Module 123 min2888 wordsFree — no account
Who reports what to whom: trade office, municipality and tax office
The module’s worked examples, then cases to attempt before revealing their solution · 1 section · 205 words · 2 min
Practical case
Translator, month end and weekend
A translator living in Bonn becomes self-employed and starts work on Saturday, 31 January 2026. She wonders whether she must go to the trade office first, which tax office receives her details and by which day she must submit the questionnaire. Which body is the right one, and on which day does the period end?
Hint: First check whether translators appear in the catalogue in § 18 EStG. Then compute the one-month period through a month that lacks a day, and look at the weekday of the result.
Show the solution
Translators are among the catalogue professions of § 18(1) no. 1 EStG, so the activity is a liberal profession. Under § 138(1) sentence 3 AO the notification therefore goes directly to the residence tax office in Bonn competent under § 19 AO; no trade notification is required. The questionnaire information must be sent within one month under § 138(4) AO. 31 January is not counted (§ 187(1) BGB). There is no 31 February, so the end would fall on 28 February 2026 (§ 188(3) BGB). That is a Saturday, and § 108(3) AO moves the deadline to the end of the next working day.
Answer: Residence tax office Bonn, deadline Monday, 2 March 2026
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