Step-by-step:
Open Your Comdirect Depot
Comdirect is Germany's most-recommended online broker for ETF savings plans — 500+ ETFs with zero order fees, savings plans from €1/month. The catch most expats miss: the depot is free, but staying free past year three needs activity, and a few Expat-specific tax rules can quietly eat 30% of your returns.
Go directly to depot opening →The 6 steps, in order
Application: about 10 minutes. Activation: 1–2 business days for new customers, instant for existing Comdirect customers. From there: 500+ free ETF Sparpläne, €3.90 single orders in year one.
Check the prerequisites
Check the prerequisites
You need a Comdirect Girokonto as settlement account. No Girokonto yet? Open both together — the Girokonto stays free with active use (one €700+ Geldeingang, OR one Apple/Google Pay payment, OR one Trade per month).
Tip: No Comdirect Girokonto yet? The combined application is the fastest path; identity verification then covers both accounts in one go.
Start the application
Start the application
Click "Open Depot" on the Comdirect site. Existing customers log in first — name, address, identity are pre-filled. New customers complete the full Girokonto + Depot form together.
Tip: The form is in German only. Keep this guide in a second tab and translate field-by-field — the order matches.
Answer the WpHG investment-experience questions
Answer the WpHG investment-experience questions
German law (WpHG) requires the broker to ask about your experience with stocks, bonds, funds, and derivatives. Be honest — answers do not block depot opening, they only restrict complex products (Optionsscheine, leveraged certificates) initially.
Tip: Even if you tick "no experience" everywhere, you can still buy stocks, ETFs, and ETF Sparpläne. Restrictions only hit derivatives. Upgrade later by passing Comdirect's online knowledge test.
Provide tax information
Provide tax information
Enter your German Steuer-ID (11 digits, on the BZSt letter you got after your Anmeldung) and confirm tax residency. Set up a Freistellungsauftrag right away: €1,000 of capital gains tax-free per year (€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 via IDnow VideoIdent (new customers only)
Identity verification via IDnow VideoIdent (new customers only)
Existing Comdirect customers confirm with a TAN and skip ahead. New customers run a 5–10-minute IDnow VideoIdent call from home — no branches, no PostIdent. Show your passport or EU ID to the agent.
Tip: Daylight beats apartment lighting. If your laptop mic is weak, use an external one — ~10% of IDnow first attempts fail on audio quality alone.
Activate and place your first order
Activate and place your first order
Depot live in 1–2 business days (instant for existing customers). Open the Depot section, search for an ISIN or ticker, place your first order. In year one: every order is €3.90 flat, including Xetra. After: standard Comdirect pricing or use the 500+ free ETF Sparpläne to avoid order fees entirely.
Tip: Start with one of the 500+ no-fee ETF Sparpläne from €1/month. Comdirect rotates which ETFs are free, but the major MSCI World, FTSE All-World, and S&P 500 accumulating variants are usually on the list. Check the "Top-Preis-ETFs" list before you pick.
Open Depot Now
We've helped 10,000+ expats since 2014 — including a lot of US citizens who only learned about PFIC rules after their first ETF purchase. Here's the application, plus the warnings expats actually need.
Open Depot Now →What Comdirect rarely tells 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. Comdirect 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, accumulating" variants in Comdirect's no-fee list 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.
Depot stays free, but year-four conditions kick in
Comdirect waives the depot fee permanently in year one. From year four onwards, the fee is waived only if the depot is "active" — typically at least one trade per quarter, an active Sparplan, or sufficient assets. The simplest way to stay free forever: keep one ETF Sparplan running at €25/month, which also doubles as one of the Girokonto fee-waiver conditions.
Vermögenswirksame Leistungen (VL) — your employer might pay your Sparplan
Many German employers contribute up to €40/month to a VL-eligible Sparplan as part of your benefits — pure free money many expats never claim. Comdirect supports VL-fähige ETF-Sparpläne; you give your employer a VL-Vertrag with your depot details. Ask HR specifically for "vermögenswirksame Leistungen" — Tarifverträge and many individual contracts include it.
Before you start
Have your Steuer-ID and a reference IBAN ready. Decide if you want a Sparplan from day one (you can always add later). Your Freistellungsauftrag is split across all your German banks — if you have one elsewhere, lower it there or you'll over-allocate.