General

This article explains how you can manage ELStAM data with Personio Payroll. 

What is ELStAM?

ELStAM stands for Electronic Wage Tax Deduction Features. This is a procedure in which the tax authorities electronically provide the employer with wage tax data such as tax class, allowances and church tax characteristics. The characteristics are retrieved via the payroll program or ELSTER and used to calculate the remuneration. 

ELStAM in Personio Payroll

Understanding the ELStAM procedure

In Personio Payroll, the process for retrieving ELStAM data is automated as follows: 

You can find a summary of all tax reports from your employees, bundled monthly, under Payroll > Reporting under Employee Tax Reports.

Participation in the ELStAM procedure

The following employees participate in the ELStAM procedure:

• Basically all employees subject to tax and social security contributions 
• This also includes part-time workers, working students and trainees, provided they are taxed individually. 

The following are excluded from the ELStAM procedure: 

• Part-time employees who are taxed at a flat rate of 2%
• Employees who are exclusively taxed at a flat rate, such as short-term employees. 

These do not need to be registered via the ELStAM procedure. 

Check the requirements for automatic ELStAM participation

A valid tax identification number of the company

The company must have a valid tax identification number. This is a 10- to 13-digit numberused for tax returns that identifies your company as an employer. You can find the correct format for your company's tax identification number on your tax assessment notice. To register your tax identification number, proceed as follows: 

1. Navigate to the Payroll section. 
2. Switch to the Manage and Controltab.

3.  Enter the correct tax identification number of the company under "Tax number" . Repeat these steps for all companies. 

    

A valid tax identification number of the employee

The employee must have a valid identification number (IdNr.). This is an eleven-digit number. It is permanently valid and does not change even if you move, change your marital status or change your name. Employees who do not yet have a tax identification number or whose tax identification number is unknown can apply for one at the Federal Central Tax Office. You can enter the tax identification number in the employee profile as follows: 

1. Open the relevant employee profile.
2. Click Edit 
3. Enter the employee's tax identification number under payroll data .
4. Confirm the change and set an effective date.

5. Enter the effective date and then click Submit. 

    

A correct start and end date 

Each employee's employee profile must contain a correct start date . Furthermore, a termination date must be specified when the employment relationship is terminated. 

Instructions on how to terminate an employment relationship can be found in our article on the topic. 

Information on the main or secondary employer

The attribute "main or secondary employer" must be maintained for employees. To provide information about your main or secondary employer, proceed as follows:

1. Open the relevant employee profile.
2. Click Edit 
3. Under "Payroll Data", please specify whether this is a primary or secondary employer . 
4. Confirm the change and set an effective date.
5. Enter the effective date and then click Submit. 

For the attribute, select one of the following options:

• Main employer: If this is the main employer, this option must be selected. The tax deductions are then made using tax classes I, II, III, IV or V.

• Secondary employers: If the employer is a secondary employer, this option must be selected. In this case, tax class VI must be applied, for example in the case of multiple employment if a main employer already exists.

   

No block on retrieving ELStAM data

No blocks, for example those initiated by the employee, may prevent the retrieval of ELStAM data. If there is a block on the ELStAM data, you will find further information on how to handle this case in the following section.

Handling of employees after departure

In the event that employees receive payments such as holiday pay or severance pay after leaving the company, Personio Payroll automatically uses the tax characteristics stored in the employee profile for the taxation of the benefit. 

To ensure that payments after an employee's departure are taxed correctly and that the tax burden is not too low, Personio Payroll automatically assigns the relevant employee to tax class VI. 

The following changes must be taken into account:

• From the 1st The tax class is automatically set to VI on the day of the month following the ELStAM deregistration.
• At the same time, all tax-related information is automatically cleared. This includes, among other things, child tax allowances, the factor, and tax-free allowances.

Different tax class

In individual cases, it may be agreed with the employee that tax class VI should not be applied to payments made after leaving the company. This can occur, for example, if there is no other main employment relationship. 

The following applies: 

• If you are the person responsible for payroll, please contact our Payroll Specialists before releasing the payroll in the month in which the payment is to be made after the employee's departure. 
• Personio can re-register the relevant employee with ELStAM at short notice, making taxation with a lower tax class possible. 

Manage employees outside the automatic ELStAM procedure

Employees who do not participate in the automatic ELStAM procedure will be treated as follows: 

• Employees with flat-rate taxed pay: For employees with flat-rate taxed wages, payroll accounting was carried out without retrieving the electronic wage tax deduction features. This applies, among other things, to marginally employed persons who are taxed at a flat rate. 
• Manual of the tax characteristics: If the ELStAM data cannot be retrieved automatically, for example due to a block initiated by the employee, the tax deduction characteristics must be submitted by the employee himself and manually entered in the employee profile. The responsibility for the correct recording and calculation of remuneration lies with the payroll managers and the employee concerned. 

View login and logout status

View ELStAM status in employee profile

You can view the status of the ELStAM notification in the employee profile. This involves the following steps: 

1. Navigate to the employee profile
2. Switch to the Personal Information tab > Taxes
3. You can view the status under ELStAM registration .

The possible status indicators are as follows: 

Please note:
The reason for the exclusion should be discussed with the employee. The person must then be escorted elsewhere. 

Employee tax notifications can be found under the "Reporting" tab.

Under Payroll > Reporting you will find a monthly overview card summarizing all tax-related employee reports. Here you can see: 

• Who registered and deregistered this month
• which employees are included in the monthly change list. 

Please note:
Please note that the transmitted income tax deduction characteristics will be automatically transferred to the employee profile and used for the next payroll run. You can view these characteristics at any time in the profile of the respective employee. 

The first version of the ELStAM automation does not yet include tasks to directly resolve any warnings and blockers that occur. Should any problems arise, please contact our payroll support so that necessary corrections can be made. 

Outlook on upcoming changes

The overview map for ELStAM notifications will be further expanded in the future. The aim is not only to show for which employees tax returns have been filed, but also which specific tax characteristics have changed for each individual. 

Additionally, tasks will be displayed so that you can understand and complete all the necessary steps for a required and correct tax return. This should make the exact status and required actions for each employee even more transparent and easier to understand.

Fix common sources of error

Incorrect or missing company tax identification number

Employee registration is not possible. You will be informed by our payroll support team, who will assist you with correcting the number and the next steps.

Incorrect or missing tax identification number of the employee

The person concerned cannot be registered. You will be notified either via a task or by our Payroll Support Team, who will assist you in resolving the issue.

Missing information regarding "main or secondary employer"

This information is absolutely necessary in order to register the person. Here too, our Payroll Support Team will inform you and assist you with the correction.

Blocked ELStAM data

In this case, the employee must submit the income tax deduction information themselves and enter it manually in the employee profile. Both the employee and the payroll manager are responsible for the correct maintenance of this data.