Rundfunkbeitrag students: €18.36 a month per home in 2026, one payer per flatshare, one per room in halls. How to declare, share and stop paying.
The Rundfunkbeitrag is Germany's broadcasting fee, and it is charged per home, not per person: €18.36 a month in 2026, whether one person or five live there. In a shared flat behind a single front door, one flatmate registers and the others chip in. In a hall of residence, each room with its own door onto a common corridor generally counts as its own home, so each resident is billed separately. Being a student is not, by itself, a ground for exemption. And when you leave Germany, deregistering your address is what stops the bill. Here is how to handle it without paying twice — or paying for a room you have left.
What it is and why you got a letter
The Rundfunkbeitrag funds Germany's public broadcasters (ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio). It is not a subscription and not a TV licence in the old sense: you owe it whether or not you own a television, a radio or a laptop. The trigger is occupying a home, full stop.
You probably discovered it because a letter turned up shortly after your registration. That is not a coincidence: your Anmeldung is what tells the Beitragsservice that someone new lives at that address. The letter is a request to declare your situation — not automatically a bill you must pay on your own.
Rates in force in 2026:
| Payment rhythm | Amount |
|---|---|
| Monthly | €18.36 |
| Quarterly | €55.08 |
| Yearly | €220.32 |
The fee has stayed at €18.36 through 2026. A moderate increase to €18.64 has been proposed by the KEF, the independent commission that assesses broadcasters' funding needs, for 2027 — but it still has to be ratified by the federal states, so treat it as a proposal and check the current rate on rundfunkbeitrag.de before budgeting for it.
The rule that decides everything: one home, one fee
Everything hinges on the legal notion of a Wohnung — a home. One home means one contribution, no matter how many people live in it.
In a normal shared flat, all the rooms sit behind one flat door off a shared staircase or corridor. That is a single home. So the fee is paid once for the whole flat: one flatmate registers, receives the Beitragsnummer (contribution number), and everyone splits €18.36 between them. At five in a flat, that is a few euros each per month.
In a hall of residence, it is different, and this is where students overpay. The Verbraucherzentrale (Germany's consumer advice organisation) sets out the distinction clearly: rooms and studio apartments in student halls each count as their own home, so each resident owes the full €18.36 a month. The exception is when several rooms are shut off by their own flat door from a generally accessible corridor or stairwell and are arranged or used like a shared flat — then the WG rule applies again and one registration covers the group.
In practice, in Göttingen:
- Studio or self-contained apartment in a hall → you are almost certainly liable on your own.
- Corridor-style room, your own door straight onto the public corridor → treated as a home of its own; you are liable.
- Cluster flat with a shared front door, shared kitchen and bathroom → one payer for the whole unit.
If you are not sure which of the three you are in, look at where the door with the letterbox is. And before signing anything, our comparison of Studentenwerk halls and the private market explains which layouts you typically get.
How to declare, in three cases
Case 1 — a flatmate already pays. Do nothing except answer the letter. Ask your flatmate for their Beitragsnummer and the exact name the account is in, then reply to the Beitragsservice stating that the home is already covered by that number. This is the single most common way students avoid paying twice.
Case 2 — nobody pays yet and you are in a flatshare. One of you registers online at rundfunkbeitrag.de, that person is billed, and the group settles up privately — a standing bank transfer to the payer, or a shared-expenses app. Choose someone staying for the whole year: switching the account holder mid-year is extra paperwork.
Case 3 — you are alone in your own home (studio, or a hall room that counts as a home). Register yourself. You will be billed quarterly in advance by default; you can switch to monthly or yearly.
Answering the letters matters. Unpaid contributions do not quietly disappear: they are set by formal decision and can be enforced, and late-payment charges are added — check with the Beitragsservice. If you have missed several letters, the honest fix is to register and explain, not to move flat.
Exemptions: what actually exists
Being a student is not a ground for exemption. The exemption (Befreiung) is tied to receiving certain German social benefits — most relevantly BAföG for students living away from the parental home — or to a hardship case. Incoming international and exchange students are in principle not eligible for BAföG, so exemption is rarely an option for an Erasmus semester. There is also a reduced rate in some disability situations.
One nuance worth knowing in a flatshare: if some flatmates are exempt, the ones who are not still cover the flat's contribution. Only when everyone in the home is exempt does the home stop owing anything.
If you think you fall into one of these categories, apply with the official form and the supporting document — never assume an exemption applies retroactively without a decision.
Leaving Germany: close the account
This is the part exchange students forget, and it costs them real money months after they have gone home.
When your semester ends, you deregister your address (Abmeldung) at the Bürgerbüro. That is also what allows your contribution account to be closed for that home. If you were the registered payer for a shared flat, tell the Beitragsservice and hand the account over to a flatmate who stays — otherwise the flat's fee keeps being charged to you.
Before you leave, run through the whole exit list: deregistration, contribution account, and your deposit and service-charge settlement, which is the other item that decides how much of your money comes back. Our student services lay out the sequence.
FAQ — The Rundfunkbeitrag for students
How much is the Rundfunkbeitrag in 2026? €18.36 per month per home, i.e. €55.08 per quarter or €220.32 per year. The rate is per home, not per person.
Do all flatmates have to pay? No. A shared flat behind one front door is one home, so one contribution is due for the whole flat. One flatmate registers and the group splits the cost privately.
Do I pay if I live in a student hall? Usually yes, individually: rooms and apartments in halls generally count as separate homes. The exception is a cluster flat closed off by its own flat door and used like a shared flat, where one registration covers everyone.
Can students be exempted? Not because they are students. Exemption is linked to certain benefits such as BAföG, which incoming international students are in principle not entitled to, or to hardship cases.
How do I stop paying when I go home? Deregister your address at the Bürgerbüro and inform the Beitragsservice so the account for that home is closed or transferred to a flatmate who is staying.
The broadcasting fee is small, but it is the classic way an exchange student pays twice — once by not asking a flatmate for the contribution number, once by forgetting to close the account on the way out. Sort it in the week after your Anmeldung, and check who your housing provider is on your Wohnungsgeberbestätigung if you are unsure how your home is classified. Looking for a room? See what is available on Studroof.
This article is informational and does not replace official sources. Check the current rate and rules on rundfunkbeitrag.de and the student guidance from the Verbraucherzentrale. For your specific home, ask the Beitragsservice. Last updated: August 2026.