The Rundfunkbeitrag and German mail: the letters you can't ignore

A few weeks after you register your address, a letter shows up asking you to pay for public TV and radio. You don't own a TV? Doesn't matter. Welcome to the Rundfunkbeitrag, and to Germany's love of paper.

The short version

• The broadcasting fee is EUR 18.36 a month (about USD 20.50) per apartment in 2026, no matter how many people live there or what devices you own [1][2].
• One apartment, one fee. Roommates split one payment. Only one person needs to be registered as the payer [2].
• Registration usually happens to you. Your Anmeldung triggers a letter from the Beitragsservice. Answer it; don't toss it [2].
• Exemptions exist for people on certain benefits, students on BAföG and some people with disabilities. Being a foreigner isn't one of them [2].
• Official letters have deadlines that run whether you read them or not. A letter mailed in Germany counts as received on the fourth day after posting, and you usually get one month to object [4][5].

What the Rundfunkbeitrag is

The fee funds Germany's public broadcasters: ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. It's collected by the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, which many people still call by its old name, GEZ. The money goes straight to the broadcasters, not to the tax office [2].

Since 2013 the fee is tied to the home, not to devices. The rule is "one dwelling, one fee" for adults [2]. Think of it less like a cable bill and more like a household charge you can't opt out of, a bit like a public utility you never signed up for.

How much and when (2026)

The amounts come from the Beitragsservice [1][2]. Most people set up a direct debit (SEPA Lastschrift) and forget about it. That's the no-brainer option, because people who pay by transfer don't get a separate reminder before each due date [3].

Registering, or getting registered

When you register your address at the Bürgeramt, the registration office passes your details to the Beitragsservice. They write to the adults at that address. There's also a regular nationwide data match, so an apartment with no contribution account on file will get a letter sooner or later [2].

What to do when the letter arrives:

1. If you live alone, or nobody in your apartment pays yet, register online on rundfunkbeitrag.de with the form "Erstmalig anmelden" or reply using the letter. You'll get a contribution number (Beitragsnummer).
2. If a roommate or partner already pays for the apartment, reply with their contribution number. That ends the matter for you [2].
3. If you moved into a place where the previous tenant paid, the old account doesn't transfer. Somebody in the new household still needs to be the payer.

Ignoring the letter doesn't make it go away. The Beitragsservice can register you itself and bill you from the month you moved in. If you're behind, the next step is a formal assessment notice (Festsetzungsbescheid), which is an enforceable title [2]. Broadcasters' statutes also add a late fee. One example: 1% of the arrears, with a minimum of EUR 8 (about USD 9) [3].

Exemptions and reductions

You can apply for an exemption (Befreiung) or reduction (Ermäßigung) with the form on rundfunkbeitrag.de [1]. The main groups are [2]:

• people receiving basic income support (formerly Bürgergeld) or basic income support for the elderly and those with reduced earning capacity
• students and trainees receiving BAföG
• deafblind people and those receiving blind aid under SGB XII
• people whose disability ID carries the RF code, who pay a reduced third: EUR 6.12 (about USD 6.80) a month

Most Americans in Berlin, working on a Blue Card or freelancing, won't qualify. If you have a second home in Germany, you pay only for your main home, but you must apply for that exemption too [2].

When you leave Germany

Deregister (abmelden) with the Beitragsservice when you move out or leave the country. If you keep the apartment and sublet it, you need to show that someone else is paying for it [3]. Do this before your flight home, the same week you deregister your address, so the bills don't follow you stateside.

Germany's official letters: a survival guide

The broadcasting fee is just your warm-up. In Germany, the important stuff comes by mail: your tax ID, residence permit appointments, tax assessments, health insurance notices, court mail. Many offices still don't email. Check your mailbox every day, and make sure your name is on it, or the carrier may not deliver.

Why the fourth day matters

German administrative law assumes a letter sent by mail within Germany reaches you on the fourth day after it was posted [4]. Your deadline starts from that date, not from the day you finally open the envelope after a long Thanksgiving trip back home. If a letter arrives by formal service (a yellow envelope, the Zustellungsurkunde), the date the carrier wrote on it counts.

The one-month rule

Most decisions from a German office (a Bescheid) end with a section called Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung: instructions on how to challenge it. For many decisions you can file an objection (Widerspruch) within one month of notification [5]. Tax assessments use a similar one-month objection (Einspruch). The instructions on the letter tell you where to send it and in what form.

How to read a German Bescheid

A simple system that works

1. Open every letter the day it arrives. Even the boring-looking ones.
2. Find the date and the file number. Snap a photo with your cell phone and save it in one folder.
3. Translate it. A translation app on your phone handles most standard letters well enough to understand the gist. For anything with money or a deadline, have a German-speaking friend read it too.
4. Put the deadline in your calendar, counting from the fourth day after the posting date.
5. Reply in writing. Keep a copy. For important replies, send a registered letter (Einschreiben) or use the office's official online portal so you have proof.
6. If you disagree, object within the deadline and explain why later if you need more time. A short "Hiermit lege ich Widerspruch ein" with your file number and signature preserves your rights.
7. If you can't pay, call or write before the due date and ask about installments (Ratenzahlung). German offices are far more flexible before a deadline than after it.

Stuck on a letter? Snap it (blank out your personal data) and ask in our community group for Americans in Germany. Somebody has seen that exact letter before.

The US side: mail that still matters stateside

German mail isn't the only paper chase. Uncle Sam still expects a federal return every year, and the IRS writes to the address it has on file. Keep a reliable US mailing address or a mail-scanning service, update your address with the IRS when you move, and add US deadlines to the same calendar as your German ones. If a letter from the Finanzamt and a notice from the IRS arrive in the same week, a US expat tax preparer can check your situation.

USD conversions use the Federal Reserve H.10 rate of October 30, 2026 (EUR 1 = USD 1.1163).

Sources

1. Rundfunkbeitrag.de: home page (amounts and forms)
2. Rundfunkbeitrag.de: information in English
3. Stiftung Warentest: Rundfunkbeitrag, who pays for ARD, ZDF and radio
4. Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz § 41: notification of administrative acts
5. Verwaltungsgerichtsordnung § 70: deadline for objections

Keep reading

• Anmeldung: registering your address in Berlin
• German tax ID and tax classes explained
• Keeping a US bank account and US address
• Filing a US tax return from abroad