---
title: "Freistellungsauftrag Optimizer (Tax Exemption Order)"
description: "Plan your Freistellungsauftrag across multiple banks and brokers. Structure interest, dividends, Vorabpauschale and available allowance."
canonical: "https://investboard.de/en/rechner/freistellungsauftrag"
language: "en"
modified: "2026-08-02"
author: "Investboard"
---

# Freistellungsauftrag Optimizer (Tax Exemption Order)

Distribute your saver's allowance across banks and brokers without leaving allowance unused.

## How the Freistellungsauftrag (Tax Exemption Order) Works

The Freistellungsauftrag (FSA) instructs your bank to leave investment income up to the specified amount tax-free. Without an FSA, your bank will withhold Abgeltungsteuer (flat-rate capital gains tax) from the very first euro. The Sparerpauschbetrag (saver's lump sum) is EUR 1,000 for individuals and EUR 2,000 for jointly assessed married couples.

You can split the allowance across any number of banks and brokers. The total of all Freistellungsaufträge must not exceed the Sparerpauschbetrag — exceeding it is a regulatory offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit).

## Common Mistakes When Distributing the Allowance

**The January surprise:** The Vorabpauschale (advance lump sum) for accumulating ETFs is debited from the Sparerpauschbetrag at the beginning of January. If your FSA at that broker is too low, tax is due immediately — even though you may still have unused allowance at another bank.

**The forgotten broker:** When switching brokers or closing a Tagesgeldkonto (savings account), people often forget to cancel the old Freistellungsauftrag. The result: wasted allowance or — worse — exceeding the total limit.

**The blanket 50/50 split:** Many investors divide the FSA equally without considering the expected income per broker. This leads to unused allowance at one bank while tax is withheld at the other.

## How the optimiser allocates

The optimiser allocates the Sparerpauschbetrag in proportion to expected income: each account receives the share its expected income represents of the total. Two caps bound the result. Per bank, the allocation is capped at that bank's own expected income, because allowance beyond income cannot take effect there. In total, the cap is EUR 1,000, or EUR 2,000 under joint assessment.

### Allocation per account

```text
Share = bank's expected income ÷ total expected income across all accounts

Allocation = share × min(allowance, total expected income)

Upper bound per bank = that bank's expected income
```

An example with two accounts: Bank A expects EUR 600 of income, Bank B expects EUR 200. The total is EUR 800, below the EUR 1,000 allowance, so the optimiser distributes only EUR 800.

| Account | Expected income | Share | Allocation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bank A | EUR 600 | 600 ÷ 800 = 0.75 | EUR 600 |
| Bank B | EUR 200 | 200 ÷ 800 = 0.25 | EUR 200 |
| Total | EUR 800 | 1.00 | EUR 800 |

The remaining EUR 200 of the allowance stays unallocated: there is no account where it could exempt any income. The calculator takes up to six accounts.

## The four income types per account

For each account you enter four income types: interest, dividends, Vorabpauschale (advance lump sum) and realised gains. Their sum is that account's expected income, and it is the basis for the allocation.

The Vorabpauschale gets a field of its own because its timing differs from the other three. It falls due in January, before interest, dividends or sales arrive over the course of the year. If it disappears into a single combined estimate, the allowance is split correctly on paper and still too late: January reaches the account holding the accumulating funds first.

## The optimiser's three warnings

The calculator speaks up in three cases.

| Warning | What it means | Next step |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Above the allowance | The total of your existing Freistellungsaufträge exceeds the Sparerpauschbetrag | Reduce one order until the total fits again |
| January risk | An account's Vorabpauschale exceeds the allowance allocated there, so tax falls due in January | Shift allowance to that account, as far as the others do not need it |
| Allowance given away | A bank's existing order is higher than its expected income | Move the excess to where income actually arises |

If the total of all Freistellungsaufträge exceeds the Sparerpauschbetrag, that is a regulatory offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit). Banks report the orders they have granted to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern via your tax identification number, so the totals are cross-checked.

The January risk can persist even after the optimised split, when an account's Vorabpauschale is larger than the share that account is entitled to.

## Joint assessment and the turn of the year

Jointly assessed married couples and registered partners share EUR 2,000 (§ 20 Abs. 9 EStG). Set the calculator to joint assessment and it works with that figure; the allocation logic is unchanged.

The Sparerpauschbetrag renews in full every calendar year. It is not a pool that depletes over the years: each tax year grants the amount afresh. The reverse also holds: whatever you do not use in a given year expires without replacement and does not carry into the next.

The Sparerpauschbetrag has been EUR 1,000 since 2023; before that it was EUR 801. If you have not touched your Freistellungsaufträge since then, you may still be distributing the old total. More in [Optimising the Sparerpauschbetrag](/en/wissen/sparerpauschbetrag-optimieren).

## Checklist: Adjusting Your Freistellungsauftrag

1. List all banks and brokers where you expect investment income
2. Estimate the expected income per broker (interest, dividends, Vorabpauschale, capital gains)
3. Distribute the FSA proportionally to the expected income
4. Plan a buffer for the Vorabpauschale due in January
5. Make sure the total does not exceed EUR 1,000 (or EUR 2,000 for joint filers)