Step-by-step:
Open Comdirect Tagesgeld PLUS
€10,000 in your Girokonto earns 0% and loses ~€250/year to German inflation. The same €10,000 in Tagesgeld earns the ECB-adjacent rate, stays available within a day, and is protected up to €100,000. Worth opening on the same day as your Girokonto.
Go directly to Tagesgeld PLUS opening →The 6 steps, in order
Application: 2–5 minutes if you already have a Comdirect Girokonto. New customers can apply for both in one combined flow. No minimum deposit, no notice period.
Open a Comdirect Girokonto first (if needed)
Open a Comdirect Girokonto first (if needed)
Tagesgeld PLUS needs a Comdirect Girokonto as the linked reference account — money flows back and forth only between the two. No Girokonto yet? Open it first (about 6 minutes online); the combined application is also possible for new customers.
Tip: Existing Comdirect customer? Skip ahead and apply for Tagesgeld PLUS directly in online banking. The application is then 2–3 minutes.
Apply for Tagesgeld PLUS in online banking
Apply for Tagesgeld PLUS in online banking
Log into your Comdirect online banking or app. Open the savings-products section and pick "Tagesgeld PLUS". The form is pre-filled with your customer data. Review the Aktionszins (promotional rate) and standard rate, accept the terms, submit.
Tip: Note both rates before you submit. The Aktionszins typically applies for the first 6 months on balances up to a cap (often €100,000–€250,000). After that, you drop to the standard rate — set a calendar reminder.
Verify identity via IDnow VideoIdent (new customers only)
Verify identity via IDnow VideoIdent (new customers only)
Existing Comdirect customers with verified identity skip this entirely. New customers run a 5–10-minute IDnow VideoIdent call from smartphone or computer. Show your passport or EU ID. Comdirect uses IDnow exclusively — no branches, no PostIdent.
Tip: IDnow runs daily, including weekends. Daylight beats apartment lighting; external mic helps if your laptop's built-in is weak.
Transfer money from your Girokonto
Transfer money from your Girokonto
Once Tagesgeld PLUS is active, transfer any amount from your linked Girokonto — no minimum, no maximum to start. Internal Comdirect transfers settle within minutes. Interest accrues daily from the first day the money is on the Tagesgeld account.
Tip: Set up a Dauerauftrag (standing order) from Girokonto to Tagesgeld for automatic monthly saving. A €500/month order is a "set and forget" emergency-fund builder.
Set the Freistellungsauftrag and track interest
Set the Freistellungsauftrag and track interest
Interest is calculated daily and paid quarterly. The first thing to set: a Freistellungsauftrag for €1,000 (€2,000 married couples) so the bank does not withhold tax up to that amount. Watch the rate change date — Comdirect notifies you, but the Aktionszins ending is easy to miss.
Tip: Your €1,000 Sparerpauschbetrag is shared across all your German banks and across Tagesgeld + Depot interest combined. If you have a Comdirect Depot too, split the Freistellungsauftrag intelligently — typically more goes to Depot where capital-gains hit harder.
Withdraw anytime back to your Girokonto
Withdraw anytime back to your Girokonto
Need the money? Transfer any amount back to your Girokonto. Internal Comdirect transfers usually settle within minutes during banking hours, otherwise next business day. No notice period, no withdrawal fee, no penalty.
Open Tagesgeld PLUS Now
We've guided 10,000+ expats through German banking since 2014. Here's the Tagesgeld PLUS setup — plus the rate-expiry, tax, and reporting details Comdirect mentions in small print.
Open Tagesgeld PLUS Now →What to know about Tagesgeld as an expat
Deposit insurance: €100,000 per person per bank
German deposit insurance (Einlagensicherung) covers €100,000 per person per bank by law. Comdirect is part of the Commerzbank group, which is additionally a member of the BdB (German private bank protection scheme) covering much higher amounts. Holding more than €100k? Either split across multiple banks (with different parent groups, not Comdirect+Commerzbank) or accept the BdB protection layer.
Tax on interest: 26.375% withheld automatically
Interest above your Freistellungsauftrag is taxed at 25% Abgeltungsteuer + 5.5% Solidaritätszuschlag (effective 26.375%) plus church tax if you have it. The bank withholds and remits automatically — you do not need to declare it separately unless you want to claim a different tax rate via Günstigerprüfung in your tax return. Inflation considerations: at 3% Aktionszins and ~3% inflation, your real return is roughly zero. Tagesgeld is a parking spot, not wealth-building.
CRS / FATCA: balances reported to your tax-resident country
Germany reports your Tagesgeld balance and interest to the tax authority of any country where you are also tax-resident (CRS for most countries, FATCA for US persons). If you keep a German Tagesgeld after leaving Germany, the foreign tax office sees it. Not a problem if you declare correctly — but a surprise if you assumed German accounts are invisible to your home country.
Aktionszins expiry — the date most savers miss
The headline rate is almost always promotional, valid for 6 months on balances up to a cap. After expiry, the standard rate kicks in — typically 0.5–1.5 percentage points lower. Set a calendar reminder for the expiry month. At that point, compare against other Tagesgeld accounts (DKB, ING, Trade Republic cash sweep, Scalable) and consider moving if the gap is over 0.5 percentage points and your balance is meaningful.