As I understand, both husband and wife can have tax class 3. In which case it makes sense? class III = married and the spouse has no income or lower income
What is the meaning of lower income... how much lower income than other partner? Is there any example? Something like, One partner making 50K and other one 40K. Does it make sense to go for tax class 3 for both or it should be class 3 / 5?
I'd never looked into this before, but after poking around a little I found this Tax Classes article which indicates:
When a spouse choosing tax class III other spouse automatically becomes V class. Such a model III + V is recommended to choose if spouse that chooses tax class III, has an income well in excess of the income of the spouse with the tax class V.
From same article:
Couples have various tax models, depending on the type of the family: • married and cohabiting spouses: IV + IV or III + V (of their choice);
None of the other resources I found suggested exceptions which would make III+III an option, but I don't speak German or know German tax law. Like US employer withholdings, these tax-classes only affect the pre-payment or withheld amount, not your total tax liability.
