Obligations / Germany

What a company files in Germany [DE]

Every entry below is the rule as Germany publishes it. It is a reference, not a calendar: where a deadline runs from something only you know, this page says so instead of showing a date.

A template, not your deadline

This is the rule as published by the registry, checked against the primary source on the date shown. It is not your filing date. Where a deadline runs from incorporation, from a fiscal year the company itself elects, or from an event only you know about, no date can be derived here at all — the figure you see is the formula, not the answer. Extensions, transitional regimes and entity-specific exemptions are not reflected. Confirm with the registry before you rely on a date.

How the financial year is set — Chosen by the company

The German Geschäftsjahr is not a statutory constant: it is fixed in the company's articles and need not be the calendar year, so the financial year end is a value the user must supply. The decisive point for this jurisdiction is that only ONE of the obligations below runs off that date. The disclosure deadline is counted from the Abschlussstichtag — the Bundesamt für Justiz writes: «Die Einreichungsfrist beträgt höchstens ein Jahr. Sie wird vom Abschlussstichtag des Geschäftsjahrs an berechnet.» All three tax returns run off the CALENDAR year instead, because the Veranlagungszeitraum for corporate income tax, the Erhebungszeitraum for trade tax and the Besteuerungszeitraum for VAT are the calendar year regardless of the accounting period: ELSTER states «Die Abgabefrist für die Körperschaftsteuererklärung 2025 läuft bis zum 31.07.2026» as a flat date, and names one narrow exception (income from agriculture and forestry with a Wirtschaftsjahr ending after 28.02.2026 — then the end of the ninth month after the Wirtschaftsjahr end). The VAT return periods are calendar months or calendar quarters and ignore the financial year entirely. Two provisions that would settle the tax side textually were NOT read for this record: § 7 Abs. 4 KStG (deviating Wirtschaftsjahr for corporations) and § 14 GewStG, because gesetze-im-internet.de refuses machine access.

Bundesamt für Justiz — Offenlegungspflichten: «Die Einreichungsfrist beträgt höchstens ein Jahr. Sie wird vom Abschlussstichtag des Geschäftsjahrs an berechnet.» Calendar anchoring of tax deadlines: ELSTER, Anleitung zur KSt 2025 (https://www.elster.de/eportal/helpGlobal?themaGlobal=help_kst_2025) — «Die Abgabefrist für die Körperschaftsteuererklärung 2025 läuft bis zum 31.07.2026». The texts of § 7 Abs. 4 KStG and § 14 GewStG were not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access. · checked 2026-09-30

Disclosure of the annual financial statements to the body keeping the Unternehmensregister (Offenlegung des Jahresabschlusses)

