Short Answer
You will not receive the single parent tax discount automatically and must submit a formal application to move from Class 1 to Class 2. This status requires you to live alone with your child without any other registered adults residing in the same apartment.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You raised your child alone for two years under Tax Class 1 because you assumed the registration office automatically adjusted your tax rate based on your child's birth certificate. You failed to apply for the specific single parent relief allowance (Entlastungsbetrag für Alleinerziehende), leaving you stuck in a highly taxed category. You missed out on over 2,000 € of vital financial support simply because you did not submit a single page of text to the tax authorities.
What To Do
- Download the official application document titled "Antrag auf Lohnsteuerermäßigung" from the federal tax portal.
- Print out your current household registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) to prove that no other adult lives at your address.
- "Ich beantrage den Entlastungsbetrag für Alleinerziehende für das laufende Kalenderjahr." (I am applying for the relief amount for single parents for the current calendar year.) — write this exact sentence in your cover letter to the Finanzamt.
The Truth
Germany offers a tax break for single parents, but they are strict; if you have a romantic partner officially registered at your house, you lose it.