ROUTE
Work
Personal step-by-step checklist for starting work in Germany: Steuer-ID, Krankenkasse, Sozialversicherung and Steuerklasse. Adapts to your situation β employee or self-employed.
β Checked: 15/07/2026
Starting work in Germany is not just a contract but four numbers, two deadlines and one document you read before signing. This route puts them in the order they actually occur: your tax ID arrives by itself after you register your address, you choose a health insurer before your first working day, your social insurance number is issued with your first job, and your tax class follows from your marital status.
Tailor the route to you
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Do you also work for yourself alongside your job?
βΊ More about this route
The first decision is the only urgent one. You must choose a health insurance fund and tell your employer BEFORE starting: if you do not choose, you are enrolled automatically and cannot switch until twelve months of membership have passed. What deserves comparison is not just the contribution but the service β some funds offer support and interpreters in English, which in the early months matters more than a few euros of difference.
A separate block of the route is the employment contract. During probation the notice period drops to two weeks; afterwards the law provides four. The most expensive line, though, is the non-compete clause: it can apply for up to two years after you leave, is governed by Β§74 HGB, and costs legal fees to whoever signed it unread.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Not choosing a health insurance fund before your first working day. You will be enrolled wherever the employer defaults to, and switching is only possible after twelve months of membership.
- Signing the non-compete clause without understanding it. It can apply for up to two years after you leave and may block a move to the next employer in your own industry.
- Throwing away the social insurance card as βunnecessary paperβ. The number is needed years later β for parental allowance, pension matters, a change of job β and a replacement takes weeks.
- Issuing your first freelance invoice before you have a Steuernummer. The tax office needs four to eight weeks, and a client is entitled to withhold payment while the number is missing from the invoice.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
What has to be done before the first working day?βΎ
Choose a health insurance fund and tell your employer β the only urgent step, because the choice is then fixed for a year. While you are at it, check whether the letter with your tax ID has arrived: it comes two to four weeks after you register your address, and that is the number your employer needs.
Which numbers must not be mixed up in Germany?βΎ
Three different ones. The Steuer-ID has eleven digits, arrives automatically and stays with you for life β that is what employers ask for. The Steuernummer is issued by the tax office and is needed by anyone writing invoices. The social insurance number is issued with your first job and is also lifelong. Confusing them is the classic first-month mistake.
What should be read in the employment contract before signing?βΎ
Four points: probation and notice period (two weeks during probation, four by law afterwards), holiday entitlement, gross salary and the non-compete clause. Check separately how commuting is handled: it does not count as working time, and compensation or home office is negotiated separately.
What changes if I get married or take on freelance work?βΎ
Two things. Marriage changes your tax class, and the application belongs right after the wedding: the combination involving class V shifts deductions heavily, while IV/IV spreads them evenly between partners. Freelance work adds tax registration via ELSTER β invoices only go out once the Steuernummer has arrived.