You can request a tax number from the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt). Send the completed form to the address already entered in the form.

You can use the form at the end of the page in order to ask us to look up your tax number.

No. You have to issue a separate SEPA direct debit mandate for the BZSt.

Yes. The BZSt does not recognize powers of attorney that you’ve sent to your local tax office. If you have an agent who represents you in tax matters, please send the original power of attorney to the BZSt.

Tax returns in the tax withholding procedure must be submitted electronically via the BZStOnline-Portal to the Federal Central Tax Office (Section 73e sentence 4 of the EStDV).

You can access this via www.elsteronline.de/bportal. Since the end of October 2023, the ElsterOnline-Portal (EOP) is unfortunately no longer available. However, you can continue to use your existing Elster certificate for submission to the BOP. If you have neither a BOP certificate nor an EOP certificate, you must register to use the BOP portal.

Please make sure to apply for your BOP certificate in time.

The registration process can take up to six weeks.

To receive a BOP certificate, you need a BZSt number and a secret BZSt code (access code).
First, though, you will have to complete an application for authorization to use the procedure and mail it directly to:

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
Department St II 9 – Withholding Tax
53221 Bonn

The BZSt will check your application for completeness and eligibility and then send you the newly generated BZSt number by e-mail and the secret BZSt code by regular mail. Use the number and code to register for the BOP (www.elsteronline.de/bportal/). You will then receive a BOP certificate. If you want to give several people the ability to e-file with your BZSt number, each one of them will have to register for the BOP separately.

Then you can use your existing access data (certificate and PIN) to log in to the BZStOnline portal (BOP). If you have any questions, please use our contact form.

Self-assessed tax returns are supposed to be e-filed. The BZSt only grants exemptions from the e-filing requirement in exceptional cases of hardship (Section 73e Sentence 5 Income Tax Implementation Regulation (EStDV)). Exemptions are only granted on request. There is no standard form for submitting a request. Please send your request to:

Bundeszentralamt für Steuern
Department St II 9 – Withholding Tax
53221 Bonn

You are classified as a bulk filers („mass reporter“) if your tax returns contain more than 999 “remuneration creditors” per quarter. For technical reasons, a tax return currently cannot contain more than 999 remuneration creditors.
Please note the following information for „mass reporters“.

Local tax offices are responsible for the following cases:

• Initial and amended self-assessed tax returns and withholding tax payments for remuneration derived before 1 January 2014, i.e. all returns for the periods up to and including the 4th quarter of 2013.
• Appeals and lawsuits for procedures wherever the underlying remuneration was derived before 1 January 2014.
• Subsequent assessment procedures for the 2013 calendar year and earlier for income that was subject to tax withholding under Section 50a (1) (1, 2 or 4) EStG (Section 50 (2) Sentence 2 (5) EStG or Section 32 (2) (2) Corporation Tax Act [KStG]).
• Subsequent assessment procedures starting with the 2014 tax period where the taxpayer derived other domestic (non-resident) income (rental income, etc.) in addition to income that is subject to tax withholding under Section 50a (1) EStG.
• Exemptions for foreign cultural associations under the Cultural Orchestra Regulation (Section 50 (4) (2) EStG).
• Cases in which tax withholding is ordered pursuant to Section 50a (7) EStG.

Natural persons are subject to limited tax liability if their domicile or habitual abode is not within the territory of Germany and they earn domestic income as defined by Section 49 Income Tax Act (EStG).

Corporations, associations of persons and conglomerations of property are also subject to limited tax liability if they do not have their management or domicile within the territory of Germany and they earn domestic income as defined by Section 49 Income Tax Act (EStG)..

Personal and corporate income tax is withheld from certain remuneration cited in Section 50a (1) EStG that is paid to non-residents. This includes, without limitation, the following income:

• Income earned for domestic artistic, athletic, entertainment or similar performances (e.g. appearance fees for talk shows or performances, professional fees, prize money) and for exploiting these performances within the territory of Germany
• Income earned from granting rights such as licenses and copyrights (film rights, music rights, patent rights, etc.) exploited within the territory of Germany as well as commercial, technical, scientific and similar experience, knowledge and skills ("know-how")
• Income from serving as a director at a domestic company

The tax is incurred as soon as the payee derives the Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration. At this point in time, payer has to withhold the tax for the account of the non-resident taxpayer (person liable for payment of the tax). The payer must pay the tax withheld during one calendar quarter to the BZSt by the tenth day of the month following the calendar quarter (Section 50a (5) Sentences 1 to 3 EStG).

According to Section 73c EStDV, the payee derives Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration at the following times:

• For payments, adjustments of credit balances, credit memos or delays in payment due to the temporary insolvency of the payer: Upon payment, adjustment of the credit balance or issuance of the credit memo.
• For advances: When the advances are paid, the associated credit balances are adjusted or the associated credit memos are issued.

