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Registering a new business with the German tax office

Notifying the trade office does not replace tax registration: within one month the tax office expects the tax registration questionnaire, filed electronically in the version for sole traders, partnerships or corporations. The second module covers what the questionnaire decides: tax number and identification numbers, the first income tax and trade tax advance payments, the VAT switches, plus reporting an electronic till under § 146a AO. Two modules with case studies worked on the statute itself.

Foundational2 modules44 minModule 1 free to read

2026 rules — verified on September 23, 2026

Figures are tied to dated, sourced tax constants. A module whose rules have changed is flagged for review, and is unpublished automatically beyond 90 days.

This content is part of the path: Setting up and registering a business· Step 3 of 10· Next step: German choice of legal form — sole trader or GmbH? Tax on the same profit

By the end of this course, you can…

These outcomes are the modules' own: the promise cannot say anything the course does not teach.

  • tell apart the trade notification to the trade office and the tax notification to the tax office as two separate duties
  • recognise whether an activity is notified through the municipality or directly to the tax office
  • choose the right tax registration questionnaire for a sole trader, a partnership or a corporation
  • work out the end of the one-month period from the reportable event, including across a weekend
  • assess what a missed notification triggers under trade law and under tax law
  • explain which numbers a new business receives and who issues each of them
  • understand why the estimate in the questionnaire sets the first income tax and trade tax advance payments
  • recognise the VAT switches in the questionnaire and know where they are covered in detail
  • report an electronic recording system on time and in full under § 146a(4) AO
  • check the basic requirements for a till's security device and receipt

The programme, module by module

Each module has its own page. Durations are derived from the actual text, never announced by hand.

  1. Module 123 minFree — no accountWho reports what to whom: trade office, municipality and tax officeWhat you will be able to do
    • tell apart the trade notification to the trade office and the tax notification to the tax office as two separate duties
    • recognise whether an activity is notified through the municipality or directly to the tax office
    • choose the right tax registration questionnaire for a sole trader, a partnership or a corporation
    • work out the end of the one-month period from the reportable event, including across a weekend
    • assess what a missed notification triggers under trade law and under tax law
    Read this module
  2. Module 221 minIncluded in the full courseWhat the questionnaire decides, and reporting the tillWhat you will be able to do
    • explain which numbers a new business receives and who issues each of them
    • understand why the estimate in the questionnaire sets the first income tax and trade tax advance payments
    • recognise the VAT switches in the questionnaire and know where they are covered in detail
    • report an electronic recording system on time and in full under § 146a(4) AO
    • check the basic requirements for a till's security device and receipt
    View the module — full course

What you take away

A handout you keep, not just a page you read. The sections are derived from the course itself: what is announced here is exactly what gets generated.

  • Participant handout (PDF)

    PDF

    • Learning objectives (2)
    • Key figures (8)
    • Mistakes to avoid (2)
    • Official sources (2)

  • Exercise workbook (Word)

    Word

    • Learning objectives (2)
    • Key figures (8)
    • Mistakes to avoid (2)
    • Official sources (2)

Answers live in a separate appendix: the participant handout and the workbook stay distributable before the exercise.

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Where this course leads

A course that leads neither to a calculator nor to a form cannot be published: this block is the visible counterpart of that rule.

Run the numbers

The linked calculators apply this course's rules to your own figures — for free.

File it

Step-by-step guides to the official forms cited in this course.

Read in German

Educational content, current with the sources cited. It does not replace advice tailored to your situation. These courses are neither certifying nor CPF-eligible: they prepare for no certification registered with the French RNCP or specific register.