Investing in Germany as an Expat (English Speaker's Guide, 2026)

Germany is one of the best places in Europe to be a long-term investor: free ETF savings plans, strong regulation, and brokers with proper English apps. If you’re an English-speaking expat, the main thing standing between you and a sensible portfolio is understanding a bit of German investment tax, which is more manageable than it looks. Here’s the guide. It’s not tax advice, and German tax has its quirks, so get professional help for anything specific.

English-friendly brokers make this easy

You don’t need German to invest here. Several brokers run fully in English and are popular with expats:

• Trade Republic and Scalable Capital are mobile-first neo-brokers with English apps, free ETF savings plans from €1, and a simple setup. For most expats, one of these is the easiest route.
• Trading 212 also works across Germany in English, with commission-free investing and fractional shares.
• comdirect is a solid full-bank option but leans more German, so it suits those comfortable with that.

Compare them on cost and features on Brokerlens.

The German tax basics you actually need

This is the part that worries expats, but the brokers do most of the work for you. The essentials:

• The flat investment tax (Abgeltungsteuer). Investment gains and income are taxed at a flat rate of roughly 26% (25% plus the solidarity surcharge, and church tax if it applies to you). German brokers usually withhold this automatically if you’re tax-resident, which is a big convenience.
• Your tax-free allowance (Sparer-Pauschbetrag). A slice of investment income each year is tax-free (around €1,000 per person). You claim it by setting up a Freistellungsauftrag with your broker, which takes a minute and means small gains aren’t taxed unnecessarily. Set it up.
• Vorabpauschale. An advance lump-sum tax that applies to accumulating funds in years when they grow. It’s modest and the broker handles it, but it’s worth knowing about, especially when choosing accumulating vs distributing funds.
• Partial exemption (Teilfreistellung). A portion of equity-fund gains (around 30%) is tax-exempt, which softens the headline rate on equity ETFs.

The practical upshot: a German broker will usually handle the tax withholding for you, so as a resident you mostly just need to set your Freistellungsauftrag and pick good funds.

Getting started

1. Make sure you have your German tax ID (Steuer-ID) and are registered as resident.
2. Open an account with an English-friendly broker that accepts your situation.
3. Set up your Freistellungsauftrag so your allowance is used.
4. Start an ETF savings plan (Sparplan) into a broad fund.

Pick your investments

The same boring, effective answer works here: a broad, low-cost UCITS ETF such as a global all-world fund, bought regularly and held for years. See how to choose an ETF for the details, and how to build a simple portfolio if you want to add bonds.

The short version

1. Pick an English-friendly broker (Trade Republic, Scalable, Trading 212).
2. Set your Freistellungsauftrag to use your tax-free allowance.
3. Start a free ETF savings plan into a broad global fund.
4. Let the broker handle the tax withholding, and keep costs low.

The bottom line

Investing in Germany as an expat is genuinely straightforward once you’re past the tax jargon: English brokers, free savings plans, and automatic tax handling for residents. Set your allowance, pick a broad low-cost fund, automate it, and you’re done. If your situation is complex (multiple countries, US citizenship), get tailored advice, and see investing in Europe as an expat for the cross-border picture. Compare brokers on Brokerlens.

Educational information, not personal or tax advice. German tax rules and figures change, so always confirm the current position and take professional advice on your situation.