Before you start

Steuer-ID, issued automatically after Anmeldung
Understanding of your tax class
Records of foreign income and foreign accounts
An ELSTER account, if filing yourself

Step-by-step

1
Give your employer your Steuer-ID as soon as it arrives
Until they have it, payroll applies the least favourable class and a large amount comes off your pay — recoverable at filing but painful in your first months.
Via employerWho: YouAs soon as issued
2
Understand your tax class
Steuerklasse determines monthly withholding: class 1 for single people, 3/5 or 4/4 combinations for married couples. Choosing 3/5 where incomes are uneven reduces monthly withholding, though the annual liability settles at filing either way.
OnlineWho: You
3
Expect the Arbeitnehmerkammer line on your payslip
Employees and apprentices working in Bremen contribute 0.12% of taxable pay, dropping to 0.11% from 1 January 2026. The employer withholds it and pays it to the tax office on the same schedule as wage tax. Employers without a Bremen tax office location have to register a separate tax number for it, which is worth knowing if you are the first Bremen hire of a company based elsewhere.
Via employerWho: Your employerFrom your first payslip
4
Check your church tax position
If you declared church membership at Anmeldung, 9% of your income tax is deducted automatically. Leaving formally requires an appointment and a fee, and takes effect from the following month rather than retrospectively.
In personWho: You
5
If you are buying, look at the property tax before the price
Bremen applies the federal Grundsteuer valuation model but legislated its own Steuermesszahlen to soften it for housing — 0.31 per mille on residential property against 0.75 on commercial and undeveloped land. The multipliers then diverge between the state's two cities: from 2025 the city of Bremen levies Grundsteuer B at 755% and Bremerhaven at 896%, both up from lower 2024 rates as part of the revenue-neutral reset. The landlord pays it, but it flows through to the Nebenkosten.
OnlineWho: You
6
File a return even if not required
A return frequently refunds — commuting costs, work equipment, relocation expenses, professional training and double-household costs are all deductible. The relocation year especially. The Arbeitnehmerkammer helps its members with this at no extra charge.
OnlineWho: YouBy 31 July following the tax year

Documents you’ll need

Steuer-ID
Lohnsteuerbescheinigung — the annual employer certificate
Records of deductible expenses, including the move and the commute
Foreign income and account records
Grundsteuer assessment, if you own property

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your payslip has a deduction that would not exist one town over.

The Arbeitnehmerkammer contribution — 0.12% of taxable pay, 0.11% from January 2026 — is levied on everyone working in Bremen and in only one other German state, the Saarland. Cross the city boundary into Lower Saxony and it disappears. It is small, it is compulsory, and it is the line most newcomers query with HR in their first month.

Source: Der Senator für Finanzen, Bremen

You are already paying for tax and employment advice, so use it.

The chamber contribution buys free legal advice on employment law, social insurance and tax, and help with the annual return. Bremen employees routinely pay a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein or a lawyer for services they have already funded through payroll.

Source: Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen

Bremen wrote its own property-tax multipliers and its two cities disagree.

Bremen uses the federal valuation model but set its own Steuermesszahlen by state law, deliberately shifting weight off housing and onto commercial and undeveloped land. It then set the Hebesatz at 755% for the city of Bremen and 896% for Bremerhaven from 2025. Same state, same reform, two very different numbers — which matters if you are comparing the two ends of the Land as places to buy.

Source: Der Senator für Finanzen, Bremen

Church tax is 9% here and you opt in at registration.

Declaring church membership during the Anmeldung triggers automatic deduction of 9% of your income tax — the standard German rate, as against 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It is decided in a short appointment most newcomers do not realise has a price, and leaving later requires a formal appointment and fee.

Source: Bremische Evangelische Kirche

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming an unfamiliar payroll line is an error when it is the Arbeitnehmerkammer contribution.
Paying for tax-return help the chamber already provides to members.
Declaring church membership at Anmeldung without realising it triggers 9% church tax.
Comparing Bremen and Bremerhaven property costs without noticing the multipliers differ by over 140 percentage points.
Not filing a return in the relocation year and forfeiting a likely refund.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.