Altersvorsorgedepot on your tax return: which schedule and line

Tilman Freyenhagen

Published on 24 July 2026 · Updated on 7 August 2026 · Managing Director & Partner, Alsterspree Verlag GmbH

The tax logic of the Altersvorsorgedepot from 2027

The new Altersvorsorgedepot, which will form a central pillar of private retirement saving in Germany from 2027, is based on the principle of deferred taxation. That means you can claim your contributions for tax purposes during the accumulation phase, while payouts in retirement are subject to income tax. The legal basis for this is anchored in the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG). Through the special-expenses deduction, the personal contributions you pay in directly reduce your taxable income in the year you pay them, which noticeably cuts your personal tax burden tax subsidy.

A decisive advantage of the state-subsidised account compared with a conventional securities account is that it is tax-free for its entire term. All dividends, interest and realised capital gains remain completely tax-free during the accumulation phase. There is no annual capital gains tax or advance lump-sum tax. This privilege delivers an undiluted compound-interest effect, because the full capital can keep working without any tax deductions ETF savings plan after tax. Only when it is paid out in retirement are the returns and the subsidised contributions taxed at your personal tax rate at that time, which in retirement is usually markedly lower than during your working life^[1].

The maximum tax-subsidy framework provides that payments can be deducted from tax up to a statutorily defined ceiling, with the tax office automatically working out, through the so-called favourability test (Günstigerprüfung), whether the special-expenses deduction or the direct state allowances are more advantageous for you. Please note: all tax calculations and projections are for illustration only and do not constitute tax or financial advice (not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG).

The right form: why Anlage AV is essential

If you want to claim the tax advantages for your new Altersvorsorgedepot, Anlage AV is essential. On the German tax return, this form is used to claim retirement-saving contributions for state-certified contracts. From 2027, the Altersvorsorgedepot takes over from the previous Riester-Rente and uses the same legal basis for the special-expenses deduction. Through this form, the tax office automatically checks, as part of the favourability test, whether the special-expenses deduction is more advantageous for you than the allowance alone. The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) confirms that contributions and allowance entitlements can, as before, be claimed as special expenses on the income tax return^[1].

The distinction from the classic Anlage Vorsorgeaufwand is essential: while that schedule is where you enter contributions to statutory pension insurance or the Rürup-Rente, Anlage AV is reserved exclusively for the Altersvorsorgedepot and existing Riester contracts. Another critical point is electronic data transmission. For the tax office to accept your entries on Anlage AV, your provider must transmit the contribution data electronically to the tax administration. You give your account provider your consent for this. Only once this electronic bridge is in place does the tax office match your manual entries against the transmitted data and grant the tax benefit.

This entry is particularly worthwhile for employees and voluntarily insured self-employed people. With the subsidy calculator, you can also work out in advance how much tax relief you can expect and how much you stand to gain from the state subsidy. Always enter your contributions in full, so you don't give away any money.

Step-by-step guide: filling it in line by line in ELSTER

To claim your Altersvorsorgedepot contributions for tax purposes, enter your outlays on your income tax return in Anlage AV (retirement-saving contributions)^[2]. On this schedule, alongside the personal contributions you have paid, you also record your personal social security number and the account's contract details. Based on these entries, the tax office automatically checks, through the favourability test, whether the tax subsidy via the special-expenses deduction is more advantageous for you than the allowance alone.

The most important fields on Anlage AV

• Social security number or allowance ID (Zulagenummer): this field is essential for matching your entry. Employees enter their regular pension insurance number.
• Provider ID and contract number: enter your provider's ID and your account number without any errors. Typos in the contract number often cause delays.
• Personal contributions paid: enter the exact annual total of your payments here, which you can take from your provider's annual statement.
• Eligibility status: select your employment category so the tax office can correctly check your eligibility.

Self-employed people who want to claim their contributions for a tax deduction must pay particular attention to entering the allowance ID (Zulagenummer) correctly, so as to make full use of the state subsidy. For advance calculations, our digital subsidy calculator gives you precise orientation on your expected tax effects and allowance entitlements. Please note that this information is for general guidance and does not constitute tax or financial advice (not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG). For individual, detailed questions, we recommend consulting a tax adviser.

The favourability test: how the tax office calculates your tax saving

The state subsidy for your Altersvorsorgedepot works on two levels: through direct allowances and through the special-expenses tax deduction. So that you, as a taxpayer, automatically benefit from whichever option is most advantageous for you, the tax office runs the so-called favourability test (Günstigerprüfung) as part of your income tax assessment^[3]. In this mathematical comparison, the tax authority weighs your individual tax saving from the special-expenses deduction against your direct allowance entitlement.

If the calculated tax saving turns out higher than the direct basic allowance of up to 540 euros, the difference is credited to you as a tax refund^[1]. If your personal tax rate is lower, on the other hand, you simply keep the allowance you have already received. Declaring it on your income tax return is therefore worthwhile at every income level, because the tax office applies the most advantageous calculation fully automatically. The tax subsidy makes sure you don't miss out on any financial benefit. To simulate your personal subsidy rate and effects precisely in advance, the neutral subsidy calculator is available to you.

Disclaimer: the worked examples shown in the table are purely illustrative and depend on your personal tax circumstances. Not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG.

Special case, self-employed: filing a tax return without a social security number

From 2027, self-employed people are also fully eligible for subsidies and can use the new Altersvorsorgedepot to receive state allowances and tax benefits^[1]. A common hurdle on the annual income tax return's Anlage AV, however, is the missing statutory social security number that employees enter as standard. If you are not compulsorily insured under statutory pension insurance, you must instead provide a so-called allowance ID (Zulagenummer). You can apply for this special number straightforwardly, directly through your account provider (such as a bank or neobroker), who forwards the application to the Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen (the central office for retirement-savings allowances).