Formula, not a date
Filed to
The body keeping the Unternehmensregister («die das Unternehmensregister führende Stelle»), electronically, for financial years beginning after 31 December 2021; for earlier financial years the documents went to the Bundesanzeiger. Enforcement sits with a different authority: the Bundesamt für Justiz conducts the Ordnungsgeldverfahren under § 335 HGB.
Who it applies to
Only these legal forms — Stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft, AG), Partnership limited by shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, KGaA), European company (Societas Europaea, SE), Limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH), Entrepreneurial company with limited liability (Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt), UG), Commercial partnership with no natural person as a personally liable partner under § 264a HGB (for example GmbH & Co. KG), Registered cooperative (eingetragene Genossenschaft), Credit institutions, insurance undertakings and energy supply undertakings, irrespective of legal form
The obligation does not depend on size — size decides WHAT is transmitted, not WHETHER. The register-keeping body's own Offenlegungsregeln set out the classes for financial years beginning after 31.12.2022, each on two of three criteria: Kleinst up to 450.000 EUR balance sheet total / 900.000 EUR revenue / 10 employees; klein up to 7,5 Mio. EUR / 15 Mio. EUR / 50; mittelgroß up to 25 Mio. EUR / 50 Mio. EUR / 250; groß above those. A Kleinstunternehmen transmits the balance sheet only; a kleine company adds the Anhang; mittelgroße and große companies transmit balance sheet, Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung, Anhang, Lagebericht and «Bestätigungsvermerk oder der Vermerk über dessen Versagung». That last requirement presupposes a statutory audit for the two upper classes, but § 316 HGB itself was not read for this record and no separate audit-threshold entry is claimed here.
Deadline
Within 12 months after the end of the financial year.
Extensions and exceptions: There is no general extension of this period, and the variants that exist are SHORTER, not longer. The register-keeping body states: «Die Übermittlung der Unterlagen zur Offenlegung des Jahresabschlusses muss grundsätzlich spätestens innerhalb von 12 Monaten nach dem Abschlussstichtag erfolgen» and «Eine kürzere Offenlegungsfrist von 4 Monaten gilt für kapitalmarktorientierte Kapitalgesellschaften i. S. d. § 264d HGB»; the Bundesamt für Justiz names the same four-month rule as «gemäß § 325 Absatz 4 Satz 1 des Handelsgesetzbuches (HGB) eine kürzere Frist von nur vier Monaten». The register-keeping body also mentions a six-month period for certain issuers under the VermAnlG, which was not separately verified. In earlier years the Bundesamt für Justiz has announced a Karenzfrist during which it did not open Ordnungsgeldverfahren against late filers; no such announcement was found on its own pages on the date of this check, so none is recorded here. Because the financial year end is a value the company sets, no calendar date is shown.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
The Bundesamt für Justiz opens an Ordnungsgeldverfahren against the members of the representative body and against the company. It first serves an Androhungsverfügung setting «innerhalb einer Nachfrist von sechs Wochen ab Zustellung der Androhungsverfügung» to comply, and the threatened Ordnungsgeld «mindestens 2.500 Euro beläuft und grundsätzlich bis zu 25.000 Euro betragen kann». If the six-week period passes without compliance, the Ordnungsgeld is imposed and the procedure is repeated. The figures below therefore record the statutory minimum and the ordinary ceiling of a single Ordnungsgeld, not a total exposure: the procedure can be repeated.
Proof of filing
The electronic confirmation of transmission issued by the body keeping the Unternehmensregister, together with the published or deposited set of accounting documents retrievable under the company's register entry. A Kleinstunternehmen that discharges the duty by Hinterlegung instead of publication should keep that confirmation as well, since the deposited documents are released to third parties only on request and against a fee.
Primary source: Bundesamt für Justiz — Offenlegungspflichten (deadline, who is obliged, § 325 Abs. 4 S. 1 HGB — four months) and Ordnungsgeldverfahren (https://www.bundesjustizamt.de/DE/Themen/OrdnungsgeldVollstreckung/Jahresabschluesse/Offenlegung/Verfahren/Verfahren_node.html — Nachfrist of six weeks, «mindestens 2.500 Euro ... bis zu 25.000 Euro»); size classes, required documents and fee structure — Offenlegungsregeln of the register operator (https://publikations-plattform.de/order/de/wissenswertes/sogehts/jaoffenlegungsregeln). The text of § 325 HGB was not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access.
checked 2026-09-30 · Rechecked every 12 months

Corporate income tax return (Körperschaftsteuererklärung)

