Taxes and social insurance contributions for companies

What can you do if the advance income tax payments set by the tax office are too high or too low?

As a company, you generally have to submit advance VAT returns to the tax office on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Upon your request, your main customs office may, under certain conditions, appoint a tax assistant. This person may determine facts relating to customs or excise tax law that concern your company’s goods.

If you regularly receive goods under a transit procedure, you can simplify the customs process by obtaining “Authorized Consignee” status.

If you regularly ship dutiable goods within the European Union, you can simplify the customs process by obtaining "Authorized Consignor" status.

In some cases, you must provide proof of the EU status of goods. By obtaining the status of an “authorized exhibitor,” you can simplify the verification process with customs authorities.

If you start a business activity, you will be given a business identification number (W-IdNr.).

Foreign investors in investment funds who are eligible for tax benefits may, under certain conditions, apply for a certificate of exemption granting full or partial tax exemption for the investment fund.

Foreign investment funds that generate income subject to tax in Germany may, under certain conditions, apply for a status certificate to reduce their tax burden.

If you import goods into the customs territory of the European Union and/or process them there, you may apply for a comprehensive guarantee under certain conditions. The amount may be reduced or waived, as appropriate.

When importing goods into Germany, the applicable customs duties and import sales tax are always due and must generally be paid at the time of import. Under certain conditions, you, as an importer or freight forwarder, can apply for a deferral of payment.

Customs may temporarily defer your tax liabilities if paying them immediately would place a significant financial burden on you.

Would you like to use a deferred payment account to arrange deferred payment with customs? To do so, you’ll need, among other things, a deferred payment BIN, which you can use to identify yourself electronically.

If you produce, handle, process, store, receive, or ship alcoholic beverages that have not yet been taxed, you need a permit.

If you handle taxed or untaxed beer products for commercial purposes, you need a permit to do so. This includes, among other things, manufacturing, processing, storing, shipping, or receiving such products.

If you manufacture, process, receive, or ship tobacco products or tobacco substitutes that have not yet been taxed, you need a permit.

If you want to operate a customs warehouse, you must submit an application.

If you are of the opinion that your taxation violates a double taxation agreement, you can apply for a mutual agreement procedure under certain conditions.

If you handle energy products that are still subject to taxation, you need a permit. “Handling” includes, among other things, the production, storage, use, distribution, or receipt of energy products.

If you want to use alcohol tax-free, you need a permit to do so.

If you can prove that you have paid taxes on alcoholic beverages, you may be eligible for a refund, a waiver, or a credit of the alcohol tax under certain conditions.

If it can be proven that tax was paid on the beer, you may be eligible for a refund, a waiver, or reimbursement of the beer tax under certain conditions.

If you can provide proof that you have paid tax on coffee or coffee-containing products, you may be eligible for a refund, waiver, or reimbursement of the coffee tax under certain conditions.

If it can be proven that sparkling wine or intermediate products have been subject to excise tax, you may, under certain conditions, receive a refund, a waiver, or a reimbursement of these excise taxes.

Entrepreneurs who operate a traveling trade must apply for a VAT register from the competent authority before starting their activity.

Enforcement proceedings against you may be temporarily suspended or limited if there are grounds of equity. A situation is considered inequitable if enforcement would cause you undue hardship that could be avoided by waiting for a short period of time.

If you can prove that you have paid tax on alcopops, you may be eligible for a refund, a waiver, or a credit for the alcopop tax under certain conditions.

Apply for a tax number to register and pay insurance or fire protection tax.

You can apply for a tax reduction for commercial watercraft that are moored in the harbor and use shore power while docked. You can obtain the permit from the local main customs office.

For non-Union goods that you import into the customs territory of the Union only temporarily and for a specific purpose, you may have to pay fewer or no import duties.

If you wish to engage in the trade of goods and services within the European Union, you must apply for a value-added tax identification number.

As an international organization and as its member, you can have your VAT refunded in Germany under certain conditions.

