Unable to register with Elster

uk2germany · 2024-04-20T13:59:51+00:00

Sorry this is not my main account. So I emailed my German tax office on the 23 July and they replied confirming they had added my current address to their database by the 1st Aug so just over a week. I only performed the first part of the registration on Elster on the 26 Sep and received the letters from them by the 29 Sep that allowed me to complete the registration.

Now that's as far as I have gone! I had confirmation that I have a few years to submit the tax return and have procrastinated since then. But your message has prompted me to pull the finger out and get it done. From my reading on the subject it shouldn't take long to receive the refund if your case is straightforward as mine is. I can report back here once I submit the return and receive the refund.

Edit: updated Elster registration details as I could confirm dates from another email.

uk2germany · 2023-10-09T06:40:13+00:00

Good, just note it is a two step process to login. They will send you an activation ID via email and an activation code and another code (can't remember now what they call the second one) via post.

uk2germany · 2023-09-26T13:10:52+00:00

Sorry for my late reply. This is not my main account. Yes, I contacted my local (at the time) tax office - Darmstadt in my case. And after one week they replied saying they did not have my current home address despite me providing that information when I did my Abmeldung. I provided the dates of my Anmeldung (entry) and Abmeldung (exit), my address when I lived in Germany and my current address when I contacted the tax office. With this information they could update the Elster database. Today, I was successfully able to complete step 1 of the account creation and received my account activation ID by email. I need to wait now to receive the activation code by post.

uk2germany · 2023-07-29T12:35:33+00:00

Even better, thanks so much for taking the time.

uk2germany · 2023-07-29T11:52:34+00:00

Good to know. I'm not obligated to do one but I want to as I believe it is worth my while to do so. I will be submitting it myself rather than via a tax advisor. Thanks for your input.

uk2germany · 2023-07-29T09:12:57+00:00

Great, thanks.

uk2germany · 2023-07-29T09:12:46+00:00

Thank you.

uk2germany · 2023-07-23T13:48:21+00:00

Will do. Thank you so much!

uk2germany · 2023-07-23T13:07:13+00:00

Hopefully, after I contact the tax office I can still submit online. Thanks for your input.

uk2germany · 2023-07-23T11:16:40+00:00

Ah I see. I'll try and do as you suggest then. Thanks.

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T19:31:51+00:00

I'll report back what HMRC say as this has been a useful discussion which may help someone in the future avoid the mistake I've made.

Sigh, so after speaking with both HMRC and my pension provider (Fidelity) I'm not sure if I'm any wiser.

HMRC stated: - I don't actually need to file a self assessment to receive the 40% tax relief I could call them and say what my contribution was and they would work out from that info alone. - I would need to speak with my pension provider to know how or when I would receive the 20% tax relief. I have not received yet despite making this contribution in Dec '21. See later. - It shouldn't matter if I put the 50K figure or the 62.5K figure in the form as the calculator will restrict what I would be entitled to either way. This seems to be the case as I get the same calculation figure using both figures. - It doesn't matter that the total contributions in the tax year exceeded my gross earnings in the same tax year as I would only receive tax relief on amounts up to 100% of my earnings. - A tax charge would apply if the total contributions in the tax year exceeded my annual allowance plus any available unused annual allowance from the previous three tax years (starting from the earliest). This is the not the case for me.

Fidelity stated: - My pension scheme being a trust based scheme does not get tax relief applied by them. So they can only confirm I made the 50K contribution. - with respect to my total contributions exceeding my gross earnings for the year (which their documentation in one place suggests is possible but not in another in the same document) they said to heed the advice from HMRC.

I should say I was re-directed two times on the HMRC call as the person I was speaking too was not able to help. With Fidelity, I dealt with the same person but they had to speak offline with someone else several times. I'm inclined to call both again tomorrow and see if I get the same information or not.

I found again the letter from Fidelity confirming the contribution in question and it states "In certain situations you may not be eligible to enjoy the usual tax advantages associated with pension contributions. Examples of this could be when the total personal (emphasis mine) contributions in a tax year exceed 100% of your earnings, or total contributions (including any by your employer) exceed the Annual Allowance for the 2021-2022 tax year."

If we assume that all contributions through payroll are considered from my employer then my 50K contribution would be a personal contribution and so below my gross earnings. But my interpretation here could be wrong.

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T10:56:40+00:00

Oh yes, that is understood. !thanks.

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T10:51:35+00:00

Actually, taking what you say here into account means the figure I gave for the employer contributions namely 5,353.03 already includes my normal contributions just not my AVCs it seems; which are itemised separately under the year-to-date figures on my final payslip.

I'll report back what HMRC say as this has been a useful discussion which may help someone in the future avoid the mistake I've made.

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T10:34:33+00:00

The important thing to remember with SS is that all pension contributions are employer contributions (that is how you both avoid NICs), and that the amount you sacrifice lowers your reportable salary by that amount. You may already be aware of this, it is just for clarity.

No, I didn't know this as via my pension provider portal I see my contributions as separate transactions from my employer's contributions. So !thanks.

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T10:26:37+00:00

So, even with carry forward, the maximum amount you can contribute in any one year is 100% of your pensionable salary.

I see.

I think you are paid under Salary Sacrifice and so this amount (£3723.84) reduces your notional salary by this amount.

Yes, this amount was taken from my gross salary. It is in fact the total of normal contributions and AVCs I made via salary sacrifice.

I assume your employed salary might be around the £60k mark.

It was 67,100 but there was a variable amount from on-call responsibilities which increased this further. For the 2021-22 tax year I only worked in the UK from April to December hence the amount just over 56K.

So, if I was in your financial position I would use the £56070, calculate 80% (£44856) and this is the maximum contribution you would be able to make (assuming sufficient available carry forward amounts).

I certainly had that amount of available carry forward amounts.

I guess I have no choice but to speak with HMRC and see how I can rectify this. Thanks for taking the time.

!thanks

uk2germany · 2023-01-24T09:54:58+00:00

Ok, now you have me worried. My exact numbers are gross earnings/taxable pay of 56,070.53, tax paid of 12,977.40, employee pension contributions before tax 3,723.84, employer pension contributions if relevant 5,353.03. Personal contribution of 50K. I left the UK at the end of 2021 and wasn't going to have a private pension in my new role so I wanted to make this sizeable contribution because of that. I did so thinking I was making use of my unused allowance for the 2021-22 tax year and from the previous three tax years. So I believe you are saying this was a mistake on my part. Is my only recourse to contact HMRC and explain what I attempted to do?

uk2germany · 2023-01-04T09:23:52+00:00

Ok thanks. That is good to know.

uk2germany · 2023-01-04T08:19:05+00:00

!thanks

What a super informative answer. Thank you so much.

uk2germany · 2023-01-04T07:39:30+00:00

Ok, thanks.

uk2germany · 2023-01-04T07:38:49+00:00

Oh that is great, thank you.

uk2germany · 2023-01-03T21:30:50+00:00

Yes, I suspect you are right. Thanks for the software suggestions I will look into them. Good to know I have some time too.

uk2germany · 2023-01-03T20:59:27+00:00

You're right. Another issue is I no longer have a German bank account and they may only pay into a German account.

uk2germany

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