The words on your German letters

Absender

The sender — printed top-left or in the address window; the fastest way to identify any letter

Aktenzeichen / Az.

The file reference — quote it if you reply

Kassenzeichen

A payment reference used in transfers to an authority

BescheidA decision

An official decision notice

FristA date

A deadline — the date by which the letter expects a reply or action

WiderspruchA date

A formal objection to an official decision

MahnungMoney

A payment reminder

Einschreiben

Registered mail — someone usually has to sign for it

ZugangA date

The moment a letter legally reaches you — most deadlines are counted from this, not from the date printed on the letter

Zustellung

Formal delivery, usually recorded — the day the clock starts

EinspruchA date

An objection, in tax and social-security matters — the word Widerspruch does the same job on the administrative side

WiderspruchsfristA date

The period you have to object, counted from when the letter reached you

Begründung

The reasons — the part of a decision that says why, and the part people look for

BewilligungA decision

Approval — something you applied for was granted

AblehnungA decision

Refusal — something you applied for was turned down

NachzahlungMoney

A further payment being asked for, on top of what you already paid

Erstattung

Money coming back to you

SäumniszuschlagMoney

A surcharge added for paying late

Mahngebühr

A fee added for having to remind you

Verzug

Being in default — legally late with a payment, which is not the same as simply not having paid yet

Mitwirkung

Your part in it — the office cannot finish without something from you, and is asking for it

Wohnungsgeberbestätigung

Your landlord's written confirmation that you really live at the address — the registration office asks for this one constantly

Hauptwohnung

Your main home — the address you are registered at, if you have more than one

Sprechzeiten

The hours the office is open to callers, which are usually shorter than you expect

Terminvereinbarung

You have to book — turning up without an appointment will not get you seen

Unterlagen

Documents — the papers an office wants from you

erforderlich

Required — not optional

Empfangsbekenntnis

A slip confirming you received something, which you sign and send back

Vollmacht

A written authority letting somebody else act for you

Gebühr

A fee for an official act

Verjährung

The point after which a claim can no longer be enforced

Explained in context →

Antrag

Application — the form you fill in to ask for something

Anlage

Enclosure — a document attached to the letter or form

Betreff

Subject line — what the letter is about, printed above the greeting

Nachweis

Proof — a document that evidences something (income, address, identity)

Bescheinigung

Certificate — an official confirmation, on paper

Sachbearbeiter/in

The case worker handling your file — their name is usually on the letter

Antragsteller/in

The applicant — you, on your own form

gültig bisA date

Valid until — the date the document stops counting

Angaben

The details you enter — your answers on the form

Pflichtfeld

Required field — the form will not be accepted without it

Unterschrift

Signature — by hand, in ink, on most German forms

Ort, Datum

Place and date — written together above the signature, as in 'Berlin, 24.07.2026'

unverzüglichA date

Without undue delay — a legal phrase, not a polite one. It does not mean 'whenever you get round to it'; it means as soon as you reasonably can.

zuständig

Responsible — the office that is allowed to handle your case. Sending a file to an office that is not zuständig is the most common way to lose weeks.

Original / beglaubigte Kopie

The original document, or a copy an authority has certified as matching it. A plain photocopy is neither.

Brutto / Gesamtbrutto

Gross pay (before any deductions)

Netto / Auszahlungsbetrag

Net pay — the amount actually transferred to you

LSt / Steuer

Lohnsteuer — wage (income) tax

KiSt

Kirchensteuer — church tax (members only)

SolZ

Solidaritätszuschlag — solidarity surcharge

KV

Krankenversicherung — health insurance

PV

Pflegeversicherung — nursing-care insurance

RV

Rentenversicherung — pension insurance

AV

Arbeitslosenversicherung — unemployment insurance

SV

Sozialversicherung — the four social-insurance branches together

StKlA decision

Steuerklasse — your tax class (I–VI)

IdNr / Steuer-ID

Your tax identification number

SV-Nummer

Your social-insurance number

Steuer-Brutto / SV-Brutto

The two gross totals: one for tax, one for social insurance. Some pay counts for one and not the other

AG-Anteil / AN-Anteil

Employer share and employee share of a contribution. Your employer pays roughly the same again

ZusatzbeitragMoney

Your Krankenkasse's own supplement on top of the base health-insurance rate — why the KV line differs between funds

Lohnart

The numeric pay-type code starting each earnings row — every payroll system has its own set

SFN-Zuschlag

Supplement for night, Sunday or holiday work — income-tax-free within the legal caps (see above)