If you have used taxed electricity for business purposes, you may be eligible for a tax refund under certain conditions. You must apply for this at your local main customs office.

As an agricultural or forestry business, you may be eligible for tax relief under certain conditions if you use gas oil, also known as agricultural diesel.

If you are involved in activities subject to customs regulations, such as the import or export of goods, you must apply for an EORI number.

If you wish to use denaturants other than those generally approved for the denaturation of alcoholic products, you must obtain approval to do so.

If you wish to file customs declarations by posting them in your accounting system, you must first apply for authorization.

As an airline or shipping company, you can apply for a simplification under the transit procedure. This simplification allows you to use an electronic transport document as a transit declaration under the Union transit procedure.

As an “authorized consignee,” you may receive goods transported by international road under the TIR procedure. 

Do you want to declare goods for a customs procedure at a central customs office, even though the goods are located elsewhere at that time? This is possible with an authorization for central customs clearance.

If you wish to sell tax-incentivized retirement provision or basic pension contracts, you must first apply for certification and receive approval from the certification body - the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).

If you owe remuneration for the transfer of rights or certain investment income, you can submit an application for authorization to apply the control reporting procedure in order to be able to refrain from withholding tax in whole or in part under certain conditions.

Mail-order companies from another EU country may ship taxed alcoholic beverages to Germany. If you wish to act as a tax representative for that person or company, you need a permit.

Alkopops may be used tax-free for certain commercial purposes. You need a permit to do so.

If you handle untaxed alcopops, you will need a permit in many cases. This applies to the manufacture, processing, handling, storage, receipt, or shipment of alcopops.

If you produce, handle, process, store, receive, or ship sparkling wine or intermediate products that have not yet been taxed, you need a permit.

If you handle untaxed coffee or use it to produce coffee-containing goods and wish to import it from another EU country on more than just an occasional basis, you generally need a permit to do so.

If you declare non-EU goods for the end-use procedure, you can benefit from reduced customs duties.

If your company is based in another EU member state, you can apply for a refund of input tax paid in Germany under certain conditions.

If you are an entrepreneur based in Germany and entitled to deduct input tax, you can apply for a refund of the VAT you have paid in another EU Member State.

If you are a public transit operator that provides free transportation to people with severe disabilities, their companions, guide dogs, service dogs, or assistance dogs, or any items they carry, you may be eligible for reimbursement of lost fare revenue upon request.

Under certain circumstances, the main customs office can waive or refund your tobacco tax or tax stamp debt, for example if you destroy tobacco products or substitutes for tobacco products or do not use the tax stamps.

If your company wishes to certify the origin of an export good on its own, you must submit a one-time application to do so. In addition, there is a simplified procedure for storing input materials—whether or not they have certified origin—together.

Your company’s tax obligations can be handled by tax representatives. You must submit an application to appoint tax representatives to the main customs office with jurisdiction over your business.

If you are not based in an EU member state and have provided certain services to private individuals in the EU, you can use the One-Stop-Shop (OSS), non-EU scheme under certain conditions.

If you provide certain services to private individuals in other member states of the European Union (EU), you can declare and pay tax on the resulting turnover centrally using the Mini-One-Stop-Shop (M1SS) taxation procedure.

If you have supplied certain services or goods to private individuals in other member states of the European Union, you can, under certain conditions, declare and pay tax on the resulting turnover using the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) procedure, EU regulation.

If you import goods with a material value of up to EUR 150 into the EU as an entrepreneur, you can declare and pay tax on the resulting turnover centrally using the Import-One-Stop-Shop (IOSS) procedure.

Under certain conditions, the customs administration may waive or refund, in whole or in part, your tax liability.

If you wish to transfer your electronic accounting records, other required electronic records, or both to a country outside the EU, you must submit an application. This also applies if you wish to transfer only part of your electronic accounting records or other required electronic records.

If you would like to be exempt from German capital gains tax, you can obtain an exemption certificate under certain conditions.

Under certain conditions, foreign investment funds can have withheld capital gains tax refunded by the Federal Central Tax Office.

