{"id":12115,"date":"2025-03-04T11:43:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T11:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/?p=12115"},"modified":"2025-04-29T14:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T14:25:07","slug":"steuerliche-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-unternehmen-in-deutschland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/steuerliche-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-unternehmen-in-deutschland\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax obligations for foreign companies in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foreign companies that are economically active in Germany must fulfill certain Tax obligations<\/strong> fulfill. These depend on whether the company has a Establishment, a permanent establishment or only economic activities (e.g. online trading)<\/strong> in Germany.<\/p>\n

1. when is a foreign company subject to tax in Germany?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A company based abroad may be liable for tax in Germany if it:
One Permanent establishment or subsidiary<\/strong> in Germany has
Goods imported into Germany<\/strong> and sold
Services for German customers<\/strong> provides
In Germany Employees employed<\/strong>
owns real estate in Germany.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tip:<\/strong> Even without a registered office in Germany, a company can be liable for VAT!<\/p>\n

2. important types of tax for foreign companies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

a) Value added tax (VAT)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Set:<\/strong> 19 % (reduced 7 % for certain products, e.g. food, books)
Obligation for foreign companies if:<\/strong>
goods are imported into and sold in Germany
services are provided to private customers
A warehouse in Germany is used (e.g. Amazon FBA)<\/p>\n

Value added tax identification number (VAT ID)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
    \n
  • Necessary for intra-Community deliveries<\/li>\n
  • Application to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Reverse charge procedure<\/strong><\/h4>\n
      \n
    • If benefits are paid to a German company<\/strong> are provided, the Tax liability transferred to the customer<\/strong> (the customer pays the sales tax).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      b) Corporate income tax<\/strong> (for corporations such as GmbH, AG)<\/h4>\n

      Set:<\/strong> 15 % + 5.5 % solidarity surcharge
      Applies to:<\/strong>
      German subsidiaries of foreign companies
      Foreign companies with a permanent establishment in Germany.<\/p>\n

      c) Income tax (for sole proprietorships & partnerships)<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      Set:<\/strong> Progressive from 14 % to 45 % (depending on win amount)
      Mandatory for foreign sole proprietors or partnerships operating in Germany.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      d) Trade tax<\/strong><\/h4>\n

      Set:<\/strong> 7-17 %, depending on the city
      Mandatory for companies with a Operating site<\/strong> in Germany
      Does not apply to companies without a branch in Germany.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      3. tax registration for foreign companies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      Step 1: Tax registration with the tax office<\/strong><\/h4>\n
        \n
      • Registration with the Questionnaire for tax registration<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Responsible tax office depends on the location of the activity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Step 2: Apply for VAT registration & VAT ID no.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
          \n
        • At the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt)<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • If reverse charge is not possible, the company must calculate and pay the VAT.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Step 3: Pay taxes<\/strong><\/h4>\n
            \n
          • Monthly or quarterly advance VAT return<\/li>\n
          • Annual tax return.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Ausl\u00e4ndische Unternehmen, die in Deutschland wirtschaftlich t\u00e4tig sind, m\u00fcssen bestimmte steuerliche Pflichten erf\u00fcllen. Diese h\u00e4ngen davon ab, ob das Unternehmen eine Niederlassung, eine Betriebsst\u00e4tte oder nur wirtschaftliche Aktivit\u00e4ten (z. B. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-13-steuerliche-pflichten-fuer-auslaendische-unternehmen-in-deutschland","category-firmengruendung-investition-in-deutschland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12115"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12536,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12115\/revisions\/12536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bosporus24.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}