1. Apply for your allowance ID: apply for the number directly when you open your account, or later through your provider, at the Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen.
2. Enter your personal contributions paid: enter your actual annual payments in the lines provided on Anlage AV.
3. Provide evidence of the prior year's income: state your relevant taxable income from the prior year, since it determines the minimum personal-contribution rate needed for the full state allowance.
4. Trigger the favourability test: the tax office automatically checks whether the special-expenses deduction via the Altersvorsorgedepot is more advantageous for you, as a self-employed person, than the allowance alone.

For self-employed people in particular, the Altersvorsorgedepot with fluctuating income offers a decisive advantage, because contributions can be flexibly adjusted to the current order book. If your profit was lower in the prior year, the minimum personal contribution needed for the full subsidy falls too. You can use the subsidy calculator to check your individual subsidy and tax effects precisely. When filing your tax return, make sure all the data on your income matches the prior year's tax assessment exactly, to avoid delays in the tax office's favourability test.

Common mistakes when filling in Anlage AV, and how to avoid them

For the tax office to smoothly recognise the special-expenses deduction for your Altersvorsorgedepot, all entries on the income tax return must be error-free. Mistakes when filling in Anlage AV can lead the tax office to reject or delay the tax deduction. The contributions and the state subsidy are claimed for tax purposes as part of the income tax assessment, with the tax office automatically running a favourability test^[1]. To make sure the tax subsidy is used to the full, you should know the typical pitfalls and avoid them deliberately.

Consent to data transmission and correct contract matching

The most common reason for a tax deduction being rejected is forgetting to give your account provider consent for data transmission. The provider must transmit your personal contributions paid electronically to the tax administration. Without this formal consent, which you must give either directly when opening your account or within the statutory deadlines, the tax office is not allowed to process the data. This is a separate step that you must not overlook alongside the actual allowance application for the Altersvorsorgedepot.

• Missing data transfer: make sure you have given your provider consent for electronic data transmission. Without this authorisation, the tax office is not allowed to recognise your contributions.
• Incorrect matching for spouses: under joint assessment, each spouse must fill in their own Anlage AV. Contracts cannot be claimed on a partner's form, since they are strictly tied to the individual.
• Transposed digits in the social security number: your social security number serves as the matching identifier. A simple typo in this field means the tax office cannot link your provider's data to your tax return.

Carefully checking your entries in ELSTER against your account provider's annual statements protects you from time-consuming queries from the tax office. If you want to simulate your potential tax advantages in advance, the subsidy calculator helps you calculate your individual subsidy rate precisely.

The transition from Riester to the Altersvorsorgedepot in tax year 2027

If you switch from a classic Riester-Rente to the new Altersvorsorgedepot in the transition year 2027, you need to look closely at your annual income tax return. Contributions to both products can be claimed for tax purposes during this transition phase, provided you declare them correctly on the familiar Anlage AV. As part of the automatic favourability test, the tax office checks whether the special-expenses deduction or the direct state allowance is more advantageous for you, which is governed under the tax subsidy. To make the most of the tax deduction, you can flexibly split your personal contributions paid in the transition year between both contracts, as long as your total does not exceed the eligible maximum for special expenses.

Tax-neutral transfer and statutory switching costs

A decisive advantage of the statutory system change from 2027 is that transferring your existing Riester balance into the new Altersvorsorgedepot is designed to be completely tax-neutral^[1]. In concrete terms, that means the accumulated capital does not have to be taxed as a detrimental use when it is transferred directly from your old provider to the new one. To keep this switch economically attractive for you, an important statutory consumer protection mechanism applies: transfer fees are capped at a maximum of 150 euros. After a contract term of five years, this switch is even completely free of charge if you make a provider switch.

To precisely analyse the concrete financial effects of switching for your personal situation, our digital subsidy calculator is available to you. With this transparent tool, you can simulate how transferring your Riester balance, taking the switching-cost cap into account, affects your expected return over the long term. Not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG.

Tax-free gains during the accumulation phase: the account's compound-interest effect

Over the decades-long accumulation phase, the state-subsidised Altersvorsorgedepot offers a substantial tax advantage over a conventional securities account. During this phase, neither capital gains tax nor the annual advance lump-sum tax applies to your capital returns. Dividends, interest and realised capital gains are reinvested directly in the account, gross and without any tax deduction. The Federal Ministry of Finance confirms that taxation of the increases in value and returns is deferred entirely to the later payout phase^[1].

This systematic tax deferral means the compound-interest effect can develop its full impact. Because no tax is withdrawn from the invested capital during the year, a noticeably larger amount is available for ongoing wealth-building. This difference shows up very clearly precisely in the scheduled accumulation of dividends in fund units, compared with a conventional ETF savings plan. We factor these elements in with mathematical precision in our subsidy calculator, which illustrates the tax advantages and their effect on your expected final capital in detail.

Over decades, a conventional account is held back by the advance lump-sum tax and taxes on dividends. In the Altersvorsorgedepot, by contrast, every euro earned stays undiminished in the reinvestment cycle. Over a term of thirty years, that can add up to a five-figure gain in value, even with identical performance from the chosen funds or ETFs. Please note that actual performance and tax effects always depend on your personal situation and how markets actually develop. Such projections serve demonstration purposes only (not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG).