How to switch your German VAT provider without a gap

Why sellers switch

Most switches have one of three causes: the provider stops offering the service, the price or the terms change, or returns and letters are handled too late. The first case happened at scale in 2026: Taxdoo ended its VAT compliance service on 30 April 2026, and its clients had to move their German filings to someone else. The steps below are the same whatever the reason.

What stays with your company

• The tax number and the VAT ID. They were issued to your company. A new provider does not apply for new ones.
• Your filing history. Every return already filed stays on record at the tax office. The new provider needs copies for context, not to re-file them.
• A filing extension (Dauerfristverlängerung). It was granted to your company, not to the provider. A monthly filer renews it every year together with a special prepayment (Sondervorauszahlung) due by 10 February, so make sure the new provider knows it exists.

The switch in five steps

1. Sign with the new provider. In Germany this is an engagement letter (Mandatsvereinbarung) with a tax advisory firm plus a power of attorney (Vollmacht) that lets it act for your company with the tax office.
2. Ask the old provider for your records. Request copies of the returns filed in the last twelve months, including the EC sales lists (Zusammenfassende Meldung, ZM), the latest annual return (Umsatzsteuer-Jahreserklärung) if one was filed, any open letters from the tax office, and confirmation that it has withdrawn its power of attorney. Ask on day one: a provider that is winding down can be slow to answer.
3. The new power of attorney reaches the tax office. From then on the office sends letters for your company to the new provider and accepts its filings.
4. Agree the first period. Write down which return is the old provider's last and which is the new provider's first. Every period needs exactly one owner.
5. Settle the annual return. The year you switch in has two providers and one annual return. Agree in writing who files it (see below).

The filing that gets lost: the annual return

A handover usually covers the monthly or quarterly returns (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung, UStVA) going forward. The annual return reconciles the whole year, and for the year of the switch it belongs to nobody unless one provider takes it on in writing. A year that stays open eventually draws a late-filing surcharge or an estimated assessment.

Deadlines for the 2025 annual return: filed by the company itself, it was due on 31 July 2026. Prepared by a tax advisor, it is due on 1 March 2027 (§ 149(3) AO), although the tax office can ask for it earlier.

If nobody has filed since your old provider stopped

Every monthly or quarterly return since then is overdue. The tax office can charge a late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag) on each late return. For these returns the amount is at its discretion, with no percentage in the statute and no more than €25,000 per return (§ 152 AO). If the silence lasts, it can also estimate your VAT in an estimated assessment (Schätzbescheid), usually higher than reality and enforceable. File the missing periods first, then continue month by month. If a letter has already arrived, start from the letter.

What to ask any new provider

• Who signs and files the return? You want a name and the chamber of tax advisors (Steuerberaterkammer) it belongs to.
• Is the annual return included? Ask for each plan, and for the year you switch in.
• Are letters from the tax office included? Ask where routine correspondence ends and paid work starts.
• How does the contract end? Ask for the notice period and whether it renews automatically.
• Which period is your first? Get the first return they will file named in writing, with its deadline.

How switching works with Vaytax

You sign our engagement letter and power of attorney online, upload the records you have, and we take over from the first open period. Your answers to these questions, from our pricing page:

• Standard, already registered in Germany: €1,099/year or €99/month. Every return, the EC sales list and routine tax-office correspondence are included.
• The annual return is included on the yearly plans; on the monthly plan, when the plan covers July to December of that year. A past year’s annual return can be added for €599 per tax year.
• Stock in more than one EU country (for example Amazon Pan-European FBA or Multi-Country Inventory) requires Pro: €1,799/year if you are already registered in Germany, yearly billing only.
• Missed periods are added at signup at €99 per past return.
• Ending the contract: the monthly plan can be cancelled at any time, effective at the end of the following month. Yearly plans run for twelve months and renew each year unless you cancel at least one month before the term ends.

Frequently asked questions

Will my German tax number or VAT ID change?

No. Both belong to your company. Switching is a change of power of attorney at the tax office, not a new registration.

What if my old provider is slow to send my records?

Start the request on day one. The new provider can sign you up and file the power of attorney without the full set of records; the first return is prepared from your current sales data.

Can I switch in the middle of a quarter or a year?

Yes. What matters is that every period has exactly one owner and that the annual return of the switch year is assigned to one of the two providers in writing.

Do I pay both providers for a while?

Possibly for one period, depending on the old provider’s notice terms. Check its notice period before you sign the new engagement letter.

General information on German VAT law as of October 2026. It is not advice on your case: your own contracts and the deadlines in your own letters are what count.