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German tax registration for a company under foreign law

A company incorporated under foreign law that starts doing business in Germany registers with a questionnaire of ITS OWN — not the one for a German GmbH. ELSTER makes it available where a company incorporated abroad under foreign law, which carries on an activity in Germany, is formed or acquired (for instance a Limited, SARL, BV or SA, but also a partnership or SNC). Opening a permanent establishment (Betriebstätte) must be reported to the municipality (§ 138(1) sentence 1 AO), and the further information goes electronically to the tax office (§ 138(1b) AO), within one month (§ 138(4) AO). For VAT, the competent office is not the local one but the tax office that the VAT Competence Ordinance (Umsatzsteuerzuständigkeitsverordnung, UStZustV) assigns to the country of establishment — for France and Monaco, the Offenburg tax office (§ 1(1) sentence 1 no. 6 UStZustV).

Up to date for 2024 — verified on September 23, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 60 min

Deadlines

One month after the reportable event
§ 138(4) AO for notifications under § 138(1), (1a) and (1b) — the period runs from opening the establishment or starting the activity, not from any request by the tax office
For taxpayers that are not natural persons: also one month
§ 137(2) AO — reporting the circumstances relevant to tax registration (§ 137(1) AO)
Construction or installation: from the point it lasts more than six months
§ 12 sentence 2 no. 8 AO — several projects following one another without interruption count together (letter c)

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access, ideally an ELSTER business account
  • The company's articles and register extract from its home state
  • Proof of the management's authority to represent the company
  • Foreign tax number and home-state VAT identification number
  • Address and opening date of the German permanent establishment, or details of the permanent representative
  • An estimate of German turnover and profit for the first and following year
  • Bank details and, where applicable, the power of attorney of a German tax adviser
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

  • A foreign-law company opening a permanent establishment in Germany — any fixed place of business or facility serving the business, in particular a branch, office, workshop, warehouse or purchasing or sales outlet (§ 12 AO)
  • A foreign company with a construction or installation project in Germany lasting more than six months: the project is itself a permanent establishment (§ 12 sentence 2 no. 8 AO)
  • A foreign company with a permanent representative (ständiger Vertreter) in Germany — a person who habitually conducts its business subject to its instructions, in particular by concluding or brokering contracts, or by keeping a stock of goods and delivering from it (§ 13 AO)
  • A business with its registered office or management abroad that starts a VAT-taxable activity in Germany: it must report this to the tax office competent under the VAT Competence Ordinance (§ 138(1) sentence 5 AO)
  • NOT required to report under § 138(1) sentence 5 AO: a business making in Germany EXCLUSIVELY supplies to be declared under the special schemes of §§ 18i to 18k UStG (One-Stop-Shop)
  • NOT through this questionnaire: a GmbH, UG or AG under German law (separate questionnaire for corporations), a GbR, OHG or KG under German law (separate questionnaire for partnerships) and the sole trader — what decides is the law under which the company was formed

Worked example

The fictitious Atelier Garonne SAS of Toulouse opens a warehouse in Leipzig on 1 March 2026

The company is a French SAS supplying furniture to German retailers; it rents a hall in Leipzig for 2,400 euros a month and expects some 600,000 euros of turnover there in the first year. A warehouse is expressly a permanent establishment (§ 12 sentence 2 no. 5 AO). Three things follow. First, REGISTRATION: opening the establishment must be reported to the City of Leipzig, which informs the competent tax office (§ 138(1) sentence 1 AO), and the further information goes electronically to the tax office (§ 138(1b) AO) — through the ELSTER questionnaire for a corporation under foreign law, not the GmbH one, and by 1 April 2026 (§ 138(4) AO). Second, INCOME TAXES: as the SAS has neither its registered office nor its management in Germany, it is subject to limited corporation tax liability on its German income (§ 2 no. 1 KStG), which includes business income for which a permanent establishment is maintained in Germany (§ 49(1) no. 2(a) EStG); because it maintains a permanent establishment in Germany, its business is carried on in Germany and is subject to trade tax (§ 2(1) sentences 1 and 3 GewStG). With neither management nor registered office in Germany, the competent corporation tax office is the one in whose district its assets are located (§ 20(3) AO) — here Leipzig. Third, VAT: for businesses established in France, the Offenburg tax office is competent (§ 1(1) sentence 1 no. 6 UStZustV). The SAS thus deals with two tax offices, and its management puts both into its deadline planning.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Establish what arises in Germany: a permanent establishment (§ 12 AO), a permanent representative (§ 13 AO) or only VAT-taxable supplies — the municipality, trade tax and the competent tax office all depend on it.
  2. Record the date of the event — opening the establishment, starting the activity or acquiring the company; the one-month period runs from it (§ 138(4) AO, § 137(2) AO).
  3. Report the opening of a permanent establishment to the municipality in which it is opened (§ 138(1) sentence 1 AO).
  4. Identify the VAT tax office by country of establishment: § 1(1) UStZustV assigns an office to each listed state; for states not listed, the Berlin International tax office is competent (§ 1(2) UStZustV).
  5. Identify the corporation tax office under § 20 AO: place of management, otherwise registered office, otherwise assets, otherwise where the activity is mainly carried on in Germany (subsections 1 to 4).
  6. Gather the company's incorporation documents: articles, register extract from the home state, proof of authority to represent, foreign tax number.
  7. Log in to Mein ELSTER and select the tax registration questionnaire for a corporation under foreign law (Körperschaft nach ausländischem Recht).
  8. Submit the questionnaire electronically (§ 138(1b) sentence 2 AO); only on application may the tax office waive this to avoid undue hardship, and the official paper form then applies (sentence 3).

