick­et, there are some essen­tial legal and finan­cial things to know.

This guide helps US Expats in Ger­many under­stand the key aspects of expat life in Ger­many: from visa options and tax oblig­a­tions, to health insur­ance, social secu­ri­ty, and what to expect day to day.

Do US Expats in Ger­many Need a Visa to Live in Germany?

Yes, but you have some flex­i­bil­i­ty. As a US cit­i­zen, you may enter Ger­many with­out a visa and stay for up to 90 days as a tourist. But if you plan to live, work, or study here, you’ll need a res­i­dence per­mit.

Visa types for Americans:

  • Employ­ment Visa – if you have a job offer
  • Free­lance Visa (Freiberu­fler) – for cre­atives, IT, con­sul­tants, etc.
  • Self-Employ­ment Visa – for busi­ness founders and entrepreneurs
  • Stu­dent Visa – for study­ing at a Ger­man university
  • Fam­i­ly Reunion Visa – for spous­es and chil­dren of German/EU res­i­dents

    You can apply from with­in Ger­many dur­ing your 90-day visa-free stay — a major advan­tage for Americans.

How Do I Reg­is­ter My Address?

After find­ing accom­mo­da­tion, US Expats in Ger­many must reg­is­ter at the Ein­wohn­er­meldeamt with­in 14 days of mov­ing in.

You’ll need:

  1. Your pass­port
  2. Your rental con­tract
  3. A signed Woh­nungs­ge­berbestä­ti­gung (land­lord confirmation)

You’ll receive a Meldebescheini­gung, which is need­ed to open a bank account, get health insur­ance, and apply for a res­i­dence permit.

Do I Have to Pay Tax­es in Germany?

If they live and work in Ger­many, US Expats in Ger­many are con­sid­ered a tax res­i­dent and must pay tax on world­wide income.

Yes, even your US income (e.g. free­lance work or invest­ment earn­ings) must be declared — but don’t wor­ry: the US-Ger­many Tax Treaty and For­eign Earned Income Exclu­sion (FEIE) help avoid dou­ble taxation.

You still need to file a US tax return every year, even if you live abroad.

Key forms to know:

  • Ger­man income tax return: Einkom­men­steuer­erk­lärung
  • For­eign income form: Anlage AUS
  • US expat tax forms: IRS Form 2555 (FEIE), Form 1116 (For­eign Tax Cred­it), FBAR for for­eign accounts

How Do I File Tax­es as a US Expat?

Many US expats use a tax advi­sor (“Steuer­ber­ater”) in Ger­many and a US-based expat tax spe­cial­ist (e.g. Green­back or Bright!Tax).
You can also use soft­ware like:

  • Tax­fix (Ger­many, in English)
  • MyEx­pat­Tax­es (US + Ger­many combined)
  • ELSTER (offi­cial Ger­man tax por­tal – in German)

Dead­lines differ:

  • Ger­man tax year: January–December
  • Ger­man fil­ing dead­line: July 31 of the fol­low­ing year (or lat­er with advisor)
  • US tax year: Also cal­en­dar year, with expat exten­sion until June 15

What About Health Insurance?

Health insur­ance is manda­to­ry in Ger­many. As a US expat, you can choose between:

  • Pub­lic insur­ance (e.g. TK, AOK) – espe­cial­ly for employees
  • Pri­vate insur­ance – often used by free­lancers, self-employed, or high-income earners

To get a res­i­dence per­mit, you must show proof of valid health coverage.

Do US Expats Pay into Social Security?

If you’re employed in Ger­many, yes — you’ll pay into the Ger­man Sozialver­sicherung sys­tem, including:

  • Health insur­ance
  • Pen­sion (Renten­ver­sicherung)
  • Unem­ploy­ment (Arbeit­slosen­ver­sicherung)
  • Long-term care (Pflegev­er­sicherung)

Thanks to the US-Ger­many Social Secu­ri­ty Agree­ment, your con­tri­bu­tions may count toward both sys­tems. That means you could still qual­i­fy for Social Secu­ri­ty ben­e­fits back home.

Can I Work Remote­ly for a US Com­pa­ny from Germany?

Yes, many Amer­i­cans live in Ger­many and work remote­ly for US-based employ­ers.
But be aware:

  • You’ll be taxed in Ger­many on this income
  • You still need to file a US tax return
  • You may need to struc­ture the job as free­lance work, depend­ing on visa and pay­roll issue. US expats often choose the Free­lance Visa, which allows this flexibility.
US Expats in Germany

What’s Life Like for Amer­i­cans in Germany?

You’ll find strong expat com­mu­ni­ties in Berlin, Frank­furt, Munich, and Ham­burg.

Many Ger­mans speak Eng­lish, but learn­ing some Ger­man will help in dai­ly life.

Ger­many is sur­pris­ing­ly cash-friend­ly – always car­ry some euros.

The health­care sys­tem is excel­lent, but bureau­cra­cy can be frustrating.

Join expat forums and groups like Amer­i­cans in Ger­many (Face­book) or Internations.org to con­nect and get support.

Use­ful Resources for US Expats

Final Thoughts

Mov­ing to Ger­many as a US cit­i­zen is a reward­ing deci­sion — but requires plan­ning and aware­ness of your tax, visa, and insur­ance responsibilities.

With the right visa, the right advi­sors, and a lit­tle patience, you can build a suc­cess­ful and enjoy­able life in Germany.

How to con­tin­ue / con­tact to us

We as eng­lish speak­ing tax advi­sors with many US Expats as clients can sup­port you with your busi­ness reg­is­tra­tion at the finan­cial author­i­ties, file your Tax Returns and com­mu­ni­cate with the finan­cial author­i­ties on your behalf.

You can con­tact us by using one of these phone num­bers or the mail address.