If you are a foreign recipient (creditor) of domestic investment income, you may be fully or partially exempt from capital gains tax under certain circumstances.

If you import goods into the European Union, you can have customs duties refunded or waived under certain conditions. You can submit an application to the customs authorities for this even without your own access to the ATLAS system.

As an international organization, you may be exempt from value-added tax in other European Union member states under certain conditions.

As an embassy, consulate, or a member of such a mission, you may, under certain conditions, be exempt from value-added tax in other member states of the European Union while in Germany.

As an embassy, consulate or member of an embassy or consulate, you can have your VAT refunded in Germany under certain conditions.

You can apply for a VAT refund for your company based outside the EU under certain conditions.

If you are an IT service provider for economic operators and wish to exchange messages via EMCS, you must register. To enter your master data in EMCS for the first time or to make changes to it, you must submit an application to the General Customs Directorate.

Have you paid fees to self-employed individuals for journalistic or artistic services? If so, the Artists' Social Insurance Fund (KSK) will verify that your business has properly reported these fees.

In order to better assess the tax consequences, you have the option of requesting binding information from the relevant tax office.

If you handle energy products such as gasoline or heating oil, you must pay energy tax. To do so, you must file a tax return with the appropriate main customs office, in which you calculate the tax yourself. This is referred to as a tax return.

If you receive income from capital assets from a bank, the bank must generally withhold capital gains tax (so-called withholding tax). You can avoid this by submitting an exemption order or a non-assessment certificate.

If you are a general education or vocational training institution and need to be exempt from VAT in accordance with Section 4 No. 21 a) bb) of the German VAT Act, you will need a certificate from the relevant state authority to present to your local tax office.

If you, as an individual, or your company has business relationships or equity interests related to a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction, you must submit certain information to the tax office and, if applicable, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
 

If you have a compensation association with the Artists' Social Insurance Fund (KSK), the KSK updates its members' information annually, processes the statements, collects the artists' social insurance contributions, and regularly reviews the compensation association.

Corporations must pay corporate income tax on their taxable income, and nonprofit organizations receive their tax exemption.

You have not received a self-certification from your new client for the Common Reporting Standard? After the deadline has expired, you are obliged as a financial institution subject to the reporting obligation to report the absence of the self-certification.

If you are moving to the European Union from a third country, you can generally import household goods and other personal effects duty-free. However, you must declare them to customs.

If you cease or relocate a business or freelance activity, you must inform the tax office.

As the owner of property subject to property tax, you will receive a property tax assessment notice from the tax office, on the basis of which the municipality entitled to levy property tax will set the property tax.

If you wish to register or update your tax number or tax identification number for use with the Internet EMCS application, you must submit an application to the General Customs Directorate.

Would you like to add or update your tax number or tax identification number—which is associated with the ELSTER certificate used to log in to Internet-Ausfuhranmeldung-Plus (IAA Plus)—in your EORI master data? If so, you must submit an application.

If you set up a company in Germany, you must comply with certain regulations and requirements. Here you will find information on your rights and obligations, particularly on the subject of excise duties.

Air carriers that operate commercial passenger flights and transport passengers from German airports to their destinations must file and pay the air traffic tax with the Frankfurt am Main Main Customs Office.

If you wish to trade in goods and services within the EU, you must apply for a VAT identification number.

If you would like to be exempt from VAT as a cultural institution or as an individual artist in accordance with § 4 No. 20a of the Value Added Tax Act, you will need a certificate from the competent authority to present to your tax office.

Relief for long-distance commuters from the 21st kilometer for the journey from the home to the first place of work or business as well as for weekly family trips home in the case of double household management instead of the increased distance allowances for the years 2021 to 2026.

• Separate determination of tax bases for the purposes of inheritance tax/gift tax
• Separate determination of tax bases for the purposes of real estate transfer tax
• Responsible: Tax office (responsibility according to § 152 BewG)

To simplify the clearance of goods upon import into the European Single Market, you can apply in advance for a binding tariff ruling (vZTA).

