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If you apply for a securities account via our site, your application is approved, and you start using the account, we receive a commission from some providers.
However, the providers of custody accounts have no influence on our product reviews and recommendations, either through commissions or otherwise. Such commissions also do not increase the price you pay for an offer—they are borne entirely by the service provider.
The custody accounts we present are chosen solely based on their quality and performance profiles, ensuring that we offer you the best options available.
Investing from Germany
- Investing from Germany runs through a Depot, the German securities account. Anyone with a registered address and a tax ID can open one online, non-EU citizens included.
- Which broker depends on how you invest: neobrokers for savings plans and low order fees, often in English; banks for many trading venues and a current account, almost always in German.
- A German broker withholds 26.375% tax on every gain and dividend and applies your tax-free allowance. With a broker abroad you declare everything yourself.
- Four calculators on this site work in English: savings plan, compound interest, ETF savings plan with German tax, and inflation.
Brokers open to residents of Germany
| Stock exchange: | Gettex |
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| Order price: | €0.99 |
| Stock exchange: | Lange & Schwarz Exchange |
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| Order price: | €1 |
Remark
| Stock exchange: | Tradegate Exchange |
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| Order price: | €4.90 + 0.25% |
| Maximum price: | €69.90 |
| Stock exchange: | Frankfurt |
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| Order price: | €4.90 + 0.25% |
| Minimum price: | €9.90 |
Advertising notice: provider links in this overview are affiliate links — we receive a commission from the provider for sign-ups made through them.
The Depot: Germany’s brokerage account
A Depot, in full Wertpapierdepot or Depotkonto, is the account that records the shares, ETFs, funds and bonds you own. It is the German equivalent of a brokerage account, a trading account or, in Indian usage, a demat account. It always comes with a clearing account for cash, which receives dividends and sale proceeds and pays for purchases, and it is linked to a reference account at your bank, the only route by which money enters and leaves. Securities are held in collective custody at the central depository and remain your property under the Securities Deposit Act, even if the broker fails; cash on the clearing account is a bank deposit covered by statutory deposit insurance.
Opening one takes minutes online once three things are in place: a registered German address, the eleven-digit tax identification number that arrives by post after registration, and a passport for the video identification. Citizenship is not a condition; residence is, so a non-EU citizen with a German address is accepted at most providers. The full sequence, from the registration office to the exemption order, the deposit routes and what happens to your money and your securities if a provider fails, is on the page about the trading account in Germany.
Which broker: neobroker or bank
The providers in the comparison above fall into two camps. Neobrokers are app-first companies with low or no order fees, one or two trading venues, free ETF and share savings plans and, in several cases, an English interface and English support. Direct and branch banks offer the Depot together with a current account, give access to many German and foreign exchanges, charge a percentage per order, and run in German almost without exception.
For a monthly ETF plan the neobroker model is usually enough, and the broker fee is the smaller cost anyway; the fund’s own cost decides. For active trading in foreign stocks, the choice of exchange and the currency conversion matter more than the headline fee. The online broker comparison lists fees, venues, interest on cash and language per provider; the ETF broker comparison rates the same providers for savings plans specifically.
The account agreement and price list, the annual tax certificate (Jahressteuerbescheinigung) and the exemption order (Freistellungsauftrag) are German documents at every provider. An English-speaking support line that explains them is worth more than an English app.
Tax: what the broker withholds and what is left to you
Investment income of residents of Germany is taxed at a flat 25% plus the solidarity surcharge, 26.375% in total, and with church tax 27.8186% or 27.9951%. A German broker deducts it at source from every dividend, interest payment and realised gain and passes it on; church tax status is queried automatically once a year. The first €1,000 per person and year stays untaxed, €2,000 for jointly assessed spouses, provided you file an exemption order with your tax ID; without it the tax is withheld in full and reclaimed through a tax return. The order can be split across several banks, but not beyond the total.
Two further rules apply to fund investors. Equity funds enjoy a 30% partial exemption of their income (Section 20 of the Investment Tax Act), and accumulating funds are taxed yearly on a notional minimum return, the Vorabpauschale, rather than only on sale. Both are handled by the broker and both are built into the ETF calculator below. For US shares, the W-8BEN form that brokers collect at opening reduces the US withholding on dividends from 30% to the treaty rate of 15%, which is then credited in Germany. The rates and what remains of a gain are explained with the capital gains tax calculator.
Calculators in English
Four calculators on this site run in English, with the English number format and English labels:
- Savings calculator: which monthly amount reaches a goal, or what a fixed amount becomes, with or without German tax. Solves for final capital, initial capital, savings rate, interest rate or duration.
- Compound interest calculator: what compounding adds in euros to a lump sum over time.
- ETF savings plan calculator: a savings plan with the full German tax model, partial exemption and Vorabpauschale included, plus fund costs and inflation.
- Inflation calculator: what today’s money buys in ten, twenty or thirty years, with Germany’s official inflation rates alongside.
The calculators use the same figures across languages; where a German page exists, the numbers are identical. What the German pages say about savings rates, withdrawal plans, dividends and the tax on them applies to anyone resident in Germany, whichever language they read.
From arrival to first trade in five steps
- Register your address at the local registration office within two weeks of moving in (Section 17 of the Federal Registration Act). You receive the registration certificate on the spot.
- Wait for the tax ID. The registration office passes your data to the Federal Central Tax Office, which assigns the number and sends it by post to the registered address (Section 139b of the Fiscal Code).
- Pick the broker for the way you will invest, using the comparison above and the two comparison pages.
- Open and verify: form, video identification with your passport, reference account.
- File the exemption order with your tax ID, then fund the account by SEPA transfer, which by law arrives no later than the next business day (Section 675s of the Civil Code).
Sources
- Securities Deposit Act: Section 6 DepotG (fractional co-ownership), Federal Registration Act: Section 17 BMG, Fiscal Code: Section 139b AO, Civil Code: Section 675s BGB, in German – accessed 2 September 2026
- Income Tax Act: Section 32d EStG (25%, church tax reduction, credit for foreign tax) and Section 20 EStG (saver’s allowance); Investment Tax Act: Section 20 InvStG (30% partial exemption) and Section 18 InvStG (Vorabpauschale), in German – accessed 2 September 2026
- Internal Revenue Service: Tax Treaty Table 1 (Germany: 15% on dividends; statutory rate 30%) – accessed 2 September 2026
Frequently asked questions
An investment account is another term for a brokerage account. It is used to hold and manage financial investments such as shares, ETFs, bonds, or other securities. In Germany, this type of account is commonly called a “Depotkonto” or “Wertpapierdepot”.
Yes. Banks and online brokers offering brokerage accounts in Germany must be licensed and supervised by financial authorities. The main regulator is the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), which ensures that brokers comply with financial market regulations and operate under strict regulatory standards.
Cash held in the settlement or reference account of a brokerage account is generally protected by the statutory deposit guarantee scheme, which provides up to €100,000 per customer and bank.
Investments such as shares, ETFs, or bonds are not covered by deposit insurance because they remain the legal property of the investor and are held separately from the broker’s own assets in custody accounts.
Many German brokers provide access to international stock markets, though direct access to foreign exchanges depends on the broker and its trading venues. The exact range of available markets depends on the broker and the trading venues supported by the platform.
Some brokers offer educational resources such as articles, webinars, tutorials, or market analysis. These materials can help beginners understand investment strategies and support experienced traders in developing their knowledge of financial markets.
