Zenarios now has a tax plan for German households. It looks at pensions, investments, property and how you file together, tries combinations of changes on your own plan, and tells you what to change, by how much and when, and how much more you would have after taxes, at today’s prices. It recommends the strongest plan it tested, never “the optimal” one, and it is not tax advice.
Why one product at a time misses money
The usual question is “Rürup or ETF?” or “Is a company pension worth it?”. Each comparison on its own can be right and the combination still wrong, because the options share the same money and the same limits. A Basisrente is deductible only within a yearly limit, and the statutory pension contributions you already pay use up most of it: at a €90,000 salary, about €14,086 of the €30,826 limit for 2026 is left. Contributions you can’t deduct bring no relief. A refund arrives the year after you pay, so the first year needs money up front. And the home deposit you are saving for needs that same monthly money.
The tax plan works inside your Zenarios plan, so all of this is already there: your incomes, your accounts, the milestones ahead and the month each one happens. It checks every combination against the same budget, the same deduction limits and the same goals, and it works out a refund in the January it would arrive.
What it looks at
The first version covers twelve strategies in five areas, plus one piece of paperwork. Each has a short list of what it needs, what to weigh and the next practical step.
| Strategy | Area | What it does and what to weigh |
|---|---|---|
| Company pension (bAV) | Retirement | Converted pay is free of tax up to 8 % and of social contributions up to 4 % of the pension ceiling, and the employer adds at least 15 %. Payouts pay full health and care contributions, and converted pay earns fewer statutory pension points. |
| Rürup pension (Basisrente) | Retirement | Deductible within the yearly limit that statutory pension contributions already use up. The money is locked and pays out only as a lifelong pension, from 62 at the earliest. |
| Altersvorsorgedepot | Retirement | From January 2027: state allowances on contributions, at most €6,840 a year per contract, payouts from 65 taxed in full. |
| Riester contract | Retirement | Keep the old allowances, or switch irrevocably to the new ones from 2027. Moving the contract into an Altersvorsorgedepot is not compared yet. |
| ETF savings plan | Investments | The same money invested in an ordinary fund: the measure every pension option is held against. |
| Use the saver's allowance every year | Investments | Sell and buy back each December, as far as the €1,000 allowance (€2,000 for a couple filing jointly) covers the gain. |
| Realise losses | Investments | Sell units bought at a higher price so the loss offsets taxable gains, oldest units first. |
| Realise gains in a low-income year | Investments | Where your personal rate is below the flat rate on investment income, claimed with the Günstigerprüfung. |
| Draw on accounts in a better order | Withdrawals | Cash first, then taxable investments, with tax-free and pension money last. |
| Extra loan repayments | Property | A sure, untaxed return. Interest on a let property is deductible, so repaying it saves less than its rate. |
| Sell after ten years | Property | A let property sold after ten years is tax-free (§ 23 EStG). Only moved within the window you allow. |
| Joint tax return | Household | Splitting for married couples and registered partners. Never assumed: you confirm the marriage. |
Exemption orders at your banks (Freistellungsauftrag) appear as a to-do but are never ranked: they change when tax is paid, not how much, because a tax return returns the money anyway.
How it works, step by step
Open it from the Scenarios tab under Taxes, from the tax details of your plan, or by asking “How can I pay less tax?”. It has five steps.
- Review. This year’s income tax, social contributions and tax on investment income, the refund or back payment to expect, which strategies may apply and which need a fact first.
- Questions. Only the facts those strategies need: this year’s pay so far, whether you are married, your pension contracts and their costs, your employer’s company pension offer, what your investments cost, when a property was bought. If you don’t know, leave it: the strategy then shows as something to check first, with no amount.
- Boundaries. The money a month it may use (what’s left over today, to start with), a one-off amount from savings above your cushion, the cushion to keep (three months of essential spending by default), goals that must not come later, the decisions it may change and the most changes you want (five by default).
- Plan. Each strategy is tried on its own, the strongest are combined, their amounts are fine-tuned to €10 a month, and the result is checked in full and against harsher assumptions. It runs on your device, shows its progress and can be cancelled. You see your plan as it is, the strongest tested plan and a simpler alternative, with what changes: taxes this year and over the years, the employer’s money, state allowances, contract costs, money usable and locked at retirement, income once retired and the thinnest cushion.
- Follow through. Save the result as a scenario and compare it with your plan, or adopt it, with Undo. A checklist keeps what you do outside the app, such as asking HR for the offer, signing a contract or filing the return. The whole plan can be exported as a PDF.
Every change shows why it helps, what it needs first, what to weigh and its part within this plan. Switch one off and the rest is worked out again; its part is never simply subtracted, because changes work together.
How it compares plans
Plans are compared by what you would have after taxes at the end of the plan, through the younger adult’s 95th year, if everything were cashed in, at today’s prices. That means unrealised gains count after their tax, money in pensions counts after the tax on its payout, a Basisrente counts only the benefit it still pays, and property counts after selling costs and any tax on the sale. A pension that saves tax today and costs it later is judged by both.
Every pension option for a person is tried at the same cost to you each month. A company pension is sized so that your take-home pay drops by that amount; a Rürup or Altersvorsorgedepot contribution so that it costs that amount after next January’s refund. The difference you see is the tax structure, not one option simply saving more.
A change is suggested only when it adds at least €1,000 or 1 %, whichever is more, and still helps with returns one point lower and fees half a point higher. Otherwise the tax plan tells you your plan is already in good shape, or that the result is too close to call, and keeps it as it is. It also shows which harsher assumptions would turn a change around: a higher tax on investment income or on pension payouts, or lower property prices. The search caps how many projections it runs and uses no randomness, so the same plan gives the same answer.
One illustration of how small the steps can be: with an equity fund, only 70 % of a gain is taxed, so selling and buying back each December can realise about €1,428 of gain a year within a single €1,000 allowance, tax-free, raising your cost basis for later. Whether it is worth the trading costs in your plan is what the tax plan works out.
Better tax numbers for every plan
To compare strategies fairly, the forecast underneath had to get more exact, and every plan benefits:
- In all 38 countries with calculated taxes, each year’s income tax is now settled after the year ends, from the year’s actual income, as a refund or back payment the following January. Changing jobs, retiring or a parental leave mid-year now shows up as it would on a tax assessment.
- In Germany, rent is taxed as profit after interest, depreciation and costs; selling a let property within ten years is taxed; investments keep their purchase lots and separate loss pots; the partial exemption follows the fund type (15 % for mixed funds, 60 % or 80 % for property funds, none for single shares).
- Contribution limits are enforced instead of only flagged: an Altersvorsorgedepot takes at most €6,840 a year, and Rürup contributions beyond the deductible limit get no relief. Contract costs are taken off contributions and growth.
- The tax still owed for a plan’s last year is worked out, so the final year is not tax-free.
Plans saved before this change keep their data. Where income changes within a year, they can show different numbers from the first January with a settlement, because refunds and back payments now move cash.
What it doesn’t do
The tax plan works with German tax rules only, for plans in euros with calculated taxes; a plan with a tax rate you entered yourself has to switch to the calculated German taxes first. Other countries are not supported yet.
It leaves out self-employment and business structures, church tax on investment income, inheritance and gift tax, cross-border cases, the check between child allowance and child benefit, and the exact monthly payroll tables. It does not choose your retirement date or when to claim the statutory pension, and it does not file your return, sign a contract or move money.
The German rules it uses were checked against the statutes and official sources in October 2026. The result is what the numbers suggest under the plan’s assumptions, not tax advice: check the details with a Steuerberater before you sign anything. The methodology describes the tax models, and the feature reference keeps the current scope.
Sources for the rules quoted here: § 10 EStG (Basisrente limit), § 3 Nr. 63 EStG (company pension), § 20 EStG (saver’s allowance, loss pots), § 23 EStG (private sales), § 20 InvStG (partial exemption). Figures for 2026.
The tax plan is part of Zenarios for every German plan, with no extra setup. Try it in the web app, which is free for now and needs no account.
Work it out with your numbers
Common questions
Does Zenarios optimize my German taxes?
For German plans with calculated taxes, the Zenarios tax plan tests company pensions, Rürup, the Altersvorsorgedepot, Riester, ETF savings plans, the saver's allowance, losses, extra repayments, the timing of a property sale and joint filing together, within your budget, cushion and goals. It recommends the strongest plan it tested, not a guaranteed optimum, and it is not tax advice.
Is the tax plan available outside Germany?
Not yet. The Zenarios tax plan works with German tax rules only, for plans in euros with calculated taxes. The year-end tax settlement that came with it applies to all 38 countries with calculated taxes.
Does the tax plan send my data anywhere?
No. Like the rest of Zenarios, the tax plan runs on your device or in your browser. Your answers are saved with your plan and included in your backups; nothing is sent to a server.
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See the Zenarios financial planning features, explore life scenarios and financial decisions, or read about how Zenarios calculates your forecast and how your financial data stays private.
Try Zenarios in your browserWritten by the maker of Zenarios, a software engineer. These guides explain planning concepts and the product; they are not a personalized financial recommendation. Illustrative calculations are not results from your plan.