If you are transporting excise goods under tax suspension and are required to use EMCS, you may engage an IT service provider to handle the exchange of messages via this program on your behalf. To do so, you must obtain authorization from the General Customs Directorate.

If you are unsure of the amount of sales tax you are required to pay for deliveries or an intra-Community acquisition of goods, you can request non-binding information on this matter.

If you are an entrepreneur based outside the European Union (EU) and provide certain services to private individuals in the EU, you can declare and pay tax on the resulting turnover centrally in the VAT on e-Services (ECOM) taxation procedure.

If you produce or import alcohol or products containing alcohol, you must pay alcohol tax under certain conditions.

If you produce alcohol at so-called "settlement distilleries," you must pay alcohol tax.

If you produce or import beer or beer-based mixed drinks, you must pay beer tax.

If your company transports passengers across borders at German seaports or across the border into Switzerland using buses that are not registered in Germany, you must pay value-added tax.

If you produce or import sparkling wine or intermediate products, you must pay sparkling wine tax or intermediate product tax.

If you manufacture or import alcopops, you must pay alcopop tax and, under certain conditions, alcohol tax as well.

If you are engaged in the commercial sale of coffee or coffee-containing products, you must pay coffee tax under certain conditions.

Does your business bottle wine products and sell them to retailers, or do you purchase products for bottling? If so, you must pay an annual fee to the German Wine Fund.

If you deal with tobacco products or substitutes for tobacco products, you must pay tobacco tax in certain cases.

If the customs authorities determine that import or export duties were not claimed in the legally stipulated amount, you may receive an additional claim.

If you run a commercial business in Germany, you are subject to trade tax and may have to pay trade tax.

Property tax is linked to the ownership of land. It must be paid regularly by the property owner.

Property tax is a municipal tax that is levied on property located in the municipal area.

If you want to operate what is known as a distillery for the production of spirits, you need a permit to do so.

If your company clears fresh bananas for free circulation under customs regulations, you can only issue the required weighing certificates yourself if you have a customs authorization.

If you wish to offer software for the ATLAS, AES, or EMCS IT procedures, you must have it certified.

In some cities or municipalities, an accommodation tax may be levied for overnight stays. For more detailed information, please select the relevant place of accommodation.

The ATLAS and AES IT systems are used for electronic customs clearance. To electronically declare and process your shipments of excise-taxable goods under tax suspension, you must participate in the EMCS system.

Air carriers are required to register for the air traffic tax with the Frankfurt am Main Main Customs Office. Tax representatives for air carriers must also apply for a permit from the Frankfurt am Main Main Customs Office.

If you wish to submit applications and reports electronically via the Federal Central Tax Office’s online portal, you must first register to use the service.

If you as an insurer receive fees for fire insurance, residential building or household contents insurance, you must calculate the fire protection tax yourself and register it with the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).

If you receive insurance premiums, you must calculate the insurance tax yourself and register it with the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).

Use of tronc revenues from Saarland casinos.

If you start a business, take an interest in a business or become self-employed, you must inform the tax office.

If you, as a reporting entity, wish to report indications of money laundering or terrorist financing online, you must register on the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) web portal.

Information on entertainment tax.

Foreign investment funds whose domestic income was wrongfully not taxed or taxed at too low a rate must report this and pay the back taxes.

If you are an intermediary or a user of a cross-border tax arrangement, you must report it to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) in a timely manner under certain conditions.

If you supply new vehicles from Germany within the European Union to recipients without a VAT identification number (VAT ID no.), you must report this to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) .

You can report the conclusion of foreign endowment or pension insurance contracts electronically.

If you are a video programming provider or video-on-demand provider that distributes feature films, you must report your monthly net revenue and, in some cases, your share of feature film revenue. Once your revenue reaches a certain threshold, you must pay a film levy.

If you show films in your cinema, you must report your turnover and attendance figures and pay a film tax if your turnover exceeds a certain level.

If you show cinema films as a television broadcaster or program marketer, you must pay a film tax under certain conditions.

