Letters to the German tax office: objections, deferral and more
Tax returns are filed through ELSTER, the tax administration's free online portal, and are not sold here. Requests and objections to the tax office (Finanzamt) are informal letters, sent by post or through ELSTER as an ‘other message’ (Sonstige Nachricht). An objection to a tax assessment (Einspruch) must arrive within one month of notification (§ 355 AO). Since 2025 a posted assessment counts as notified on the fourth day after posting, and a deadline ending on a weekend or public holiday runs to the next working day. The objection may be made in writing, electronically, even by plain email, or in person for the record (§ 357 AO), and it is also the remedy against a child benefit decision of the Familienkasse.
An objection does not stop payment (§ 361 AO). Suspension of enforcement (Aussetzung der Vollziehung) is a separate request the objection letter can include; it should be granted where there are serious doubts about the assessment or undue hardship, and if the objection fails it costs interest of 0.5% for each full month. Tax unpaid after the due date costs a surcharge of 1% for each month or part of a month (§ 240 AO). Where paying on time would be a substantial hardship, the tax office can defer the tax and allow instalments (§ 222 AO), at 0.5% interest a month. Income tax prepayments fall due on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December; when income drops, the office adjusts them to the expected tax on a request to reduce them (§ 37 EStG).
An extension of the filing deadline under § 109 AO can be granted retroactively, and then rules out a late-filing surcharge; where the office imposes one on an annual return, it is at least €25 for each month or part of a month (§ 152 AO). A freelancer who gives up their practice tells the tax office within one month (§ 138 AO) with a notice of ceasing freelance work; a trade is deregistered on the official form at the trade office. A waiver of the small-business scheme binds for at least five calendar years, and then revoking the waiver restores the scheme from the start of a calendar year. A tax clearance certificate, asked for in public tenders among other things, shows the tax account on the day it is issued. The documents are in German, and each document's page describes it in English.
The documents
7 forms available to fill out or download.
Request to reduce income tax advance payments (Germany)
Your request to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to bring the quarterly income tax advance payments into line with lower income under § 37(3) of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) — after fewer orders, higher business costs, parental leave, illness or the end of an activity. The letter gives the year, the current and the requested payment and the expected income, explains the change, covers the solidarity surcharge and church tax, and asks for overpaid amounts to be refunded. For the self-employed, freelancers and landlords. In German.
Application for a tax clearance certificate (Germany)
Your application to the German tax office (Finanzamt) for a certificate on your tax affairs (Bescheinigung in Steuersachen), often called a tax clearance certificate — asked for in public tenders, for a restaurant licence and other trade permits, and by banks. It shows whether any tax is in arrears and whether returns have been filed, as at the day it is issued. The letter gives the tax number, the purpose and the date by which you need the certificate. No official form is required; post it or send it through ELSTER. In German.
Revocation of the waiver of the small-business VAT scheme (Germany)
The letter to the German tax office (Finanzamt) that returns a business to the small-business scheme of § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) after it had waived the scheme and charged VAT. The waiver binds for at least five calendar years and can then be revoked only from the start of a later calendar year. The letter names the year of the waiver and the year from which the scheme should apply again, and states that turnover stays within the €25,000 and €100,000 limits. Germany has no ‘VAT deregistration’: this is the route. In German.
Objection to a tax assessment (Germany)
Your objection (Einspruch) to a notice from the German tax office — an income tax, VAT or property tax value assessment, for example — or to a child benefit decision of the Familienkasse. The deadline is one month from notification, and since 2025 a posted notice counts as notified only on the fourth day after posting (§§ 355 and 122 of the German Fiscal Code, AO). The letter identifies the notice, says what should change, gives the grounds or announces them, and can ask for payment to be suspended, because the objection alone does not stop it. In German.
Request to defer tax and pay in instalments (Germany)
Your application to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to defer tax that is due under § 222 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) and pay it in instalments or later, where paying on the due date would be a substantial hardship — after a large back-payment, a lost contract or an illness, for example. The letter gives the tax, period, amount and due date, proposes a payment plan, explains the hardship, sums up income, outgoings and assets and deals with security. Deferral interest at 0.5% a month costs less than the 1% late-payment surcharge. In German.
Notice to the tax office of ceasing freelance work (Germany)
The letter a freelancer in Germany — a translator, architect, consultant, teacher or journalist, for example — sends to the tax office (Finanzamt) on giving up their self-employed profession. Section 138 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) requires the notice within one month, and there is no official form for it. It gives the tax number, the kind of work and its last day, says whether the practice is closed or sold, deals with the VAT pre-returns and asks for the advance payments to be adjusted. In German, to post or to send through ELSTER.
Request to extend the tax return deadline (Germany)
Your request to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to extend the deadline for an income tax, VAT or other tax return under § 109 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) — because of illness, missing papers or a move, for example. For 2025 returns filed without an adviser, the deadline was 31 July 2026. The letter gives the return, the year, the current and the requested deadline and the reason, and asks in the alternative for a backdated extension, so that no late-filing surcharge of at least €25 a month is charged. In German, to post, fax or send through ELSTER.