Tax & Finance: templates and forms

Request to the Italian Revenue Agency to cancel an act in self-review (autotutela) (Italy)

Why it matches: You want to ask the tax office in Italy to cancel an act with an obvious error before going to court.

For anyone who received from the Agenzia delle Entrate an assessment, a notice of irregularity or a tax bill with an obvious error: wrong person, calculation error, payment already made and ignored. Before this letter, the free route: the Agency’s CIVIS online service, for notices and bills, and its own fac-simile on plain paper. The request goes to the Agency office that issued the act or, for a tax bill, the one that entered the sums for collection, by PEC, recorded delivery or by hand, with no revenue stamp; it does not suspend the 60 days to appeal.

Request to the Comune to cancel an IMU, TARI or other local-tax act (Italy)

Why it matches: You want to ask the Comune to cancel a wrong notice before it ends up in court.

For anyone who received from the Comune, or the agent collecting for it, an assessment or payment notice for IMU, TARI or another local tax with an obvious error: a property not owned, wrong floor area or cadastral value, payment already made, wrong person. Many Comuni have their own form or a free online desk: if there is one, use it. This Italian request goes to the tax office that issued the act, by PEC or recorded delivery, and does not suspend the 60 days to appeal.

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.

Request for tax remission on grounds of hardship (France)

Why it matches: You want to ask the tax office by post to cancel or reduce your tax because of hardship.

For someone in hardship or poverty who cannot pay their income tax, property tax or council tax, or the surcharges added to it, even with extra time. The request can be made free through the secure messaging of your personal space on impots.gouv.fr. This French letter to the tax office is for sending it by post: the tax concerned, the hardship or poverty, the household's income and outgoings, and the full or partial remission sought (article L. 247 of the French Tax Procedures Book).

Referral to the departmental tax conciliator (France)

Why it matches: The tax office would not cancel penalties or reduce what you owe, despite your request.

For a taxpayer whose complaint, request for remission or request for time to pay was rejected in whole or in part by the tax office, and who asks for a fresh look. The referral is free and can be made by simple e-mail; the conciliator's contact details are usually given on the refusal and on impots.gouv.fr. This French letter recalls the request, the decision disputed and your reasons. The referral stops neither payment nor the deadlines for going to court.

Withdrawal of the VAT option and return to the exemption (France)

Why it matches: The period you committed to when opting for VAT is ending and you want to drop the option.

For a business that had opted to pay VAT and wants to return to the VAT exemption scheme (franchise en base), its turnover staying below the thresholds. The withdrawal is made at the end of the two-year period (article 293 F of the French General Tax Code), free through the secure messaging of the professional space or by this French letter to the business tax office. Ceasing business altogether is declared free on the one-stop business formalities portal. Registered post with proof of receipt is advised.

Request to extend the deadline for filing a tax return (Austria)

Why it matches: Your income tax return in Austria is due soon and you will not finish it in time.

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.

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.

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.