The TV Tax (Rundfunkbeitrag) Explained
The Rundfunkbeitrag is Germany's mandatory €18.36/month broadcasting licence fee. Every household pays it, regardless of whether you own a TV.
Why it hasn’t changed, and what’s next
€18.36/month is confirmed still current through the end of 2026, even though the commission that assesses public broadcasters’ funding needs recommended raising it to €18.94. The Conference of Minister Presidents froze the rate instead — ARD and ZDF have a constitutional complaint pending against that freeze — and a rise to €18.64 is already scheduled from 2027.
Aggregated from multiple independent reports (this session could not fetch rundfunkbeitrag.de directly to confirm): the KEF (the commission that reviews public broadcasters' funding needs) recommended raising the fee to €18.94, but the Conference of Minister Presidents froze it at €18.36 through the end of 2026 — ARD and ZDF have a constitutional complaint pending against that freeze, and the KEF's own schedule has the fee rising to €18.64 from 2027. Confirm the current rate at rundfunkbeitrag.de before relying on it.
Got an official-looking letter and aren’t sure what it is? See what does this German letter mean.