ROUTE
Savings: Tagesgeld and Festgeld
Where to park your 3-6-month cushion: the €100,000 guarantee, rate hunting — and the tax instruction without which the bank over-withholds.
✓ Checked: 15/08/2026
A Tagesgeld account is where the emergency fund lives: it earns interest, but the money stays available any day. It replaces neither the current account nor an investment portfolio — the Girokonto holds this month’s spending, the portfolio holds money you will not touch for ten years, and the Tagesgeld holds the buffer for the month something goes wrong. The rule of thumb is three to six months of expenses.
› More about this route
The route has two steps. First the mechanics: how Tagesgeld differs from Festgeld, how far the €100,000 deposit guarantee reaches, and why rates between banks differ so widely. Then the practice: open the account and file the Freistellungsauftrag in the same sitting, so the bank does not withhold tax it does not need to.
The time cost is small. Opening an account online takes about half an hour, the tax instruction a few clicks. After that the route costs fifteen minutes twice a year — check your rate against the market and move the money if it has drifted.
WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME
- Skipping the Freistellungsauftrag. Without it the bank withholds 25 percent tax on every euro of interest — including the €1,000 the saver’s allowance would have made tax-free. That money only comes back through a tax return, a year later.
- Treating a promotional rate as permanent. The top entries in any comparison usually run 4–6 months for new customers, then drop to the existing-customer rate. What matters is what is left after the honeymoon.
- Parking more than you need. The emergency fund is not an investment — for money that will genuinely sit untouched for years, a Festgeld ladder is the honest choice.
- Holding more than €100,000 at a single bank. The guarantee applies per person and per bank; larger sums belong spread across several institutions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE
How much actually belongs in a Tagesgeld account?▾
Three to six months of expenses — not of salary. Count what genuinely leaves the account: rent, insurance, food, transport. With a secure job and nobody depending on you, three is enough; if you are self-employed or on a fixed-term contract, six is the realistic number.
Do I need a separate account, or will the current account do?▾
Technically the current account works; in practice it does not. Money sitting in the spending account gets spent. A separate Tagesgeld exists precisely to put a small barrier between you and the buffer. The interest is a bonus, not the main reason.
Does the balance count as assets when I apply for state support?▾
Yes. Both Bürgergeld and Wohngeld assess assets, though their allowances differ. When extending a residence permit, savings work in your favour instead — they evidence secure means of support. The interest itself goes on your tax return from the first euro above the saver’s allowance.
Is it worth the effort at current rates?▾
On a €10,000 buffer, one percentage point of difference is roughly €100 a year, for one account opening and fifteen minutes every six months. But the real gain is not the interest: it is that a car repair or a utilities back-payment does not end up on an overdraft charging double-digit rates.
Can I open one without German credit history or a SCHUFA record?▾
Yes. A Tagesgeld account holds your own money rather than lending you any — the bank verifies identity, not creditworthiness. You will usually need a German reference account, an ID document and your tax identification number. That is why it is often the second account newcomers get without friction.