Enter the amount of electricity in the tax return and calculate the electricity tax yourself
Description
The electricity tax is an excise duty levied on electricity. The electricity tax is also a self-assessment tax. This means that anyone who has to pay the tax as a tax debtor must submit a tax return to the responsible main customs office and calculate the electricity tax themselves (tax declaration).
As a rule, electricity is taken from the supply network by a final consumer for consumption. The tax is payable at the time of withdrawal (consumption). The electricity supplier must then pay the electricity tax on this electricity as the tax debtor and passes on the costs to the consumers via the electricity price in the context of the invoice.
If the electricity supplier withdraws electricity from the supply grid for self-consumption, it must also pay electricity tax.
Anyone who generates electricity for self-consumption as a self-producer must also pay the electricity tax for the self-consumed electricity. However, this only applies if there is no tax exemption for the self-generated and used electricity (for example, in the case of small photovoltaic (PV) rooftop systems or combined heat and power (CHP) systems).
You must pay the electricity tax unsolicited and on time. Otherwise, you will have to expect late payment surcharges.
You must declare the electricity tax if you are liable for tax within the meaning of the law. You are liable for tax if you
- as an electricity supplier, have supplied electricity to consumers who have withdrawn this electricity from the supply network in order to consume it, or if you
- as an electricity supplier, have withdrawn electricity from the supply network in order to consume it themselves.
- The person liable for tax is usually the supplier, who then passes on the costs to the consumers via the electricity price as part of the invoice.
- have generated electricity for self-consumption as a self-producer, and
- have consumed your self-generated electricity and
- there was no tax exemption for the electricity consumed by the company itself.
- as a final consumer, purchase electricity from an area outside the German tax territory (Federal Republic of Germany without the territory of Büsingen and without the island of Helgoland) without a contract with a German electricity supplier.
- In this case, you will have to pay the electricity tax yourself for the amounts of electricity you have withdrawn from the German supply network.
- have illegally withdrawn electricity from the supply network, i.e. without the knowledge of the grid operators and electricity suppliers.
Apart from Form 1400, no other documents are usually required. However, the person liable to pay the tax must keep records of the quantities of electricity and keep the documents proving the withdrawal and present them to a possible audit.
Depending on whether you want to register the electricity tax annually or monthly, you will have to observe different deadlines:
- In the case of annual electricity tax registration: You must submit the tax declaration by 31 May of the year following the year of tax generation (consumption). The self-calculated amount must be paid by 25 June this year.
- In the case of monthly electricity tax registration: You must submit the tax declaration by the 15th day of the month following the month of tax incurrence (consumption). The self-calculated amount must be paid by the 25th day of this month.
- If the electricity was withdrawn or passed on without permission, unlawfully or improperly: You must submit the tax declaration immediately, i.e. without culpable hesitation. The self-calculated amount is to be paid immediately.
between 1 day and 6 months
Forms: yes
Online procedure possible: no
Written form required: yes
Personal appearance required: no
To file the tax return, you must use the officially required form:
- Go to the website of the German customs and from there call up the form "Electricity tax declaration and/or declaration of tax-free electricity quantities" (Form 1400). You can fill out the form directly on the computer.
- Print out the fully completed form and, if necessary, attach the required documents.
- Sign the completed form and submit it to your responsible main customs office. The main customs office will check your tax declaration and send you a notice if your calculations were not correct or something is unclear. If your calculations are correct, no notification will usually be sent to you.
- Pay the amount calculated by yourself or stated in the tax assessment notice of the main customs office in due time.
The main customs office is responsible, from whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a company in whose district you are resident. If your company is operated from a place outside Germany or if you do not have a place of residence in Germany, the main customs office is locally responsible, in whose district you make your first tax appearance.
Federal Ministry of Finance
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