Fixed date
Filed to
The competent Finanzamt of the place of management or registered office, by mandatory authenticated electronic transmission, for which the tax administrations' own ELSTER portal is provided free of charge.
Who it applies to
Only these legal forms — Stock corporation (Aktiengesellschaft, AG), Partnership limited by shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, KGaA), European company (Societas Europaea, SE), Limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH), Entrepreneurial company with limited liability (Unternehmergesellschaft (haftungsbeschränkt), UG), Registered cooperative (eingetragene Genossenschaft)
The return covers the Veranlagungszeitraum, which is the calendar year, and NOT the company's own accounting period. ELSTER's official instructions for the 2025 return state the deadline as a flat date — «Die Abgabefrist für die Körperschaftsteuererklärung 2025 läuft bis zum 31.07.2026» — and name a single exception, entities with income from agriculture and forestry whose Wirtschaftsjahr 2025/2026 ends after 28 February 2026, which may file until the end of the ninth month following that Wirtschaftsjahr end. A company that has adopted a non-calendar accounting period should therefore not shift this date by analogy with the disclosure deadline; the interaction between a deviating Wirtschaftsjahr and the Veranlagungszeitraum is governed by § 7 Abs. 4 KStG, which was not read for this record. Partnerships (OHG, KG, GbR) are not subject to Körperschaftsteuer and file a different return, which is not covered here.
Deadline
31 July, every year. A calendar date fixed by statute, independent of the financial year.
Extensions and exceptions: Where the return is prepared by a tax adviser or another person authorised to give tax advice, the statutory deadline moves to the end of February of the second year following the tax period. The tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia states the general rule as «bis zum 31. Juli des Folgejahres» and the advised rule as «auf den letzten Februartag des übernächsten Jahres», and it prints the concrete dates that run into the transitional tail of the pandemic legislation: for the 2024 period 31 July 2025, or 30 April 2026 if advised; for the 2025 period 31 July 2026, or 1 March 2027 if advised. Those advised dates are year-specific and were repeatedly moved by statute, which is why this record carries the ordinary date in the machine field and the advised date only in words. A deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shifts to the next working day.
If missed
A Verspätungszuschlag is charged for late filing. The tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia states: «Der Verspätungszuschlag beträgt für jeden angefangenen Monat der Verspätung 0,25 Prozent der gegebenenfalls um die festgesetzten Vorauszahlungen und die anzurechnenden Steuerabzugsbeträge verminderten festgesetzten Steuer – abgerundet auf volle Euro –, aber mindestens 25 Euro pro angefangenem Monat der Verspätung.» The same authority says the Finanzamt may refrain from charging it where the return arrives within fourteen months of the end of the calendar year and the delay is credibly excused, where a refund or a nil assessment results, or where the office itself extended the deadline. The numeric fields below are left empty on purpose: the charge is a monthly percentage with a monthly floor, and this schema has no field that would carry it without distorting it. No statutory ceiling was found on the pages read.
Proof of filing
The electronic transmission receipt (Transferticket) generated by ELSTER or the commercial software used, and afterwards the Körperschaftsteuerbescheid issued by the Finanzamt for the period.
Primary source: ELSTER, Anleitung zur KSt 2025 (portal of the federal and state tax administrations) — «Die Abgabefrist für die Körperschaftsteuererklärung 2025 läuft bis zum 31.07.2026», with an exception for agriculture and forestry. General rule and dates for cases prepared by tax advisers: Finanzverwaltung NRW, Abgabepflichten und -fristen (https://www.finanzamt.nrw.de/steuerinfos/weitere-themen/steuererklaerung/abgabepflichten-und-fristen). Verspätungszuschlag: Finanzverwaltung NRW (https://www.finanzamt.nrw.de/steuerinfos/weitere-themen/steuerbescheid/verspaetungszuschlag). The texts of § 149 AO, § 152 AO and § 7 Abs. 4 KStG were not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access, and the BMF AO-Handbuch serves its text only via scripts.
checked 2026-09-30 · Rechecked every 12 months

Trade tax return (Gewerbesteuererklärung)

