Anlage EK – The Income Annex to the Jobcenter Application

Few people come unstuck on the Jobcenter’s main application; many come unstuck on its annex — Anlage EK, the income annex. The name is short for Anlage zum Einkommen, and it is the sheet on which your payment is actually calculated.

It trips people up because it asks about income in precise administrative language: not “how much do you get?” but “what kind of income, from which source, for which period, and is it regular?”. Every incomplete answer means a letter asking for more and another delay.

A note on the new name: from 1 July 2026 the benefit is called Grundsicherungsgeld, replacing Bürgergeld. It is the same benefit under a new name. Existing forms and online services stay usable, and decisions issued before that date remain valid. Many people — and at times the offices themselves — still use the old word, which is why both names appear side by side in this article.

What Anlage EK is and when it is required

A separate annex is completed for every member of the household of need aged fifteen or over who has income. It goes with the main application, and with the extension application whenever income has changed. Having no income does not automatically exempt you: the form is used to declare that too.

What the video explains

• Where Anlage EK sits among the Jobcenter forms and why the main application alone is not enough
• The sections of the annex, translated field by field
• How employed income is entered, and how self-employment differs
• Other benefits: whether they belong here and how
• The reporting periods and why they must match the payslips
• The fields where mistakes are most common and send the form back

The official form and the responsible office

The official form comes from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit; the current version is dated 04/2026. Download it from the official source, together with the filling instructions that explain its terms:

• Anlage EK — official PDF
• The official filling instructions (Ausfüllhinweise) — PDF
• The Hauptantrag it is attached to — official PDF
• The download page for all official SGB II forms

Common mistakes that delay a case

• One annex for the whole family — it must be one per person with income
• Entering net where gross is asked for, or the other way round
• Leaving out irregular income on the grounds that it is “temporary”
• Periods that do not match the payslips attached
• Leaving a field blank instead of declaring that there is no income

Frequently asked questions

Do I fill it in if I have no income at all?
Ask your own Jobcenter. In many cases it is still required, with a declaration of no income, because a blank reads as missing rather than as zero.

I have several sources of income — one annex each?
The annex is per person, not per source. All of one person’s sources go inside their own annex.

How does it differ from Anlage EKS?
EK is for employed and comparable income; EKS is for self-employment, and it is longer and more detailed.

What if my income changes after I apply?
Tell the Jobcenter straight away. An unreported change surfaces later and the money is reclaimed.

Please note: This page explains a form and does not replace the Jobcenter’s decision. Forms are updated periodically, so download the current version from the official link.

Watch the video

The video is on the OK+ channel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0jm-BVMncs

Also on OK+

• The main Bürgergeld application
• The WBA extension form
• Housing benefit – Wohngeld

A tool that shortens the road

The OK Plus DE app gathers German administrative calculators and form templates in one place, free, ad-free, in seven languages. Android and iPhone, from the same page:
Get the OK Plus DE app