🧮
IV/IV or III/V: calculate both variants →
The gross-to-net calculator shows the monthly difference for your couple.
After the Wedding: Name, Taxes, Status
The marriage certificate triggers three processes: tax class change, an optional name change, and a stronger residence status.
✓ Verified: 15/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
AUTHORITY
Standesamt
Municipal authorityMarriage, birth and death certificates, and leaving the church (in most states) all go through your town's Standesamt — often in the same Bürgerbüro.
Where to go in your city →› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
I ordered 3 international copies of the marriage certificate at once: the tax office, insurers, sometimes the immigration office and home country want them simultaneously, and reordering takes time.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
We changed the tax class to III/V in the first month: with unequal incomes that is noticeably more net immediately. Calculate the gain with our gross-net calculator before the tax office.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What to change right after the wedding? ▾
Tax class (III/V or IV/IV), the name in documents if changed, details at insurers and the bank, if needed the spouse permit. The marriage certificate is needed everywhere — get several certified copies.
Name change — where and how? ▾
Declared at the registry office at or after the wedding, then change ID/passport, insurers, bank, employer. Order: ID first, then the rest based on it.
What does marriage mean for residence? ▾
Spouses of permit holders and of Germans qualify for family reunification and their own permit; spouses of German citizens can naturalise after 3 years (with 2 years of marriage). Marriage legalises nothing automatically — the permit is applied for normally.
Why the international certificate? ▾
The multilingual Formule B is recognised without translation in dozens of countries — useful for authorities back home. Order it right away.
Is switching to III/V worth it? ▾
With a large income gap, yes — run both variants through our gross-to-net calculator before visiting the Finanzamt.