Paying corporate income tax
Description
Corporate income tax is levied by the tax authorities on the income of legal entities or corporations, such as
- Joint-stock companies (AG)
- Limited liability companies (GmbH)
- cooperatives, or
- Foundations.
In principle, corporation tax arises at the end of a calendar year. The basis for the assessment is their corporate income tax return. You must submit these and the annual profit calculations electronically to the tax authorities. The free service portal "My ELSTER" is available for this purpose.
The amount of corporate income tax is 15 percent on the taxable income of a calendar year. In addition, there is a 5.5 percent solidarity surcharge. The revenues from corporation tax flow jointly to the federal and state governments. The federal government is entitled to the solidarity surcharge.
Your tax advisor can inform you whether you are obliged to file a corporate income tax return as a managing person or board member of a corporation or whether exceptions apply.
This person can also inform them of the expected amount of the tax burden. As a non-profit association, for example, you only have to pay corporation tax on income from business operations if the income exceeds EUR 45,000.
- Corporations, associations of persons and assets are subject to unlimited corporation tax if the management or registered office is located in Germany. These are, for example:
- Capital companies
- Stock corporations
- Limited liability companies
- Entrepreneurial companies
- Cooperatives
- Clubs
- Foundations
- associations, institutions, foundations and other special-purpose assets under private law without legal capacity, as well as
- Businesses of a commercial nature of legal entities under public law, such as commercial enterprises of municipalities
- Capital companies
- all income is taxable
- Management is the place where the relevant corporate decisions are made
- the registered office of the company is determined by the shareholders in the articles of association
- foreign companies only have to pay corporate income tax on their domestic income
- electronically transmitted corporate income tax return with required attachments
- Documents for determining profits, such as
- Balance
- Profit and Loss Statement
- If applicable, further declarations such as a sales tax or trade tax return
There are no costs.
If you do not receive tax advice on the preparation of the corporate income tax return:
- In principle, the corporation tax return must be submitted by 31 July of the calendar year following the tax period
If a tax consultancy prepares the corporate income tax return:
- In principle, the corporation tax return must be submitted by the last day of February of the second calendar year following the tax period
Contact the tax office.
Forms available: No
Written form required: No
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance required: No
Online services available: Yes
You must submit the corporate income tax return and related documents and attachments electronically to the responsible tax office:
- Visit "My ELSTER - Your Online Tax Office" on the Internet.
- Log in with your access data and your personal security procedure.
- Select the menu item "Corporate Income Tax" and let the program guide you through the procedure.
- After entering all the data, you can submit the corporate income tax return electronically to the responsible tax office via "My ELSTER".
- After reviewing your corporate income tax return, you will receive a notification of
- the amount of corporation tax assessed, and
- a request for payment (bank transfer or SEPA direct debit) or information about a credit withdrawal.
There are no clues or peculiarities.
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
