Program scope according to §87c AO
Taxfix offers a web and mobile phone based application for the preparation and submission of income tax returns of natural persons in Germany (the "App"). In this process, the data relevant for the income tax return is requested from the user and converted into the format used by the tax authorities and forwarded electronically.
The App supports the following tax cases of (partially) unlimited taxable taxpayers that live in the EU/EEA at the time of filing the tax return:
- Income from employment pursuant to Section 19 (1) Nos. 1 and 1a and (2) EStG
- Income from capital assets in accordance with Section 20 EStG
- Other income within the meaning of Section 22 No. 1, No. 1a, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 EStG
- Benefits within the meaning of § 32b para. 1 no. 1 EStG
- Income-related expenses pursuant to Sections 9, 9a sentence 1 no. 1 a) and no. 3 EStG
- Special expenses in accordance with §§ 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d EStG
- Children according to §32 EStG
- Extraordinary expenses pursuant to §§ 33, 33a para. 2, 33b EStG, with the exception of maintenance expenses pursuant to § 33a para. 1 EStG
- Tax credits according to §24a EStG (due to age) §24b EStG (single parents)
- Assessment of spouses according to §26 EStG
- Foreign income within the meaning of § 32b (1) No. 2 EStG
- Starting with the 2023 tax year, income pursuant to § 21 (1) No. 1–3 EStG, provided that the property was not rented out at a reduced rate and the rental is exempt from VAT under § 4 No. 12 UStG.
- Starting with the 2024 tax year, the preparation and submission of the income tax return, the profit and loss statement (EÜR), and the trade tax return for taxpayers with income from business (§ 15 EStG) or self-employment (§ 18 EStG), provided they apply the small business regulation in accordance with § 19 UStG, operate only one business, and are not required to keep formal accounts.
The following cases are not supported by the app:
- Maintenance expenses in accordance with Section 33a (1) EStG
- Tax concessions according to §§ 10e - 10g EStG
- Income from business (§ 15 EStG) or self-employment (§ 18 EStG) are excluded if they employ staff, hold shares in partnerships, engage in specific business activities (e.g. animal breeding, livestock farming, or futures trading), report losses from investments (e.g. REITs), or have been issued a VAT identification number. The app also does not support cases where the business was sold or discontinued during the tax year.
- Types of income in accordance with §13 (agriculture and forestry) EStG and the associated regulations and forms
In addition, Taxfix offers a web-based application for preparing and filing German VAT advance returns (UStVA) for entrepreneurs pursuant to § 2 UStG in Germany (”VAT Essentials”). In doing so, the data relevant for the VAT advance return is collected from the user via self-preparer mode (user input and user documents), converted into the format used by the German tax authorities, and transmitted electronically.
VAT Essentials supports the following VAT cases that an entrepreneur carries out domestically for consideration in the course of their business:
- Sole proprietors and freelancers (entrepreneur definition pursuant to § 2 UStG) who carry out only a self-employed activity.
- VAT-liable entrepreneurs (taxable transactions pursuant to § 1 UStG in conjunction with the entrepreneur definition pursuant to § 2 UStG; distinction from § 19 UStG).
- Cash accounting / taxation on collected consideration (calculation based on collected consideration pursuant to § 20 UStG in conjunction with tax becoming chargeable pursuant to § 13 UStG).
- Domestic transactions (supplies and other services in Germany pursuant to § 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 UStG in conjunction with the place-of-supply rules pursuant to §§ 3, 3a UStG).
- Taxable supplies (19% and 7%) (VAT rates pursuant to § 12 Abs. 1 and Abs. 2 UStG).
- Intra-Community acquisition (§ 1a UStG).
- Reverse charge in Germany for services received from abroad (VAT liability of the recipient pursuant to § 13b UStG in conjunction with the B2B place-of-supply rule for services pursuant to § 3a Abs. 2 UStG).
- Domestic reverse-charge cases (catalogue cases pursuant to § 13b Abs. 2 UStG).
