Where each Indian income goes in the German tax return: Anlage KAP, KAP-INV, AUS and V

The idea in one line

Most Indian income of someone living in Germany generally lands on one of four German forms, KAP, KAP-INV, AUS or V, and knowing which one is half of preparing the return.

Why it matters

The German income tax return is a main form plus attachments, each called an Anlage, and the forms exist only in German. Indian income does not have a form of its own; each type goes where German law files that kind of income. Capital income that no German bank taxed at source has to be stated in the return (§ 32d(3) EStG), so Indian interest and fund income cannot be left to the bank as German accounts often can. Putting an item in the wrong place can mean a wrong rate, a missed credit for Indian tax, or questions from the tax office later.

How to check yours

A list by income type helps. For each one, the form it generally belongs in:

• Interest on NRO, NRE and FCNR accounts and deposits, dividends from Indian shares and gains on Indian shares: Anlage KAP, "Kapitalerträge, die nicht dem inländischen Steuerabzug unterlegen haben" (capital income without German withholding tax). The Indian tax on these items that Germany can credit has its own section on the same form.
• Indian mutual funds: payouts (IDCW), the yearly Vorabpauschale on growth options, and gains when units are sold. German law counts these as investment income (§ 16 InvStG), and they go in Anlage KAP-INV, the form for investment income without German withholding, split by fund type.
• Rent from property in India: the amount is worked out under the German rules for rental income (§ 21 EStG). Where the treaty leaves the rent to India and Germany only counts it for the rate, it is generally shown in Anlage AUS, in the section for treaty-exempt income subject to the progression clause (§ 32b EStG). If Germany taxes it and credits the Indian tax instead, it generally goes in Anlage V, the rental income form, with the credit in Anlage AUS. Which case applies is one of the open points below.
• Salary from India, if any: Anlage N-AUS, the form for foreign employment income.

The free Indian income checker does this sorting item by item and names the form and section for each.

What people commonly do

Anlage AUS is the general form for foreign income and foreign taxes outside the flat capital income tax: it is where tax paid abroad is credited under § 34c EStG, and where income exempt under a treaty but counted for the rate is shown. Capital income under the flat tax has its foreign-tax section in Anlage KAP instead (§ 32d(5) EStG). A common rule among preparers is to fill in the forms income type by income type, keeping the Indian certificates next to each line, since the tax office can ask for them.

Some items are still open questions rather than settled answers. Interest on PPF and EPF balances, rent where the treaty's switch-over clause could replace the exemption with a credit, and whether gains on Indian fund units may be taxed in India at all are points that need a Steuerberater, and a chartered accountant (CA) for the Indian side.

Cross-border twist

The German forms change each year and the forms for 2026 are generally published around the turn of the year, so section names and line numbers are only final then. India's own return asks the same questions from the other direction: a resident of Germany files an Indian return as a non-resident, if at all, and reports Indian income only. Figures moving between the two returns need converting from rupees to euros and splitting from India's April to March year into calendar years.

Sources

1. Formular-Management-System der Bundesfinanzverwaltung: Einkommensteuer forms (Anlage KAP, KAP-INV, AUS, V, N-AUS)
2. Einkommensteuergesetz § 32d (Kapitalerträge ohne Steuerabzug, Anrechnung ausländischer Steuern)
3. Investmentsteuergesetz § 16 (Investmenterträge)
4. Einkommensteuergesetz § 21 (Vermietung und Verpachtung)
5. Einkommensteuergesetz § 32b (Progressionsvorbehalt)
6. Einkommensteuergesetz § 34c (Steuerermäßigung bei ausländischen Einkünften)
7. Bundesministerium der Finanzen: Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen Deutschland–Indien (Abkommen vom 19. Juni 1995)

60-second video script

Hook: Four German forms, one question: where does your Indian income go?

Point 1: Interest, dividends and share gains from India generally go in Anlage KAP, the form for capital income no German bank has taxed.

Point 2: Indian mutual funds go in Anlage KAP-INV: payouts, the yearly Vorabpauschale and gains on sale.

Point 3: Rent from India is worked out like German rent, and where the treaty exempts it, it shows up in Anlage AUS for your rate. Open points are a question for a Steuerberater.

Call to action: Sort your Indian income item by item with the free checker at inwst.com/tools/indian-income.