Good to know

  • Foreign law does not automatically mean limited tax liability. Corporations with their place of management OR registered office in Germany are subject to unlimited corporation tax liability (§ 1(1) KStG). A Limited actually run from Germany is fully taxable there — the questionnaire follows the law of incorporation, tax liability follows the place of management.
  • For such a company with its registered office abroad and management in Germany, which German company law does not treat as a legal person for lack of legal capacity, § 8(1) sentence 4 KStG provides that dealings between the company and its shareholders are treated, for income taxes, as those of a company with legal capacity.
  • A permanent representative and a permanent establishment do not have the same effect. Either suffices for limited tax liability (§ 49(1) no. 2(a) EStG); trade tax, by contrast, requires a permanent establishment in Germany (§ 2(1) sentence 3 GewStG).
  • VAT and corporation tax may sit with two different tax offices: VAT with the office under the VAT Competence Ordinance, based on § 21(1) sentence 2 AO; corporation tax with the office under § 20 AO.
  • For businesses using § 18(4c) UStG, the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) is competent instead (§ 1(2a) UStZustV).
  • The assignment also covers the external, overseas and self-governing territories of the listed states (§ 1(1) sentence 2 UStZustV).
  • The corporation tax rate and trade tax are computed by the linked calculators; this guide repeats no rate.

Common mistakes

  • Using the GmbH questionnaire because a SARL resembles a GmbH. ELSTER provides a separate form for companies under foreign law; what counts is the law of incorporation, not the resemblance of the legal form.
  • Registering for VAT with the tax office where the branch is. For businesses with their registered office or management abroad, the VAT Competence Ordinance sets the office by country of establishment (§ 21(1) sentence 2 AO, § 1 UStZustV).
  • Treating a building site as irrelevant for tax because no office is opened. A construction or installation project lasting more than six months is itself a permanent establishment (§ 12 sentence 2 no. 8 AO).
  • Treating a sales agent as tax-neutral. Someone who habitually concludes or brokers contracts for the business and is subject to its instructions is a permanent representative (§ 13 AO) — and gives rise to German income (§ 49(1) no. 2(a) EStG).
  • Waiting for a request. The one-month period of § 138(4) AO runs from the reportable event.
  • Assuming foreign law always means limited tax liability. If the company is managed from Germany, it is subject to unlimited liability (§ 1(1) KStG).

Frequently asked questions

Which tax office handles VAT for a French company?

The Offenburg tax office, for businesses established in the French Republic and the Principality of Monaco (§ 1(1) sentence 1 no. 6 UStZustV). Exception: a business using § 18(4c) UStG falls to the Federal Central Tax Office (§ 1(2a) UStZustV).

And for corporation tax?

Under § 20 AO: the office of the place of management; if that is not in Germany, the office of the registered office; if that is not in Germany either, the office in whose district assets are located, and where several, the one holding the most valuable part (subsection 3); failing assets, the office in whose district the activity is mainly carried on or exploited (subsection 4).

We only sell into Germany through the One-Stop-Shop. Must we register?

The reporting duty of § 138(1) sentence 5 AO does not apply where only taxable supplies declared under the special schemes of §§ 18i to 18k UStG are made in Germany.

When does a building site become a permanent establishment?

When the individual construction or installation project, one of several running side by side, or several following one another without interruption last more than six months (§ 12 sentence 2 no. 8 AO).

Does the form also cover a foreign partnership?

The ELSTER form page lists as examples, alongside Limited, SARL, BV or SA, expressly also partnership, SNC, OG and VOF.

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.