You must submit your trade tax return to the tax office electronically in an authenticated form. This also applies to the associated
- Tax balance sheet or commercial balance sheet with reconciliation statement and
- Profit and loss account.
Authentication is carried out using the Elster certificate. This certificate has the function of an electronic signature and is used for security purposes. The certificate is intended to
- Confidentiality
- The identity of the sender and
- Immutability of the data content
of the data sent.
To obtain a certificate, you must register with My ELSTER. This requires several steps (e.g. sending the registration data, sending a confirmation e-mail by My ELSTER, sending the activation code by post). Register in good time so that you can submit your tax return on time. The My ELSTER programme is available to you free of charge for electronic submission.
The tax office calculates the tax assessment amount. This amounts to a standardised 3.5 percent of the trade income for all commercial enterprises.
In the case of natural persons and partnerships, the tax office reduces the trade income beforehand by the tax-free amount of 24,500 euros. In addition, four times the trade tax assessment amount is offset against income tax as part of a maximum amount calculation.
The tax office forwards the tax assessment amount to you and the municipality in which you have your registered office.
The municipality then multiplies the calculated tax assessment amount by an assessment rate. The result is the trade tax amount, which is determined for you with a notice. The assessment rate varies from municipality to municipality, but is at least 200 per cent.
Note: The tax office divides the tax assessment amount according to a specific distribution formula if you
- a commercial enterprise
- with several branches
- in different municipalities
in different municipalities. The trade tax is then levied in instalments by the individual municipalities. The same applies if you have relocated your business to another municipality within a year.