Tax card

The tax card no longer exists. Until now, tax characteristics were recorded on the income tax card. This enabled the employer to take into account the employee's individual taxation characteristics when deducting income tax. These so-called wage tax deduction characteristics are:

• the tax class,
• the number of child allowances,
• the so-called religious characteristic, which certifies membership of a religious community levying church tax,
• and any tax allowances.

The tax cards were replaced by an electronic data transmission procedure, the so-called Electronic Wage Tax Deduction Characteristics - ELStAM.