A self-assessed tax return must contain the following information:

• Payee(s)
• Amount of Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration
• Amount and type of operating and work-related expenses deducted from the withholding tax base
• Amount of tax withheld

Yes. Withheld tax must be reported and paid to the BZSt by the tenth day of the month following the calendar quarter (Section 50a (5) Sentence 3 EStG), i.e. by 10 April / 10 July / 10 October / 10 January each year.

(Net) revenue is subject to tax withholding.

Revenue also includes:

• Amounts reimbursed and assumed by the payer for travel and accommodation expenses in excess of the actual costs as well as amounts paid for meal costs above and beyond the flat-rate amount for additional meal expenses under Section 4 (5) Sentence 1 (5) EStG.
• The taxes assumed by the payer under a net agreement. When the payer assumes taxes, the payee earns additional revenue that is also subject to tax withholding. The withholding tax base increases by the amount of the taxes paid by the payer.

Value-added tax does not count as revenue when it applies to taxable sales on which the purchaser or customer owes VAT.

A net agreement is an agreement in which the payer assumes or directly pays withholding tax pursuant to Section 50a (1) EStG and the solidarity surcharge.
The following link provides more information on the tax rate for net agreements:

Work-related or operating expenses can be claimed on request when calculating tax withholdings in the situations described in Section 50a (1) (1, 2, 4) EStG. If operating/work-related expenses are claimed and the payee is a natural person, the tax withholding will be 30% of the net revenue (positive difference between revenue and the work-related/operating expenses that are directly economically related to the revenue). The tax withholding is 15% for corporations, associations of persons or conglomerations of property (Section 50a (3) Sentence 4 EStG).

Work-related/operating expenses are only deductible if the payee is a citizen of an EU or EEA member state and maintains his or her domicile or habitual abode in the jurisdiction of one of these states or if the payee is a corporation whose business domicile or management is located in one of these states. The self-assessed tax return must be submitted with appropriate documentary evidence (e.g. copy of a passport or excerpt from the commercial register; certificate of residency from the foreign country’s tax administration).

Expenses can only be claimed if they have been paid by the time the tax withholding is reported. The self-assessed tax return can be amended later if additional expenses are claimed.

Please note:

For net agreements, the withholding tax for natural persons works out to 43.89% (plus 2.41% solidarity surcharge) of the positive difference between revenue and expenses; for corporations, it ends up at 17.82% (plus 0.98% solidarity surcharge).

Payees can deduct work-related/operating expenses from revenue if they are directly economically related to the revenue in the situations described in Section 50a (1) (1, 2, 4) EStG.

The deductibility of work-related or operating expenses depends on whether the expenses were borne by the payee directly or by the payer.

Payers can only reduce their tax withholding if the payee has provided documentary evidence of the operating or work-related expenses in a form that the BZSt can verify (invoice copies, paying-in slips, etc.).

These expenses must always be presented in the form of a readily understandable list that is appended to the return.

The following tax rates to apply to the revenue (tax base):

• 30% for directors’ fees (Section 50a (1) (4) EStG)
• 15% for remuneration within the meaning of Section 50a (1) (1 to 3) EStG

According to the Solidarity Surcharge Act (SolZG), a solidarity surcharge must be levied on non-residents’ Section 50a EStG tax withholdings.

Additional note:

If the tax withholding is reduced under a double taxation agreement (“residual tax”), the reduction must first be applied against the solidarity surcharge (Section 5 SolZG).

The following link contains further details and an example relating to Section 5 SolZG

The solidarity surcharge is 5.5% of the tax withholding amount.

When operating or work-related expenses are claimed, the tax withholding is 30% of the positive difference between revenue and the work-related/operating expenses that are directly economically related to the revenue; for corporations, the tax withholding is (still) 15%.

For net agreements, the withholding tax for natural persons is 43.89% (plus 2.41% solidarity surcharge) of the positive difference between revenue and expenses; for corporations, it is 17.82% (plus 0.98% solidarity surcharge).

According to Section 50a (2) Sentence 3 EStG, withholding tax is not levied on artistic, athletic, entertainment or similar performances if the revenue for each performance is EUR 250 or less. If several people are owed remuneration for a performance, this tax threshold applies to the remuneration owed to each person individually. If the payee is a non-resident corporation (soccer club, choir, symphony orchestra, artist staffing agency, etc.), the corporation is considered to have earned the income from the performance as a legal person, and so the remuneration cannot be “apportioned” to the various artists or athletes involved in the performance.