VWL / vermögenswirksame Leistungen

A savings-scheme top-up some employers pay into an investment contract you choose

bAV / betriebliche Altersvorsorge

Company pension scheme — its contributions usually appear as their own line

Entgeltumwandlung

Part of your gross pay redirected into a company pension instead of being paid out

Geldwerter Vorteil / Sachbezug

A non-cash benefit (company car, vouchers) valued in euros and taxed like pay

Einmalbezug / Sonderzahlung

A one-off payment (bonus, back pay) shown as its own line and taxed under one-off rules

Urlaubsgeld / Weihnachtsgeld

Extra holiday or Christmas pay — only if your contract or collective agreement grants it

PGRS / Personengruppe

Person-group key for social-insurance reporting (e.g. 101 for standard employees)

BGRS / Beitragsgruppe

Four-digit key showing which insurance branches you contribute to (KV·RV·AV·PV)

KK / Krankenkasse

The health fund your contributions go to — named on the slip because you chose it

Konfession (rk / ev / --)

Religion marker from your registration — rk/ev trigger church tax, '--' means none

ZKF / Kinderfreibetrag

Child-allowance counter from your electronic tax details

Freibetrag

A registered allowance that reduces the pay subject to wage tax

Aufrollung

A retroactive correction of an earlier month, shown inside the current slip

Abschlag / Vorschuss

An advance on your pay, listed so it can be offset against the final amount

Minijob / Übergangsbereich

Marginal-employment categories with their own contribution rules — their slips deviate from the standard lines

Steuertage / SV-Tage

Day counters (usually 30 per month) the tax and insurance calculations run on

Explained in context →

Kaltmiete

Cold rent — rent without operating/utility costs

Warmmiete

Warm rent — rent including operating costs

Nebenkosten / BetriebskostenMoney

Operating / utility costs

Kaution / MietsicherheitMoney

Deposit (capped at three months' cold rent)

BonitätA decision

Creditworthiness

SCHUFA-BonitätsAuskunftA decision

The paid credit certificate (~30 €) some landlords prefer

Datenkopie (Art. 15 DSGVO)

Your free copy of your Schufa data

Bürge / Bürgschaft

Guarantor / a guarantee for the rent

Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung

A former landlord's certificate that you owe no rent

WBS

Wohnberechtigungsschein — entitlement certificate for subsidised housing

Explained in context →

Krankenkasse

Your statutory health insurance fund

GKV (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung)

The statutory health insurance system

PKV (private Krankenversicherung)

Private health insurance

VersicherungspflichtA decision

Compulsory insurance — you must be insured

Mitgliedsbescheinigung

Your fund's confirmation of membership — what your employer asks for

ZusatzbeitragMoney

The supplement your individual fund charges on top of 14.6%

Familienversicherung

Family cover at no additional contribution

Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze

The annual earnings threshold above which you may leave the statutory system

Beitragsbemessungsgrenze

The income ceiling above which no further contributions are charged

Gesundheitskarte (eGK)

Your health insurance card — you show it at the doctor

ZuzahlungMoney

A co-payment you make yourself (e.g. on prescriptions)

Satzungsleistungen

Extra benefits a fund writes into its own statutes on top of the legal catalogue

Wahltarif

An optional tariff with its own conditions and a binding period

Explained in context →

Girokonto

Current account — the everyday account

Basiskonto

Basic account — the one you have a legal right to

Guthabenkonto

Credit-only account — no overdraft; you spend only what's in it

IBAN

Your account number for transfers

Überziehung / Dispo(kredit)Money

Overdraft — spending below zero (not part of a basic account)

Meldebescheinigung

Your registration confirmation from the Anmeldung

PostIdent

Identity check at a post office (for online banks)

VideoIdent

Identity check by video call (for online banks)

SEPA-Lastschrift

Direct debit — a company pulls a payment with your permission

Girocard / EC-Karte

Your bank (debit) card

Explained in context →

Übergabeprotokoll

Handover protocol — the condition record

Wohnungsübergabe

The handover of the flat itself

MängelMoney

Defects — existing faults you record

ZählerstandMoney

Meter reading (electricity, gas, water)

Kaution / MietsicherheitMoney

The deposit the protocol protects

vertragsgemäße Abnutzung

Normal wear from agreed use — not your liability

SchönheitsreparaturenMoney

Cosmetic repairs — a separate, often-disputed clause

besenrein

'Broom-clean' — a common move-out condition

Explained in context →