Elster (Elektronische Steuererklärung) is the system through which practically all tax filings are submitted in Germany. For most submissions the tax office today simply will not accept a paper form — and that applies to foreign companies as well.
What you file through Elster
- monthly or quarterly VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung)
- annual VAT return
- income tax return
- EC sales list for services supplied to other EU member states
Registration takes longer than you expect
Signing up to Elster is not a five-minute job. Once the registration is submitted, the tax office sends an activation code by ordinary post to the company address — which for an address abroad means a week or two. Only then do you download the certificate file that acts as your signature on every filing.
If a filing deadline is running in the meantime, the delay is counted against you, not against the postal service. That is why registration is dealt with as soon as the German tax number is issued, not when something has to be filed.
The certificate has a limited validity
The certificate is valid for three years and has to be renewed before it expires. Once it has expired, the whole activation-code process starts again from the beginning, including the wait for the post.
We can handle registration and renewal for you — including correspondence with the tax office in German and keeping track of deadlines, so an expired certificate does not catch you out on filing day.