For tax threshold purposes, a "performance” is understood to refer to a single show or game. If several shows or games are performed on a single day, the tax threshold is applied to each show/game separately.

Withholding tax is not levied on artistic, athletic, entertainment or similar performances given in the territory of Germany if the revenue for each performance is EUR 250 or less. This tax threshold only applies to revenue obtained directly from performances given in the territory of Germany. It does not apply to revenue relating to the exploitation of performances (Section 50a (1) (2) EStG). It also does not apply to income generated by granting rights (Section 50a (1) (3) EStG) or serving as a director (Section 50a (1) (4) EStG).

The payee (concert organizer, licensee, etc.) has to file a self-assessed tax return with the BZSt for Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration.

Tax withheld during a calendar quarter on Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration must be paid to the BZSt by the tenth day of the month following the calendar quarter (10 January / 10 April / 10 July / 10 October). An appropriate payment reference must be provided with the payment. The payer must file a self-assessed tax return with the BZSt by the same deadline. The return must name the payee, the amount of Section 50a (1) EStG remuneration, the amount and type of operating or work-related expenses deducted from the withholding tax base and the amount of tax withheld.

Beneficiary: Bundeskasse Trier
Bank: Bundesbank Filiale Saarbrücken
IBAN: DE89 5900 0000 0059 0010 70
BIC: MARKDEF1590
Creditor identification number: DE09 ZZZ0 0000 0000 01

When making the payment, please state the cash reference number (Kassenzeichen) assigned to you, the tax type and the period.

Payers are generally required to pay the BZSt the tax they have withheld by no later than the end of the tenth day after the end of a quarter (due date) (Section 50a (5) Sentences 1 and 3 EStG in conjunction with Section 220 (1) Fiscal Code [AO]). If the due date is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline expires at the end of the next business day (Section 108 (3) Fiscal Code).

If the tax is not paid by the end of the day on which it is due, a failure-to-pay penalty of 1 percent of the rounded past-due tax amount will be owed for every whole or partial month in which the tax payment is overdue (Section 240 (1) Sentence 3 Fiscal Code).

Please note:

If the tax return is not filed by the deadline, the payer with the reporting obligation may be assessed a failure-to-file penalty under Section 152 Fiscal Code.

If there are doubts about whether payees are subject to limited or unlimited tax liability, payers may only refrain from withholding tax if the payees present a document issued by the tax office that is responsible for taxing their income certifying that the payees are subject to unlimited tax liability (cf. Section 73e Sentence 6 EStDV).

Insofar as the facts of the case have not yet materialized, it is possible to request binding information pursuant to Section 89 (2) Fiscal Code (AO). As soon as the facts of the case are realized, the debtor of the remuneration is liable for the withholding and payment of the tax (Section 50a (5) sentence 4 EStG, Section 73 g EStDV). Zur Vermeidung eines eigenen Haftungsrisikos hat der Vergütungsschuldner den Steuerabzug grundsätzlich in voller Höhe vorzunehmen, selbst wenn der Status des Vergütungsgläubigers als unbeschränkt oder beschränkt Steuerpflichtiger zweifelhaft ist oder Zweifel an der Steuerabzugsverpflichtung bestehen (Federal Ministry of Finance, 25.11.2010, IV C 3 - S 2303/09/10002, text note. 10).

Pursuant to Section 168 Fiscal Code, the tax return is equivalent to a tax assessment subject to review and can be challenged by means of an appeal (Section 347 Fiscal Code). It is therefore possible to clarify legal uncertainties within the framework of the objection procedure.

The tax is incurred as soon as the payee derives the remuneration, according to Section 50a (5) Sentence 1 EStG. The payer is required at this time to withhold tax and then, after reporting it, pay the withheld tax to the BZSt by the tenth day of the month immediately following the quarter. If transactions are reversed and payments returned (due to a failure to perform a contract, etc.), the original tax return for taxes withheld on payments to taxpayers with limited tax liability will have to be amended. It is prohibited to report negative amounts in current or future tax returns.

In addition to the general obligation to withhold, pay and report withholding tax, the payer is also required by Section 50a (5) Sentence 5 EStG to certify the following information to the payee on request on an official form:

• • Payee’s name and address
• Type of work and amount of remuneration in euros
• Day of payment
• Amount of tax withheld and paid pursuant to Section 50a (2 or 3) EStG

In the situations covered by Section 50a (3) EStG, the payer has to document the operating or work-related expenses deducted from the withholding tax base and the nationality of the non-resident payee in a format that the BZSt can verify (Section 73d EStDV).

Yes. The only time when payers do not have to withhold taxes is if they are actually in possession of the certificate of exemption at the time of payment (Section 50c (2) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG). It is not enough to merely file an application.

