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Apportioning the German trade tax base amount (GewSt 1 D)

Where permanent establishments for carrying on the trade have been maintained in SEVERAL MUNICIPALITIES during the collection period, the trade tax base amount is apportioned into the shares attributable to each of them (§ 28(1) sentence 1 GewStG). The taxpayer must for that purpose transmit, alongside the return assessing the base amount, an APPORTIONMENT RETURN electronically (§ 14a sentence 1 GewStG). The measure of apportionment is WAGES — the ratio of the total wages of all establishments to the wages of the establishments in each municipality (§ 29(1) no. 1 GewStG) — and in determining those ratios wages are ROUNDED DOWN to full 1 000 euros (§ 29(3) GewStG).

Up to date for 2025 — verified on October 3, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 45 min

This content is part of the path: Computing and filing trade tax· Step 10 of 10· Last step of the path

Deadlines

Together with the return assessing the trade tax base amount
§ 14a sentence 1 GewStG — in § 28 GewStG cases the apportionment return sits alongside it, it does not replace it
What counts are the wages OF THE COLLECTION PERIOD
The wages earned or paid in the establishments of the municipalities concerned during the collection period (§ 29(2) GewStG)
The general filing deadlines apply here too
Seven months after the end of the calendar year (§ 149(2) sentence 1 AO), or with an adviser to the end of February of the second following year (§ 149(3) no. 3 AO)

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • The address of each establishment and the municipality entitled to levy
  • Wages per establishment for the collection period
  • Supplements for overtime and Sunday, holiday and night work, recorded separately
  • A list of apprentices whose pay must be excluded
  • Individual remuneration above 50 000 euros, per employee
  • Bonuses and gratuities to be excluded
  • For sole traders and partnerships: the proprietors working in the business
See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Every taxpayer who maintained establishments in several municipalities during the collection period (§ 28(1) sentence 1 GewStG)
  • Also anyone with a single establishment that EXTENDS across several municipalities (§ 28(1) sentence 2 GewStG)
  • Also anyone who MOVED an establishment from one municipality to another WITHIN the collection period — the same sentence names that case expressly
  • Sole traders and partnerships in particular: 25 000 euros a year in total must be entered as wages for the proprietors working in the business, even though no salary is paid (§ 31(5) GewStG)
  • Not concerned: anyone whose establishments are all in a single municipality
  • In practice not concerned where the base amount does not exceed 10 euros: it is then assigned in full to the municipality of the place of management (§ 34(1) sentence 1 GewStG)

Worked example

Elektro Sauer e. K. runs a workshop in Aalen and a branch in Heidenheim

The trade tax base amount for 2025 is 4 900 euros. Wages of 150 000 euros are paid in Aalen, including 62 000 euros to a master craftsman; only 50 000 euros of that count, since other remuneration is left out of account to the extent it exceeds 50 000 euros for the individual employee (§ 31(4) sentence 2 GewStG). Aalen therefore comes to 150 000 − 12 000 = 138 000 euros. To that is added 25 000 euros for the proprietor working in the business: for businesses not carried on by a legal person, 25 000 euros a year in total must be entered for the proprietors working in the business (§ 31(5) GewStG). Aalen thus stands at 163 000 euros. In Heidenheim 82 600 euros are paid; in determining the ratios wages are rounded down to full 1 000 euros (§ 29(3) GewStG), so 82 000. The total is 245 000 euros. The base amount is apportioned in the ratio of the wages (§ 29(1) no. 1 GewStG): Aalen 4 900 × 163 000 / 245 000 = 3 260 euros, Heidenheim 4 900 × 82 000 / 245 000 = 1 640 euros. Each municipality then applies its own multiplier to its share — what each makes of it is worked out by the trade tax calculator; this page states no multiplier. Without the proprietor's notional wage under § 31(5) GewStG, Aalen would have carried only 138 000 of 220 000 euros and been noticeably worse off.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Establish whether apportionment applies at all: establishments in several municipalities, one establishment extending across municipalities, or a move within the collection period (§ 28(1) GewStG).
  2. Check the small-amount rule: where the base amount does not exceed 10 euros, it is assigned in full to the municipality of the place of management (§ 34(1) sentence 1 GewStG).
  3. Record, for each establishment, the wages of the collection period — what counts is the wages earned or paid there (§ 29(2) GewStG).
  4. INCLUDE the supplements for overtime and for Sunday, public holiday and night work: they count as wages regardless of their income tax treatment (§ 31(1) sentence 2 GewStG).
  5. Leave out remuneration paid to persons employed for their vocational training (§ 31(2) GewStG).
  6. Strike out profit-based one-off payments such as bonuses and gratuities, and cap other remuneration at 50 000 euros per individual employee (§ 31(4) GewStG).
  7. For a sole trader or partnership, enter 25 000 euros a year in total for the proprietors working in the business (§ 31(5) GewStG).
  8. Round only at the end: in determining the ratios, wages are rounded down to full 1 000 euros (§ 29(3) GewStG).
  9. Log in to Mein ELSTER and transmit the apportionment return (GewSt 1 D) alongside the return assessing the base amount (§ 14a sentence 1 GewStG).

