Last year I received some bonus payments from my previous employer (I worked in Germany the year before and lived/worked Germany until the end of that tax year).
The bonus was deposited in my German bank account at the beginning of last year, meaning that for my taxes purposes it has to be declared in the 2020 tax year even if I did not live/work in Germany at that time.
Now, in an online software which I use to prepare my German tax returns, it computes that I owe a hefty amount of German tax. The rationale is that it counts my last year income (indicated as foreign income for Germany) to determined the tax rate they will apply to my German taxable income (bonus payment), the software indicates that this is determined by the "progression clause (Progressionsvorbehalt)".
I can see that this is expected and fair for a person working or living, partially or fully, in Germany, however, I wonder if it does applies for a person who did not spent a single day living/working that taxable year in Germany.
I currently live outside of EU.
Last year I received some bonus payments from my previous employer (I worked in Germany the year before
mean Last year (2020) I received some bonus payments from my previous employer (I worked in Germany the year before (2019)? So the payment actually recieved in 2020 was for work done in 2019? If yes, this would be a question for a tax advisor to determine which year counts.