Step-by-step:
Open Your Depot
Most expats put off investing for two years because the German tax paperwork looks scary. It is not, once you know which fields matter — and which pitfalls cost you 30% of your returns.
Go directly to depot opening →The 6 steps, in order
Application: about 10 minutes. Activation: 1–2 business days. From there: every share, ETF, and bond on the German exchanges, plus most US tickers.
Check the prerequisites
Check the prerequisites
You need a reference account — ideally a Commerzbank Girokonto. Any German IBAN works as a fallback, but the Commerzbank-to-Commerzbank flow pre-fills your data and skips re-verification.
Tip: No Girokonto yet? Open one first (about 6 minutes). The combined setup is faster than running both applications separately.
Start the application
Start the application
Log into your Commerzbank online banking or click "Open Depot" to begin. Select "Depot" as product type. As an existing customer, name, address and identity are already on file. New customers complete the full personal-data form first.
Tip: The application is in German only. Keep this guide open in a second tab and translate field-by-field if needed — the order of fields matches.
Answer the WpHG investment-experience questions
Answer the WpHG investment-experience questions
German law (WpHG) requires the bank to ask about your experience with stocks, bonds, funds, and derivatives. Be honest — answers do not block account opening, they only restrict which complex products (e.g. Optionsscheine, leveraged certificates) you can trade initially.
Tip: Even if you tick "no experience" everywhere, you can still buy stocks, ETFs, and ETF savings plans. Restrictions only hit derivatives. You can upgrade after taking the bank's online knowledge test.
Provide tax information
Provide tax information
Enter your German Steuer-ID (11 digits, on your last Steuerbescheid or BZSt letter) and confirm your tax residency. Set up a Freistellungsauftrag right away: €1,000 of capital gains per year tax-free for singles, €2,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Tip: No Steuer-ID yet because you just moved? The Finanzamt mails it about 2–4 weeks after your Anmeldung. You can request a duplicate online at www.bzst.de — usually faster than waiting.
Identity verification (new customers only)
Identity verification (new customers only)
Existing Commerzbank customers skip this step — identity is already verified. New customers run Video-Ident (IDENT app, 5–10 min) or PostIdent at any Deutsche Post counter.
Tip: Daylight beats apartment lighting for the Video-Ident call. Failed scans are usually about light, not internet.
Activate and place your first order
Activate and place your first order
The depot goes live in 1–2 business days. Open the Depot section in online banking, search for an ISIN or ticker, and enter your first order. Stocks, ETFs, funds, bonds — all on Xetra, plus most US-listed names through other exchanges.
Tip: Start with an ETF Sparplan (monthly savings plan) from €25/month. Commerzbank waives Sparplan fees on a rotating selection of MSCI World, FTSE All-World, and similar broad-market ETFs.
Open Depot Now
We've helped 10,000+ expats since 2014 — including a lot of US citizens who only found out about PFIC rules after their first ETF purchase. Here's the application, plus the warnings expats actually need.
Open Depot Now →What banks rarely tell expats about a German Depot
US citizens: PFIC and W-8BEN before you buy ETFs
If you hold a US passport or green card, almost every Europe-domiciled ETF triggers PFIC reporting on your US tax return — punitive tax rates, form 8621 per ETF per year. Two clean options: buy US-domiciled ETFs through a broker that accepts US persons (rare in Germany), or stick to individual stocks. Commerzbank will ask you to confirm US-person status; answer truthfully or risk closing the account later. FATCA reporting is automatic.
Pick Irish-domiciled ETFs (non-US expats)
For everyone except US persons: Irish-domiciled ETFs (ISIN starts with IE…) reclaim 15% of US dividend withholding via the US–Ireland tax treaty. Luxembourg-domiciled funds (LU…) only reclaim 0%. On a US-stock-heavy ETF, that's ~0.3% extra annual return for picking the right ISIN. Most "MSCI World ETF, accumulating" variants are Irish — check before you buy.
Wegzugsbesteuerung — exit tax if you leave Germany
Holding 1%+ of any company's shares (rare for retail investors) and moving away from Germany can trigger exit tax on the unrealised gains, treated as if you sold the day before leaving. ETFs and small individual positions are unaffected. If you hold concentrated positions in a startup or your employer's stock, talk to a Steuerberater before you change residency — the rules tightened in 2022.
Before you start
Have your Steuer-ID and reference IBAN ready. Decide if you want a Sparplan from day one (you can always add later). Note your Freistellungsauftrag is split across all your German banks — if you already have one elsewhere, lower it there or you'll over-allocate.