Riester Rente Steuererklärung: Anlage AV

Your Riester provider sent a Jahresbescheinigung, your first Steuererklärung is open in ELSTER, and there's a form called Anlage AV staring back at you with boxes you don't recognize. Here's what each one is actually for — and where the one that moved in 2025 went.

Why you file Anlage AV even though the Zulage seems automatic

Most providers apply for your Grundzulage and Kinderzulage directly through a standing application (Dauerzulagenantrag), so the allowance arrives in your contract without you lifting a finger that year. That makes it tempting to skip Anlage AV entirely. Don't.

Anlage AV is what tells the Finanzamt to run the Günstigerprüfung — the automatic comparison between the tax saving from deducting your contributions as Sonderausgaben and the value of the Zulage you already received. Without Anlage AV filed, there is no Sonderausgabenabzug and no Günstigerprüfung — the Finanzamt only ever sees the Zulage side, so if the deduction would have been worth more to you, that difference is simply never paid out.

Anlage AV, line by line

Most of the form is pre-filled by data your provider sends the Finanzamt electronically — you're mainly confirming it, not calculating anything. Here's what belongs where:

Line (Zeile)	Field on Anlage AV	Where it comes from	What you do
Zeile 4	Unmittelbar begünstigte Person (directly eligible — employee in statutory pension insurance, Beamter, etc.)	Your employment status	Enter "1" if it applies to you this contribution year
Zeile 6	Number of contracts data is being transmitted for	Provider's data transfer	Confirm; almost always pre-filled once a Dauerzulagenantrag is on file
Zeile 7	Contributions paid this year (Eigenbeitrag)	Provider's annual statement	Confirm the figure against your Jahresbescheinigung — this is your contribution, not the Zulage
Zeilen 4–14 (income block)	Prior-year pension-relevant income	Your own prior-year tax assessment or payslip	Enter manually if not pre-filled — this sets your minimum contribution (4% of that income, capped at 2,100 EUR) needed for the full Zulage
Request for Sonderausgabenabzug	Checkbox/declaration on the form	—	You're asking the Finanzamt to run the Günstigerprüfung — leaving this blank is effectively opting out

(Line numbers per steuern.de's Anlage AV guide and kuechenfibel.de's field-by-field answer on Zeile 6 — the form is reissued yearly, so double-check line numbers against the current year's PDF before filing.)

The 2025 change: Kinderzulage now goes on Anlage Kind

This is the part that trips people up if they're copying last year's form. Until the 2024 tax year, the number of qualifying children went directly on Anlage AV. Starting with the 2025 tax return, that information moves to line 26 of each child's own Anlage Kind instead — you declare there which parent receives the Kinderzulage for that child.

If you and a partner want to transfer the Kinderzulage from one of you to the other, the entry has to match on both parents' forms — a mismatch is one of the more common reasons a Kinderzulage claim gets queried or delayed. The allowance itself hasn't changed: 185 EUR per child born before 2008, 300 EUR per child born 2008 or later, as long as you're still receiving Kindergeld for that child — only where you declare it moved.

The Günstigerprüfung: what the Finanzamt actually compares

In practice, the pattern is predictable: higher earners with a higher marginal tax rate tend to come out ahead on the Sonderausgabenabzug side, because the deduction is worth more at a higher rate. Lower earners and parents with multiple children tend to come out ahead on the Zulage side, because a flat 175 EUR plus per-child allowances can exceed what a modest tax rate would have saved. Either way, you don't have to guess which applies to you — filing Anlage AV is what makes the Finanzamt do that math and credit the better outcome automatically.

What I actually entered on my own Anlage AV

I file a German Steuererklärung every year as a foreign resident, and the first time I did this for a Riester contract, the form was less intimidating than it looked. ELSTER had already pulled most of my provider's data in — contract number, contributions paid, Zulage already credited — because my provider transfers it electronically once the Dauerzulagenantrag is on file. The one field I had to fill in myself was my prior-year income, which the form uses to check that my contribution met the 4%-of-income threshold for the full Zulage. I checked the pre-filled contribution figure against my provider's Jahresbescheinigung line by line before submitting, because that's the one place a transcription error on the provider's side would actually cost me money.

Common mistakes that delay the Zulage or the refund

• No Dauerzulagenantrag on file. Without one, you (or your provider) must send a fresh Antrag auf Altersvorsorgezulage every single contribution year instead of once — and that annual application has its own deadline: the end of the second year after the contribution year it covers.
• Anlage AV filed late or not at all in a contribution year.
• Mismatched Kinderzulage entries between partners on Anlage Kind line 26.
• Forgetting the prior-year income figure, which the Finanzamt needs to confirm the minimum-contribution threshold was met.

Our Riester Zulage calculator walkthrough shows how that 4%-of-income minimum interacts with the Zulage amount if you want to check your own contribution level before the next tax year. If you're also wondering how the money is taxed once it actually pays out decades from now, our guide to Riester payout taxation covers that separate, later stage — and if you're still deciding whether a Riester contract makes sense for your situation at all, our worth-it breakdown covers that decision directly.

FAQ

Do I have to file Anlage AV every year?

Yes, in every year you contribute to a Riester contract — it's what triggers the Günstigerprüfung and the possible Sonderausgabenabzug. Skipping it in a contribution year means the Finanzamt never runs that comparison for the year, unless you catch it within the amendment window.

What happens if I forget to file Anlage AV?

The Finanzamt only sees the Zulage you already received through your provider; it never compares that against the Sonderausgabenabzug, so if the deduction would have been worth more, that difference goes unpaid. You can still fix it by amending the return within the Festsetzungsfrist — typically four years from the end of the contribution year.

Where do I enter my children for the Riester Kinderzulage now?

Since the 2025 tax year, child information for the Kinderzulage goes on line 26 of each child's own Anlage Kind, not on Anlage AV. If the allowance is being transferred between parents, both parents' forms must show the same entry.

What is the Günstigerprüfung and how does the Finanzamt decide?

It's the automatic comparison between the tax saving from deducting your Riester contributions (up to 2,100 EUR, or 2,160 EUR with a mitriestern spouse) and the value of the Zulage you already received. The Finanzamt pays out whichever is higher — you don't calculate it yourself.

Can my spouse claim Riester benefits through my contract (mitriestern)?

Yes — a non-contributing spouse can qualify for the Grundzulage indirectly through a contributing partner's contract, and the Sonderausgaben ceiling rises to 2,160 EUR in that case.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or insurance advice. Compare options via licensed intermediaries such as Check24 or Verivox.