Good to know

  • The proprietor's notional wage under § 31(5) GewStG is one of the few places where tax law credits a sole trader with a fictitious salary — here in their favour, since it shifts apportionment share to their own establishment.
  • Tax-free supplements still count: supplements for overtime and for Sunday, public holiday and night work count as wages REGARDLESS of their income tax treatment (§ 31(1) sentence 2 GewStG). A shift operation therefore shifts shares that are invisible in the payroll tax.
  • The 50 000 euro cap applies PER INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE, not per establishment (§ 31(4) sentence 2 GewStG). An establishment with a few highly paid staff therefore weighs less than its payroll suggests.
  • Profit-based one-off payments such as bonuses and gratuities are not entered at all (§ 31(4) sentence 1 GewStG).
  • Apprentices' pay does not count (§ 31(2) GewStG) — a training business gets no larger share for it.
  • Rounding down to full 1 000 euros happens only when the RATIOS are determined (§ 29(3) GewStG), that is, after all reductions and additions.
  • Where the place of management is abroad, a base amount of up to 10 euros is assigned to the municipality containing the economically most significant establishment to be taken into account (§ 34(1) sentence 2 GewStG).
  • For businesses operating exclusively installations generating electricity from wind or solar energy a DIFFERENT measure applies: one tenth wages, nine tenths installed capacity (§ 29(1) no. 2 GewStG).

Common mistakes

  • Treating the apportionment return as part of the base amount return. § 14a sentence 1 GewStG requires both in § 28 GewStG cases, side by side.
  • Thinking only of multiple sites. A single establishment extending across several municipalities, and a move within the collection period, also trigger apportionment (§ 28(1) sentence 2 GewStG).
  • Leaving out tax-free night and Sunday supplements. They count as wages regardless of their income tax treatment (§ 31(1) sentence 2 GewStG).
  • Forgetting the proprietor's notional wage. For businesses not carried on by a legal person, 25 000 euros a year in total must be entered for the proprietors working in the business (§ 31(5) GewStG) — omitting it costs share in your own municipality.
  • Applying the 50 000 euro cap to an establishment's total payroll. It applies per individual employee (§ 31(4) sentence 2 GewStG).
  • Counting bonuses. Profit-based one-off payments are not to be entered (§ 31(4) sentence 1 GewStG).
  • Rounding too early. Rounding down to full 1 000 euros belongs at the end, when the ratios are determined (§ 29(3) GewStG).
  • Apportioning a tiny amount. Where the base amount does not exceed 10 euros it goes entirely to the municipality of the place of management (§ 34(1) sentence 1 GewStG).

Frequently asked questions

When must I apportion?

Where establishments for carrying on the trade were maintained in several municipalities during the collection period; that also applies where an establishment extended across several municipalities or was moved from one municipality to another within a collection period (§ 28(1) GewStG).

On what measure is it apportioned?

On the ratio of the total wages of all establishments to the wages of the establishments in each municipality (§ 29(1) no. 1 GewStG). In determining those ratios, wages are rounded down to full 1 000 euros (§ 29(3) GewStG).

I am a sole trader and pay myself no salary — do I count?

Yes. For businesses not carried on by a legal person, 25 000 euros a year in total must be entered for the proprietors (co-entrepreneurs) working in the business (§ 31(5) GewStG).

Do tax-free night supplements count?

Yes. Supplements for overtime and for Sunday, public holiday and night work count as wages regardless of their income tax treatment (§ 31(1) sentence 2 GewStG).

Is there a ceiling per employee?

Yes. Profit-based one-off payments such as bonuses and gratuities are not entered, and the same applies to other remuneration to the extent it exceeds 50 000 euros for the individual employee (§ 31(4) GewStG).

What happens with a very small base amount?

Where the base amount does not exceed 10 euros, it is assigned in full to the municipality in which the place of management is located; where that is abroad, to the municipality with the economically most significant establishment to be taken into account (§ 34(1) GewStG).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.