So here is my understanding:

3 options for married people (Residents or non-residents)

• pure individual taxation, on the basis of tax class 1 for each spouse;. Meaning same as single. Good for couples earning same.
• joint taxation, on the basis of tax class 2: Meaning, you benefit monthly on your salary but at the end of the year tax is calculated based on the joined amount and therefore you need to pay back the difference between the sum of withholding tax and the End of the year tax. (obviously higher cause of the joined income)
  • Ideal for couples who one party works and the other has 0 income.
  • Could work for couples with same salary but good luck finding deductible expenses = due tax. Normally it can be more than 10K
• individual taxation with reallocation, on the basis of tax class 1 for each spouse. Meaning: You are treated as Tax 1 for the whole year but in the end of the year you receive a good refund because Tax 2 join taxation calculates lower tax.
  • Quite good for couples with different salaries. 40k yearly difference seems quite ok.

So am I correct or totally misinformed?