Fixed date
Filed to
The competent Finanzamt, electronically. The Finanzamt does not levy the tax: it determines the Gewerbesteuermessbetrag and passes it to the municipality (Gemeinde), which applies its own Hebesatz and issues the assessment. The return is therefore filed with the tax office even though the revenue belongs to the municipality.
Who it applies to
Every entity in the jurisdiction
The Bavarian state administration describes the addressee of the duty as someone of whom it holds that «Sie betreiben ein gewerbliches Unternehmen und sind kein Freiberufler oder Land- und Forstwirt», and notes a 24.500 EUR Freibetrag available to natural persons. Whether a Kapitalgesellschaft is subject irrespective of the nature of its activity is governed by § 2 Abs. 2 GewStG, which was NOT read for this record, so the scope is recorded as general rather than as a statement about corporations specifically. The Erhebungszeitraum is the calendar year, which is why the deadline below is a flat date and not an offset from the accounting period.
Deadline
31 July, every year. A calendar date fixed by statute, independent of the financial year.
Extensions and exceptions: The Bavarian state administration states the ordinary deadline as «bis zum 31.7. des auf den Erhebungszeitraum folgenden Kalenderjahres» and the advised deadline as «bis zum letzten Tag des Monats Februar des zweiten auf den Erhebungszeitraum folgenden Kalenderjahres», that is, where a tax adviser or another person authorised to give tax advice prepares the return. The same year-specific transitional dates that apply to the corporate income tax return apply here, so the advised date is carried in words only. A deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shifts to the next working day.
If missed
Late filing attracts the same Verspätungszuschlag as any other tax return: «für jeden angefangenen Monat der Verspätung 0,25 Prozent der ... festgesetzten Steuer – abgerundet auf volle Euro –, aber mindestens 25 Euro pro angefangenem Monat der Verspätung», as stated by the tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia. The numeric fields are left empty because a monthly percentage with a monthly floor has no place in this schema that would not distort it. Whether the municipality can add a separate consequence of its own was not verified.
Proof of filing
The electronic transmission receipt from ELSTER or the software used, then the Gewerbesteuermessbescheid issued by the Finanzamt and, following it, the Gewerbesteuerbescheid issued by the municipality.
Primary source: BayernPortal (portal of the Bavarian state administration), Gewerbesteuer; Abgabe der Erklärung — «bis zum 31.7. des auf den Erhebungszeitraum folgenden Kalenderjahres», «bis zum letzten Tag des Monats Februar des zweiten auf den Erhebungszeitraum folgenden Kalenderjahres», mandatory electronic filing, Freibetrag 24.500 EUR. Verspätungszuschlag: Finanzverwaltung NRW (https://www.finanzamt.nrw.de/steuerinfos/weitere-themen/steuerbescheid/verspaetungszuschlag). The texts of § 14a GewStG and § 2 Abs. 2 GewStG were not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access.
checked 2026-09-30 · Rechecked every 12 months

VAT advance return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung)

Formula, not a date
Filed to
The competent Finanzamt, which requires the return to be sent «authentifiziert elektronisch» — through the free ELSTER software of the tax administrations or through commercial tax software. The tax computed in the return is due at once on the same date, without any separate assessment notice: it is «sofort fällig».
Who it applies to
Only above a threshold — prior-year VAT liability > 2,000 EUR
The prior year's VAT liability decides both whether advance returns are due at all and how often. The tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia sets out three bands: above 9.000 EUR the returns are monthly, due «bis zum 10. des Folgemonats»; between 2.000 EUR and 9.000 EUR they are quarterly, due on the «10. Tag nach Ablauf des Kalendervierteljahres»; below 2.000 EUR the Finanzamt may release the business from advance returns altogether, which is why the threshold recorded here is 2.000 EUR and not 9.000 EUR. For businesses newly founded in the years 2021 to 2026 the same authority states that quarterly filing is the rule unless the expected annual tax exceeds 9.000 EUR, in which case it is monthly. A business using the Kleinunternehmerregelung of § 19 UStG — net Gesamtumsatz not above 25.000 EUR in the preceding calendar year and not above 100.000 EUR in the current one — does not charge VAT and is outside this obligation. The threshold here is the VAT payable for the prior year, not turnover, and the two must not be confused.
Deadline
Counted from an event, not from the calendar.
Extensions and exceptions: A Dauerfristverlängerung may be granted on application and moves each deadline by one month. The tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia describes it as an extension granted on request; for a monthly filer it is conditional on a Sondervorauszahlung of one eleventh of the previous year's total advance payments, which is later credited against the annual liability. Because the period is a calendar month or a calendar quarter chosen according to the prior year's tax, and because the extension is granted individually, no calendar date is derived here. A deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shifts to the next working day.
No date can be derived here. This deadline runs from something this page does not know — the financial year the company itself elects, or an event only you can date. What is published is the rule, not the day.
If missed
Late filing may attract a Verspätungszuschlag, which the tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia describes for tax returns generally as «für jeden angefangenen Monat der Verspätung 0,25 Prozent der ... festgesetzten Steuer – abgerundet auf volle Euro –, aber mindestens 25 Euro pro angefangenem Monat der Verspätung». Whether the automatic imposition rule applies to advance returns in the same way as to annual returns was NOT verified on a primary source and is not asserted here. Separately, the tax shown in the advance return falls due on the filing date itself, so late payment carries its own consequence, the Säumniszuschlag, whose rate was not verified for this record. The numeric fields are left empty rather than filled with a plausible figure.
Proof of filing
The electronic transmission receipt (Transferticket) for each period, together with the payment record, since the amount declared falls due on the same date without a separate assessment.
Primary source: Finanzverwaltung NRW, Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldungen — «bis zum 10. des Folgemonats», «10. Tag nach Ablauf des Kalendervierteljahres», thresholds of 9.000 EUR and 2.000 EUR, rule for new businesses 2021–2026, Dauerfristverlängerung and Sondervorauszahlung of 1/11, «authentifiziert elektronisch», «sofort fällig». Kleinunternehmer thresholds of 25.000 / 100.000 EUR: Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern (https://www.lfst.bayern.de/steuerinfos/haeufig-gestellte-fragen/umsatzsteuer). The text of § 18 UStG was not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access.
checked 2026-09-30 · Rechecked every 12 months

