Taxes - Germany
Updated 10/2010
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European Union
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Austria
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Belgium
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Bulgaria
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Cyprus
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Czech Republic
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Denmark
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Estonia
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Finland
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France
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Germany
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Greece
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Hungary
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Ireland
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Italy
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Latvia
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Lithuania
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Luxembourg
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Malta
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Netherlands
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Norway
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Poland
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Portugal
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Romania
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Slovakia
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Spain
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Sweden
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United Kingdom
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Legal requirements
Taxation depends on the legal structure chosen, the size of the business and whether it practises one of the liberal professions. Various Acts cover taxation:
Taxation system
Direct taxes
The main direct taxes for businesses are the following:
- income tax, which has to be paid by business owners;
- corporation tax, which has to be paid by a limited liability company, stock corporation and cooperative association;
- trade tax, which is paid by anyone in business (with the exception of the liberal professions and specific occupational groups such as farmers).
Indirect taxes
The main indirect tax for businesses is the following:
- value-added tax (formerly turnover tax), which has to be paid by all business owners (except small business holders).
Administrative procedures
Registration with the tax office
Submitting your tax declaration
Taxes are generally administered by the tax offices. The Federal German Fiscal Authority’s Form Management System (FMS) offers online services and interactive forms for this.
Businesses are obliged to file provisional electronic declarations for payroll tax and VAT. Practical assistance is available from the ‘Elsterformular’, a free piece of software for electronic tax declarations.
The following deadlines apply for paying taxes:
- Value-added tax: by the 10th of the month following a prepayment period (month or quarter)
- Income tax / corporation tax / trade tax: quarterly prepayment; tax declaration after end of calendar year
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Overview: Taxes Who pays, and when?
Resources
The support database promotes information and training events on all economic, financial, technical, organisational, legal and fiscal problems associated with running a company or setting up a business.
Check also the legislation on this topic in:
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European Union
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Austria
deen
-
Belgium
enfrnl
-
Bulgaria
bgen
-
Cyprus
elen
-
Czech Republic
csen
-
Denmark
daen
-
Estonia
enet
-
Finland
enfi
-
France
enfr
-
Germany
deen
-
Greece
elen
-
Hungary
enhu
-
Ireland
en
-
Italy
enit
-
Latvia
enlv
-
Lithuania
enlt
-
Luxembourg
enfr
-
Malta
en
-
Netherlands
ennl
-
Norway
enno
-
Poland
enpl
-
Portugal
enpt
-
Romania
enro
-
Slovakia
ensk
-
Slovenia
ensl
-
Spain
enes
-
Sweden
ensv
-
United Kingdom
en