As a company, you are required to submit your employees' pay stubs electronically.

If you have received tax benefits or exemptions related to electricity or energy taxes, you must report them to the customs authorities in certain cases.

If you wish to transport untaxed alcoholic beverages, you must obtain a special permit and register to participate in the computerized transport and control system.

If you wish to transport untaxed alcopops, you need a special permit and must register to participate in the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).

If you wish to transport energy products under tax suspension, you need a permit and must register with the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).

If you wish to transport untaxed tobacco products, you must obtain a permit and register with the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS).

If you want to transport untaxed beer, you need a special permit and registration to participate in the EMCS computerized transport and control system.

If you want to transport untaxed sparkling wine, intermediate products or wine, you generally need a special permit and registration to participate in the EMCS computerized transport and control system.

If you are required to pay electricity tax, file a tax return with the relevant main customs office, in which you calculate the tax yourself. This is referred to as a tax return.

As a financial institution, do you have customers with a reportable connection to U.S. tax liability? If so, you must report this.

If you believe that a transaction between your company and an affiliated company in another EU member state is subject to double taxation, you may file a claim under the EU Arbitration Convention.

Are you involved in a cross-border situation and would like to avoid potential double taxation? If so, under certain conditions, you can apply for an advance pricing agreement.

If you want planning certainty for your future business in Germany, you can submit an application for binding information to clarify the tax assessment.

If you request specific services from the customs administration, this may result in fees and expenses that you are required to pay.

If you import goods into Germany from third countries, you may, in certain cases, use flat-rate amounts to determine the customs value of the goods. To do so, you need authorization from customs.

The shipment of certain goods requires authorization to use special seals.

If you have achieved taxable sales within Germany as a business person, you must always submit a VAT return.

Travelers from a non-EU member state may shop in Germany VAT-free under certain conditions.

If your company is multinational, you must submit a country-by-country report under certain conditions.

If you export goods or other services from an EU member state to other EU member states, you must submit a recapitulative statement.

If you are a shipping company based in the EU, you can apply for regular shipping service status for customs purposes. Under this status, you transport Union goods from one EU port to another without the goods having to undergo customs clearance again at the destination port.

As the holder of an authorization to file simplified customs declarations for the export of goods, you may place the goods under the export procedure even outside the export customs office’s hours of operation.

Under the Inward Processing procedure, you can have non-Union goods processed within the customs territory of the European Union. You do not have to pay any duties at the time of importation.

Under the outward processing procedure, you can have goods processed in third countries. When you reimport them, you will then pay reduced or no import duties.

Do you have a tax-related matter that is not covered by the other customs services listed on the federal portal? If so, you can still submit an inquiry or an application to the customs administration.

Financial institutions must report financial account information to the BZSt if there is a reportable connection to a foreign country.

For foreign special investment funds, you must submit a declaration so that the relevant tax bases for the taxation of your investors can be bindingly determined.

If there is a dispute between the authorities of several EU Member States regarding the interpretation and application of a treaty or convention to eliminate double taxation, you can submit a complaint under certain conditions.

If certain personal or legal requirements are met, it may be fair to waive tax claims in individual cases. The waiver may cover the entire debt or only part of it. The applicant is obliged to provide evidence of the reasons.

Are you unable to meet the deadline for submitting your tax return? You have the option of extending the deadline at the relevant tax office.

You can submit your income tax return and many other returns electronically to the tax authorities via ELSTER.

If you, as an individual or a business, pay for services provided by a service provider resident in a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction, you must, under certain circumstances, withhold a portion of your payments as income tax or corporate income tax, report it, and pay it.

Using the customs online status inquiry service, you can access information online about shipments of goods that you have declared under the EU-wide transit procedure.

If you are obliged to deduct capital gains tax in Germany, you must submit certain data.

If you wish to transport coffee duty-free, you must notify the customs authorities or be able to provide appropriate documentation.

If you set up a company in Germany, you must comply with certain regulations and requirements. Here you will find information on your rights and obligations, particularly with regard to VAT.