Riester in your tax return: using Anlage AV correctly

Philipp Siebert

Published on 19 October 2026 · Publisher and Managing Director, Alsterspree Verlag

This article was written by an author with the support of AI.

Why is Anlage AV worth filing?

Anlage AV is worth filing because it triggers the additional Sonderausgabenabzug (deduction as a special expense) under § 10a EStG: you can deduct your retirement contributions plus the allowance you are entitled to as special expenses up to 2,100 euros a year^[1]. Without Anlage AV you only receive the allowance into your contract, not the additional tax advantage in your income tax return. For Riester-Rente (Germany's existing subsidised private pension) savers with a higher marginal tax rate, this is the larger of the two subsidy components.

The mechanism is designed so that you cannot lose out: the allowance you applied for is always paid into your pension contract, while the special-expense deduction lowers your tax through the income tax assessment. How much that brings in practice depends on your personal tax rate.

Anyone who wants to make full use of their Riester support should therefore make Anlage AV a fixed routine. Background and context on the reform are available in our knowledge section with guides on the Altersvorsorgedepot (the new state-subsidised retirement investment account).

What goes into Anlage AV?

The effort has dropped noticeably since the 2025 return: you no longer have to enter your contributions yourself, because the provider transmits them to the central allowance office^[2]. Anlage AV is still required, however, because it is how you claim the special-expense deduction: only once you file it does the tax office check whether the additional deduction is possible.^[6] For a correct calculation, the official guidance recommends entering the contributions you paid in the Anlage Zusatzangaben zur Steuerberechnung.

• Lines 4 to 15 of Anlage AV still have to be filled in.^[6]
• Lines 4 to 13 cover directly entitled persons, such as employees subject to statutory pension insurance.
• Line 14 is for indirectly entitled spouses who do not belong to the eligible group themselves.
• Line 5 asks for your pensionable earnings from the previous year, 2024; you will find them in your employer's social insurance notification.^[6]

The line numbers refer to the return for 2025. Before filing, check that the details on your entitlement and your previous-year earnings match your situation, because the tax office uses line 5, among other things, to derive the minimum own contribution. For the tax support in the new system from 2027, see our article on the tax support for the Altersvorsorgedepot.

How does the favourability test work?

The favourability test under § 10a Abs. 2 EStG makes sure you always receive the better of the two options: the tax office automatically checks whether the special-expense deduction is more favourable for you than the allowance entitlement^[1]. You do not need to apply for it.

In practice this means you fill in your part of the form with a few details and the provider supplies the rest. Still check that the transmitted contributions look plausible, because wrong data leads to a wrong favourability test.

1. The tax office first calculates your income tax taking the special-expense deduction into account.
2. If the deduction is more favourable than the allowance entitlement, the income tax calculated in this way is increased by the allowance entitlement (§ 10a Abs. 2 EStG)^[1].
3. As a result, you only receive the tax reduction that goes beyond the allowance entitlement.

What applies to married couples?

For married couples the law distinguishes between directly and indirectly entitled persons: you are directly entitled if you belong to the eligible group yourself, for example as an employee with compulsory insurance. The indirectly entitled spouse is not entitled to the allowance in their own right, but receives support through their own Riester contract because the partner is directly entitled.

The offsetting is therefore precisely regulated: you only get the advantage that goes beyond the allowance, but you lose nothing if the allowance is the better support. What matters is the data: if your provider could not transmit the contributions in time, you will receive a certificate from them, which you submit as a copy with your tax return or send in later.^[6]

• If only one spouse belongs to the eligible group, the contributions of both spouses are taken into account for the partner entitled to the deduction (§ 10a Abs. 3 Satz 2 EStG).^[1]
• In this case the ceiling rises by 60 euros to 2,160 euros^[3].
• If both spouses are directly entitled and assessed jointly, each is entitled to the special-expense deduction separately; the favourability test takes both allowance entitlements into account (§ 10a Abs. 3 Satz 1 und 5 EStG).^[1]

Jointly assessed spouses file a joint Anlage AV if each has their own Riester contract.^[4] The test is only carried out separately with separate assessment: then only each spouse's own allowance entitlement is taken into account.^[6]

If only one partner is directly entitled, at least 60 euros of the indirectly entitled spouse's contributions are taken into account in that partner's special-expense deduction, up to the increased ceiling of 2,160 euros^[3].