Please note that the payer still has to file self-assessed tax returns even if a certificate of exemption is issued (Section 50a (5) sentence 4 EStG).

The laws and regulations on withholding, paying and reporting taxes must be followed even if a double taxation agreement exempts the remuneration from tax withholding or allows a lower withholding tax rate (Section 50c (1) sentence 1 EStG).

The payer may only refrain from withholding tax on Section 50a EStG remuneration or may only apply a lower withholding tax rate if the BZSt certifies on request that all the necessary criteria have been met (exemption procedure pursuant to Section 50c (2) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG) or the exemption option pursuant to Section 50c (2) sentence 1 no. 2 EStG can be applied.

Important note:
The payer´s reporting obligation is not affected by the exemption procedure or the exemption option. That means a self-assessed tax return still has to be filed even if no tax or only a reduced amount of tax is withheld (Section 50a (5) sentence 5 EStG as well as Section 73e sentence 3 EStDV).

If remuneration is derived after the BZSt received the application for a certificate of exemption but before it actually issued the certificate – which means the payer withheld taxes per Section 50a EStG – there are two ways to obtain a refund for the withheld tax:

The payer can file an amended withholding tax return based on the issued certificate of exemption (Section 164 (2) Fiscal Code), or

the withholding tax can be refunded at the payee’s request (Section 50c (1) EStG). The application must be submitted via the BOP portal (electronic data submission).

Note: An original power of attorney (authorizing the holder to collect the refund) issued by the payee must be presented if the refund is to be sent to the payer or a third party.

If taxes are not withheld properly, the payer and the payee can be held liable by means of a formal notice of liability for taxes or an additional assessment (Section 50a (5) Sentences 4 and 5 EStG).

Non-resident artists and athletes working in the territory of Germany as employees for a domestic employer (i.e. providing dependent personal services) are not subject to tax withholding pursuant to Section 50a (1) EStG (cf. Section 50a (1) (1) end of clause EStG) but, like all other non-resident employees, are subject to wages tax withholding pursuant to Section 38 (1) EStG. If there is no domestic employer who can withhold wages tax, the foreign employer, as a payee with a nexus to the territory of Germany, is required to withhold tax pursuant to Section 50a EStG. The payer’s (employer’s) tax office is responsible for granting relief from withholding wages tax on income from employment under double taxation agreements (grants of certificates of exemption pursuant to Section 39b (6) EStG). The tax office is also responsible for deciding whether the income is from self-employment or is from regular employment and thus subject to wages tax.

Models are generally remunerated by means of a daily fee that compensates them for granting the photographer the right to use their likeness (a “buyout”) and for participating in the photo shoot (active work). Since only the amount paid for the buyout is subject to German tax withholding pursuant to Section 50a (1) EStG, the total remuneration generally has to be divided into a portion that is subject to tax withholding and a portion that is not. The portion subject to tax withholding can generally be determined based on the total remuneration, which serves as an indicator for the model’s reputation. Better-known models are paid more for the rights to their likenesses, and so more of the fee is subject to German tax withholding.

For simplification purposes, when the total remuneration amounts to EUR 5,000 or less, 20% of the daily fee is generally assumed to cover the likeness rights.

Example:

Daily fee: EUR 5,000

20% of EUR 5,000 = EUR 1,000

The likeness rights portion of the daily fee of EUR 5,000 is EUR 1,000. This portion of the fee is subject to withholding tax under Section 50a (1) (3) EStG.

When the daily fee is more than EUR 5,000 but no more than EUR 10,000, the likeness rights portion of the fee is considered to be 20% of the first EUR 5,000 and then 45% of the remaining amount above EUR 5,000 up to and including EUR 10,000.

Example:

Daily fee: EUR 7,000

20% of EUR 5,000 = EUR 1,000

45% of EUR 2,000 = EUR 900

The likeness rights portion of the daily fee of EUR 7,000 is EUR 1,900. This portion of the fee is subject to withholding tax under Section 50a (1) (3) EStG.

When the daily fee is more than EUR 10,000, the likeness rights portion is always determined on a case-by-case basis but will generally be higher than for fees under EUR 10,000 since these models are generally assumed to be relatively well-known.

For more information, see the Federal Finance Ministry memo of 9 January 2009: (Federal Tax Gazette I 2009, 362):

This refers to the Federal Finance Ministry memos of 20 July 1983, Federal Tax Gazette I 1983, 382 and 30 May 1995, Federal Tax Gazette I 1995, 336. It allows foreign cultural associations and orchestras (not consisting of soloists) not already exempted from tax withholding under a DTA to be exempted from domestic income tax in certain circumstances pursuant to Section 50 (4) (2) EStG. The local tax office, not the BZSt, is responsible for the exemption.