Tax & Finance: templates and forms

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.

The request to Austria's tax office, the Finanzamt Österreich, to extend the deadline for an income tax, VAT or other tax return under § 134 Abs 2 of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code (BAO): with the return, the year, the current and the requested deadline, and the reasons. It must be filed before the deadline runs out; if it is refused, the office sets a further period of at least one week. Missing the deadline without excuse risks a late-filing surcharge of up to 10% (§ 135 BAO). By post, fax or FinanzOnline: an e-mail is no submission at all (§§ 85, 86a BAO). In German.

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.

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.