What is a tax assessment notice in Germany?

According to the regulations in force in Germany, all income is subject to taxation. This is directly derived from the Income Tax Act (EStG). If there was legal employment in Germany, there is likely an obligation to submit a tax return to the tax office to settle taxes. After the situation is reviewed by the officials, the tax assessment notice should be received by mail or email some time after submitting the return. What is this document? What can be gleaned from it? More on this later in the article.

Income Tax Notice in Germany – What is it?

What is a tax assessment notice? It is a letter that every taxpayer in Germany should receive if they have submitted a tax return to the tax office. The tax assessment notice informs the taxpayer about their situation, namely whether:

– a tax refund is due from Germany (and in what amount),
– an additional payment is required (due to insufficient advance payments on the German tax).

Tax Assessment Notice – What Else Does the German Document Contain?

The tax assessment notice consists of several pages, containing not only information about the tax situation (additional payment or amount of refund) but also data such as:

– the taxpayer’s address,
– the taxpayer’s tax number,
– the taxpayer’s bank details,
– the bank details of the responsible tax office,
– tax breakdown,
– optionally a justification from the office in case of discrepancies.

The most important information (entitlement to refund/additional payment obligation) is found on the first page of the letter. Those requiring a more detailed explanation are found later in the notice. In the case of a marriage, the partner’s taxes are also listed in the notice.

Provisional Tax Assessment Notice in Germany – How Does It Differ from the Final Notice?

It happens that the German tax assessment notice received is provisional. This means that a preliminary estimate of the tax amount has been made, which may change. Such calculations are issued when tax matters are not yet fully clarified.

How can it be recognized that the German tax assessment notice is provisional? Very simply – this information is noted on the first page of the document.

Final Tax Assessment Notice – Must It Be Reviewed?

There are cases where German taxpayers, who have been settling with the tax office for many years, ignore the received tax assessment notice. However, it is recommended to thoroughly review such a document. Why? It should be noted that every official is a human being – and humans make mistakes. Therefore, to avoid possible discrepancies and problems in tax settlement, the accuracy of one’s data should be checked, such as: account number, tax identification number, or whether the income amounts are correctly listed.

Erroneous Tax Assessment Notice – What to Do?

What should be done if an error is found in the tax assessment notice? Then an objection should be filed. There is a one-month deadline from receipt of the tax assessment notice for this. This period begins with the date of the postmark on the document. Three days are added to this date. From this point, there is one month to file the objection. This can be done in writing, by post, email, or fax.

After sending the document, the German tax office must review the decision as well as the objection. Afterwards, the result is communicated. If the objection is accepted, a corrected tax assessment notice should be received in a short time – the matter is thus settled.

However, if the office does not agree, confirmation with the reasoning is sent, explaining why the objection was rejected. Additionally, there is a request to withdraw the objection.

Missed Objection Deadline – What Then?

If for any reason the objection to the erroneous tax assessment notice was not filed in time, an appropriate application can be submitted to the office. In which cases will the application be positively evaluated? Evidence for a delay that was not self-inflicted can include, for example, a long vacation, a hospital stay, or a business trip. If the German office accepts the application, a new deadline for filing the objection is set.

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