The indirectly entitled spouse must pay at least 60 euros into their own contract in the contribution year. They are only entitled to an allowance if the directly entitled spouse has made subsidised retirement contributions of their own, in other words pays into a contract themselves.^[6]

Which certificate does the provider send?

The basis for your Anlage AV is the annual certificate under § 92 EStG: the provider must issue it every year by the end of the year following the contribution year^[5]. It documents what the provider reported to the central allowance office and is therefore what you check against before filing your tax return.

• Amount of retirement contributions paid in the contribution year.
• Total allowances credited by the end of the year.
• Value of the retirement savings.
• Confirmation that the provider has transmitted the data to the central office (§ 92 EStG)^[5].

With your consent, the provider can also make the annual certificate available electronically^[5]. Compare the figures with your own records before filing your tax return.

Raise any discrepancies with the provider before you file Anlage AV, because the tax office bases the favourability test on the transmitted data.

The certificate is also your control tool: it shows which figures the provider transmitted to the central office.

What does the Altersvorsorgedepot change about the tax deduction?

For Riester contracts signed before 1 January 2027, the previous tax support under § 10a EStG continues to apply until the payout phase begins (grandfathering). This grandfathering ends uniformly for all your contracts, however, if you irrevocably opt into the new law or sign another certified contract after 31 December 2026, such as an Altersvorsorgedepot (§ 52 Abs. 50a Satz 4 und 6 EStG).^[7] Anyone who moves into the new support rules of the Altersvorsorgedepot from 2027 swaps the old ceiling for a new combination of special-expense deduction and a contribution-linked allowance.

Typical errors are a reduced allowance credit, for example because the minimum own contribution was not reached, or contributions assigned to the wrong contribution year. Compare the figures on the certificate with your entries in Anlage AV before filing the return. If the certificate does not match your expectations, clarify it with the provider before the tax office calculates with wrong data.

The favourability test continues under the new rules: the tax office still checks automatically whether the special-expense deduction is more favourable than the allowance entitlement.

In the new system you claim your contributions and the allowance entitlement as special expenses in your income tax return, as before; whether the new ceiling is higher than the old one for you is shown by the calculation with the full Grundzulage (the basic state allowance) further below. Our decision guide on keeping or switching your Riester contract sets out the main criteria by age, costs and risk profile.

For high earners with a high marginal tax rate, the special-expense deduction remains the larger subsidy component in the new system too; for families with children and low earners, the allowance is often the more favourable option.

Once you have checked that the new support rules suit you, the next question is which provider to choose. The provider comparison on vorsorgedepot-lotse.de compares neobrokers and Altersvorsorgedepot providers on transparent criteria such as costs and investment options, including direct links to open an account. All information in this article is source-based and illustrative; it does not constitute investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG.

• Marginal tax rate now and in retirement: it decides whether the special-expense deduction or the allowance brings the larger saving.
• Costs of your existing Riester contract: high running costs can justify a switch to the account.
• Risk appetite and remaining term: without a guarantee requirement, the account can offer more upside but also fluctuate more.

On paper, the ceiling in the new system without Kinderzulage (the child allowance) and without an indirectly entitled spouse is up to 2,340 euros, that is 1,800 euros plus 540 euros of Grundzulage, and therefore often above the previous 2,100 euros. Existing savers are grandfathered: Riester contracts signed before 2027 can continue with the previous tax support as long as you neither opt into the new support rules nor sign another certified contract from 2027; either step moves all your contracts to the new law.^[7] There is no official information yet on the lines of Anlage AV in the new system; the line numbers in this article apply only to the 2025 return. We cover how the tax support for the Altersvorsorgedepot works in detail in a separate guide on tax support, and you will find the direct comparison of both systems in our Altersvorsorgedepot vs Riester comparison.

Whether switching pays off for you depends on your marginal tax rate, your remaining term and your risk appetite. If you are considering the new support rules, the provider comparison on vorsorgedepot-lotse.de offers a neutral comparison of Altersvorsorgedepot providers, including direct links to open an account.

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