Gewerbesteuer Festsetzung

If you run a commercial business in Germany, you are subject to trade tax and may have to pay trade tax.

Are you an individual and generate a trade income of more than EUR 24,500 with your domestic business? Then you are above the tax-free amount and must submit an electronic trade tax return to your tax office. In it, you declare how high your trade income was in the tax period - i.e. in the previous calendar year.

In addition, based on your profit or loss - income minus expenses - you declare further additions or deductions.

You also state the municipality in which you operate your business. The tax office uses this information to determine the trade tax assessment amount by multiplying the trade income by the tax assessment rate of 3.5 percent. This measurement amount is the basis for the amount of trade tax.

The tax office calculates the trade tax from the trade tax base multiplied by the trade tax multiplier of the municipality. Each municipality determines its own assessment rate.

You will then receive a notice of the trade tax to be paid by you or to be refunded to you.

The trade tax assessment notice also determines the advance trade tax payments to be made by you in the future for the following tax period.

• You operate a commercial enterprise and are not a freelancer or an agricultural or forestry entrepreneur.
• You are not exempt from trade tax.

If you run a commercial business and are liable for trade tax, you must submit your trade tax return electronically. You can prepare and submit your trade tax return free of charge via the tax authorities' ELSTER online portal:

• Visit "My ELSTER - your online tax office" on the Internet.
• Log in with your access data and your personal security procedure.
• Select the menu item "Trade tax return".
• Select the relevant calendar year.
• In the following step, select the transfer of previous data or continue without data transfer.
• Enter your data on the following pages. "My ELSTER" will guide you through the entire process.
• At the end of the process, "My ELSTER" checks your details and provisionally calculates the trade tax due.
• Send your electronic trade tax return to the relevant tax office.
• After your return has been checked, you will receive a notice by post from your tax office about the assessment of the trade tax base and the assessment of the trade tax and, under certain circumstances, a notice about the advance payments to be made for trade tax.

Legal remedy:

• Appeal
• Action before the tax court