Annual VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung)

Fixed date
Filed to
The competent Finanzamt, electronically: «Die Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung muss dem Finanzamt in elektronischer Form übermittelt werden.» A paper filing can be permitted on application in cases of hardship.
Who it applies to
Only registered foreign entities
The return covers the Besteuerungszeitraum, which is the calendar year, and it is owed by businesses liable to VAT irrespective of whether advance returns were also due. A recent and easily missed change narrows the circle: the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern states that «Umsatzsteuerliche Kleinunternehmer sind für Besteuerungszeiträume ab 2024 grundsätzlich von der Abgabe der Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung befreit», with exceptions where a specific provision applies or where the Finanzamt asks for a return. A business that was a Kleinunternehmer in earlier years and filed then should therefore not assume the duty continues, and one that leaves the Kleinunternehmer regime should not assume it has lapsed. The Kleinunternehmer thresholds are a net Gesamtumsatz of 25.000 EUR in the preceding calendar year and 100.000 EUR in the current one.
Deadline
31 July, every year. A calendar date fixed by statute, independent of the financial year.
Extensions and exceptions: The Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern gives the ordinary deadline as «bis zum 31. Juli des folgenden Jahres». Where a tax adviser or another person authorised to give tax advice prepares the return, the same extension applies as to the other annual returns, to the last day of February of the second year following the tax period, as the tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia puts it: «auf den letzten Februartag des übernächsten Jahres». Those advised dates were repeatedly moved by statute in the transitional tail of the pandemic legislation, so they are carried in words only. A deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shifts to the next working day.
If missed
A Verspätungszuschlag is charged for late filing on the same terms as for the other annual returns: «für jeden angefangenen Monat der Verspätung 0,25 Prozent der ... festgesetzten Steuer – abgerundet auf volle Euro –, aber mindestens 25 Euro pro angefangenem Monat der Verspätung», per the tax administration of North Rhine-Westphalia, which also names the cases in which the Finanzamt may refrain from charging it. The numeric fields are left empty because a monthly percentage with a monthly floor cannot be carried in them without distortion.
Proof of filing
The electronic transmission receipt (Transferticket) for the annual return, and the Umsatzsteuerbescheid where the Finanzamt issues one departing from the return as filed.
Primary source: Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern, Umsatzsteuer — «bis zum 31. Juli des folgenden Jahres», «Die Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung muss dem Finanzamt in elektronischer Form übermittelt werden», «Umsatzsteuerliche Kleinunternehmer sind für Besteuerungszeiträume ab 2024 grundsätzlich von der Abgabe der Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung befreit», thresholds of 25.000 / 100.000 EUR. Deadline for cases prepared by tax advisers: Finanzverwaltung NRW (https://www.finanzamt.nrw.de/steuerinfos/weitere-themen/steuererklaerung/abgabepflichten-und-fristen). Verspätungszuschlag: Finanzverwaltung NRW (https://www.finanzamt.nrw.de/steuerinfos/weitere-themen/steuerbescheid/verspaetungszuschlag). The texts of § 18 Abs. 3 UStG and § 19 UStG were not read: gesetze-im-internet.de blocks automated access.
checked 2026-09-30 · Rechecked every 6 months
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