simplyELSTERplus
What simplyELSTERplus is
simplyELSTERplus is a free web application for people in Germany preparing and submitting their own income tax return. It asks step-by-step questions and fills the return in the background, then checks entered information for completeness and correctness. Filing is supported for tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025. Topics include household services, health and care insurance, work expenses, training, home office, travel expenses, donations and extraordinary burdens. For 2025, users can also enter retirement provision and pension income. With consent, electronic tax data such as wage tax statements and insurance information can be transferred automatically. Users sign in with an ELSTER certificate or ELSTER Secure, review the result and submit it digitally to their tax office. If a situation is outside the workflow, entered information can be carried into Mein ELSTER. The service is web-only and does not support declaring children.
Who it suits
It suits German residents filing alone who earn employment income, have a valid ELSTER certificate and do not need to declare children.
What it does well
- Free plan for German tax returns
- Step-by-step questions fill the return
- Automatic checks for completeness
- Supports returns for 2023–2025
- Direct digital submission to tax office
What to know first
- Does not support declaring children
- Requires an ELSTER certificate or ELSTER Secure
- Web-only access
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| einfachELSTERplus | Free to use · For German residents filing their own return · Requires a valid ELSTER certificate · Does not support declaring children · Available for tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025 | Free |
As elster.de lists them, read 12 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
simplyELSTERplus provides a guided route from questions to digital submission for supported German tax situations. Its free plan covers several tax years, but families declaring children or users outside its workflow need another option.
Facts from simplyELSTERplus's own pages
- 2025 coverage
- For tax year 2025, users can also enter retirement provision and pension income information. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- Users sign in with an existing ELSTER certificate or ELSTER Secure. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Automatic checks
- The application automatically checks entered information to help make the return correct and complete. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Data import
- With consent to retrieve electronic tax data, available information such as wage tax statements and insurance data is automatically transferred into the return. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · elster.de, 22 Sept 2026
- Guided workflow
- The application uses step-by-step questions and automatically fills the tax return in the background. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Headquarters
- Munich, Germany · elster.de, 28 Sept 2026
- Mein ELSTER handoff
- Users can switch to Mein ELSTER without losing entered information if their tax situation is not fully supported. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Mobile access
- web_only · elster.de, 22 Sept 2026
- Provider
- The ELSTER imprint identifies the Bavarian State Tax Office, Munich office, as the publisher of the ELSTER website. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- einfachELSTERplus guides individuals through preparing and submitting a German income tax return. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Security
- ELSTER says its services run on its own IT infrastructure certified to ISO 27001 based on the BSI IT-Grundschutz catalogues, and tax data is transmitted encrypted to state data centers. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Submission
- After reviewing the information, users can submit the return digitally and directly to their tax office. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Supported topics
- Supported topics include household services, health and care insurance, work expenses, training, home office, travel expenses, donations and extraordinary burdens. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Supported users
- The maker describes the product as suitable for people resident in Germany who file alone, have a valid ELSTER certificate, earn employment income and do not wish to declare children. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
- Supported years
- The application supports filing returns for tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025. · elster.de, 12 Oct 2026
Where simplyELSTERplus stands on Freedom251
- Tax Software#69 of 149
- Personal Tax Software#72 of 123