- B2C distance sales (goods and digital services) to other EU Member States below EUR 10,000 (threshold rule inter alia pursuant to § 3c Abs. 4 UStG in conjunction with § 3a Abs. 5 UStG; below the threshold, taxation remains in Germany).
- Input VAT deduction (§ 15 UStG).
- VAT advance return and annual VAT return (assessment procedure pursuant to § 18 UStG).
In the following scenarios, correct and complete processing by VAT Essentials is exceptionally not possible, as these cases are not part of the described scope of the program:
- Zero VAT rate for photovoltaics (0% pursuant to § 12 Abs. 3 UStG).
- Corporations (GmbH, UG, etc.) (as a taxable person generally an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 2 UStG; accounting obligations under commercial law, e.g. §§ 238 ff. HGB).
- Partnerships (GbR, OHG, etc.) (as a taxable person generally an entrepreneur within the meaning of § 2 UStG; e.g. GbR pursuant to §§ 705 ff. BGB, OHG pursuant to §§ 105 ff. HGB).
- Accrual accounting / taxation on agreed consideration (tax calculation based on agreed consideration pursuant to § 16 Abs. 1 UStG in conjunction with tax becoming chargeable pursuant to § 13 UStG).
- VAT-exempt supplies without input VAT deduction (exemptions pursuant to § 4 UStG; exclusion from input VAT deduction pursuant to § 15 Abs. 2 UStG).
- Business cessation and the related obligation to file a VAT return (§ 18 Abs. 3 UStG).
- Non-taxable transactions (distinction based on taxability pursuant to § 1 UStG and the place-of-supply/substantive rules pursuant to §§ 3, 3a UStG).
- Transfer of a going concern (§ 1 Abs. 1a UStG).
- VAT group / VAT fiscal unity (§ 2 Abs. 2 Nr. 2 UStG).
- Import: importation of goods from outside the EU (importation pursuant to § 1 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 UStG; import VAT pursuant to § 21 UStG).
- Export: export supply to a non-EU country (exemption pursuant to § 4 Nr. 1 Buchst. a UStG in conjunction with § 6 UStG).
- Complex allocation of input VAT for mixed supplies (input VAT allocation pursuant to § 15 Abs. 4 UStG in conjunction with the input VAT exclusion pursuant to § 15 Abs. 2 UStG).
- Supply or acquisition of new vehicles (§§ 1b, 2a UStG).
- Deemed supplies / supplies without consideration (UWA) (§ 3 Abs. 1b UStG and § 3 Abs. 9a UStG).
- Incorrect VAT statement / wrongful VAT disclosure (§ 14c UStG).
- Certain goods (input VAT restrictions / link to exemptions pursuant to § 15 Abs. 3 UStG in conjunction with § 4b UStG).
- Input VAT adjustment (§ 15a UStG).
- Recapitulative statement (ZM) (§ 18a UStG).
- Intra-Community supply (§ 4 Nr. 1 Buchst. b UStG in conjunction with § 6a UStG).
- Consignment stock / call-off stock simplification (§ 6b UStG).
- Cross-border reverse charge (B2B services) for outgoing invoices (non-taxable if the place of supply is abroad; B2B place-of-supply for services pursuant to § 3a Abs. 2 UStG; possible relevance for ZM pursuant to § 18a UStG).
- Adjustment of the taxable amount (§ 17 UStG).
- E-commerce platforms (Amazon, Etsy, Shopify) (marketplace/interface rules inter alia pursuant to § 3 Abs. 3a UStG; operator liability pursuant to § 25e UStG).
- B2C distance sales to other EU Member States above EUR 10,000 (place of supply for distance sales pursuant to § 3c UStG; generally destination principle; OSS reference pursuant to § 18j UStG).
- OSS scheme (§ 18j UStG).
- IOSS scheme (§ 18k UStG).
- Small business scheme (§ 19 UStG).
- Flat-rate schemes (§ 23a UStG in conjunction with § 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 9 KStG).
- Agriculture and forestry (flat-rate taxation scheme) (§ 24 UStG).
- Margin scheme (§ 25a UStG).
- Triangulation transactions (§ 25b UStG).
- Investment gold (§ 25c UStG).