{"id":777,"date":"2020-05-22T15:21:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T13:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/interstellar.accountable.de\/?p=777"},"modified":"2024-02-22T17:25:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:25:14","slug":"fragebogen-zur-steuerlichen-erfassung-germany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstellar.accountable.de\/en\/blog\/fragebogen-zur-steuerlichen-erfassung-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"How to fill out the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung \u2013 tax registration as a freelancer in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In order to register your freelance business in Germany, you will need to fill out a form called the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung<\/strong> (in English: tax regulation questionnaire). This is also how you sign up for a VAT number, if you need one.<\/span> The form can be filled in online, via ELSTER or another service. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With eight pages of questions in German, it would be easy to get overwhelmed trying to answer this form. But don\u2019t panic! <\/span>On our website, you find the official online form in English! It allows you to get officially started as a freelancer. Plus, we have created this handy guide to walk you through the form in English in 3 steps.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n

Are you looking for the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung?<\/h3>\n

Ready to embark on your self-employed journey? Fill in the official Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung for free and submit it directly to the Finanzamt.<\/p>\n Register now for free<\/a>\n

\n \"badge\"\n \"badge\"\n \"badge\"\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Get the form and check a few things before you start<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Start with the easy part of opening the online form<\/a> or downloading the official government form<\/a><\/strong> (make sure to use the official form downloaded from www.formulare-bfinv.de).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following process will go much more smoothly if you already have the following things in order. Make sure you…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

…are allowed to work as a freelancer<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are not a citizen of the EU, you will need a freelance work visa in order to undertake freelance work here in Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 know if you are a Freiberufler or a Gewerbetreibender<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Germany, there is a legal difference between a freelancer (Freiberufler) and a tradesperson (Gewerbetreibender). If you are a Gewerbetreibender, you will need a special license, called a Gewerbeschein<\/a> \u2013 come back and fill in the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung once you have this license.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 have an estimate of your revenue for the next two years<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will need to give the Finanzamt an indication of how much you expect to earn in your first year as a freelancer in Germany, as well as for the following year. Note this is revenue, not income, so make some allowances for expense deductions<\/a>. Figure this out in advance and then filling out the form will be that much simpler (check out our tips on ‘pay attention to tax prepayments<\/a>‘ to avoid unpleasant surprises).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 have your German bank account details handy<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless wether you have a business bank account<\/a> or a simple personal account, this will make it easier to make bank transfers to and from the Finanzamt.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: Filling out the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s go through the form section by section. To make this a little easier, we are going to assume you are an independent, individual freelance worker. If you are something slightly different, contact us to discuss what applies to you and how we might be able to support you including advice of a registered tax consultant<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In line 1, enter the name of your local Finanzamt. Line 2 is for your Steuernummer, or tax number, if you have it \u2013 if not, submitting this form will trigger the Finanzamt to give you one. It\u2019s fine to leave this blank in the meantime. The Steuernummer is not to be confused with your Steuer ID, or tax ID number.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1: General information<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here you give your name, date of birth and address. You should already have some practice at this from when you registered your arrival in Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line 7 is for your profession \u2013 you may need to use a translator to correctly state which kind of work you plan to do as a freelancer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line 12 deals with your steuer ID number (see above) and your religious affiliation. EV stands for protestant, RK for Catholic and VD for those who have opted out of paying church tax as they are not affiliated with any religion. For other religions\u2019 codes, there is a separate document called the Ausf\u00fcllhilfe (or filling-out help), which you can also obtain at the Finanzamt.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line 13 is about your marital status. The four boxes stand for: married, widowed, divorced and separated, in that order. If any of these apply to you, state the date they occured. Then, in section 1.2, you can fill out the details of your spouse or partner.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1.3 is for your contact details.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In section 1.4, state the German name for your industry, as well as your Steuernummer if you have one.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1.5: Bank accounts<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you are happy for payments to and from the Finanzamt to come in and out of one account, fill out your bank account details in lines 27 to 29. The two boxes in line 30 are used to indicate whether you account belongs to you (box 5) or your spouse (box 14).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you would prefer to use separate personal and business bank accounts, use lines 31 to 33 to give your personal bank account details (for example, for income tax payments) and lines 35 to 37 for your business account (for things like VAT payments).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you give permission for the Finanzamt to take money directly from your account using SEPA direct debits, tick box 39. Some people find this useful as then they don\u2019t have to make manual payments.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1.6: Your tax advisor\u2019s details<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have a tax advisor, you might like to ask them to fill out this part of the form for you.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1.7 is about authorising them to receive mail from the Finanzamt on your behalf. We recommend you talk to your tax advisor about these options.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 1.8: Previous address<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you have lived at your current address for less than 12 months, enter your previous address in section 1.8.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2: Freelance business information<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Enter the name of your business in lin 66, and then enter your business address and contact details through section 2.1.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2.2 is for your business\u2019s start date.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2.3 asks whether your business has any additional branches in other districts. Select yes or no \u2013 if yes, fill out the details of the other branches.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have registered a trade, enter these details in section 2.4.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 2.5 deals with your business\u2019s registration. For the purposes of this article, we are assuming you are an individual freelancer, so you do not need to fill out this section.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, section 2.6 asks: \u201cDid you run a business, work as a freelancer, perform agricultural or silvicultural activity or own at least 1% of a corporation in the last five years?\u201d Yes or no \u2013 if yes, then fill out this section with details of your previous business.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Section 3: Income tax estimations<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Use line 111 to fill out, in this order:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n