Monthly and quarterly filings

These recur throughout the year regardless of your legal structure, as long as the underlying obligation applies to you.

Recurring filing obligations, by frequency.
Filing Who it applies to Due date
VAT advance return (Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung) Businesses above the filing threshold, or in their first two years 10th of the following month, or later with a Dauerfristverlängerung
Payroll tax filing (Lohnsteueranmeldung) Any employer 10th of the following month
EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung) Businesses with intra-EU B2B sales 25th of the following month

See our dedicated guide to the VAT advance return for how the calculation and filing frequency actually work.

Quarterly tax prepayments

Income, corporate and trade tax are all paid mostly in advance, through quarterly prepayments based on your last assessed profit — and the two tax types run on different schedules, which is easy to miss.

Quarterly prepayment schedules.
Prepayment Who it applies to Due dates
Income tax (Einkommensteuervorauszahlung) Sole traders and Freiberufler 10 March, June, September, December
Corporate tax (Körperschaftsteuervorauszahlung) GmbH and UG 10 March, June, September, December
Trade tax (Gewerbesteuervorauszahlung) Gewerbe, GmbH and UG 15 February, May, August, November

Both amounts are estimates. If your actual profit for the year looks materially different from what the prepayments assume, you can apply to the Finanzamt to adjust future installments up or down rather than waiting for the annual return to true it up.

Annual deadlines

Annual filing and disclosure obligations.
Filing Who it applies to Typical deadline
Annual VAT return All VAT-registered businesses 31 July of the following year, later with a Steuerberater
Income tax return Sole traders and Freiberufler 31 July of the following year, later with a Steuerberater
Corporate tax return GmbH and UG 31 July of the following year, later with a Steuerberater
Trade tax return Gewerbe, GmbH and UG 31 July of the following year, later with a Steuerberater
Annual financial statements / E-Bilanz GmbH and UG Prepared after year-end, filed alongside the tax return
Bundesanzeiger publication GmbH and UG Within 12 months of the balance sheet date

For the GmbH-specific version of this list with the bookkeeping work behind each one, see our GmbH bookkeeping checklist. For what actually goes into the corporate tax return itself, see our corporate income tax return guide.

A quick reference by legal structure

  • Sole trader / Freiberufler: VAT advance returns (unless Kleinunternehmer), income tax prepayments, and an annual income tax return. No trade tax unless registered as a Gewerbe.
  • Gewerbe: everything a sole trader has, plus trade tax prepayments and an annual trade tax return once profit exceeds the municipal allowance.
  • UG and GmbH: VAT advance returns, corporate tax and trade tax prepayments on their separate schedules, annual corporate and trade tax returns, annual financial statements, and Bundesanzeiger publication.

What missing a deadline costs

Consequences differ depending on which deadline you miss.

  • Late filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag): typically starts at a modest amount per month or part-month the filing is overdue, and can scale with the tax owed.
  • Late payment surcharge (Säumniszuschlag): around 1% of the rounded-down overdue amount for each month payment is late.
  • Bundesanzeiger disclosure fine (Ordnungsgeld): a separate process from the Bundesamt für Justiz, generally starting in the low thousands of euros and repeatable until the statements are filed.

The exact figures shift with legislation, so treat these as the order of magnitude rather than fixed numbers — a Steuerberater will know the current amounts if you're already past a date.

Frequently asked questions

When are a GmbH's annual tax returns due?

Generally 31 July of the following year if you file yourself, extended automatically to the end of February of the year after that when a Steuerberater files for you. Confirm the current date each year.

What is due every month regardless of legal structure?

Payroll tax filings if you have staff, and the VAT advance return if you're above the threshold or in your first two years, apply across sole traders, Gewerbe, UG and GmbH alike.

Can quarterly tax prepayments be reduced mid-year?

Yes. If your actual profit is tracking well below the estimate the prepayments are based on, you can apply to have future installments reduced, and vice versa.

Is the Bundesanzeiger disclosure deadline a tax deadline?

No, it's a separate commercial law obligation enforced by the Bundesamt für Justiz rather than the Finanzamt, with its own independent fine process.