Missed a German annual VAT return? We can still file it.
Germany expects one annual VAT return (Umsatzsteuererklärung) per tax year, on top of your monthly or quarterly returns. If a year was never filed, it stays open, and the tax office (Finanzamt) will eventually estimate the figures for you. We prepare and file the missing years so your real numbers replace that estimate.
From €599 net per year for an annual return, or €99 net per return if what is missing is monthly or quarterly returns, where you supply the figures. There is no checkout: tell us what you are dealing with and we send you a fixed price for your case first.
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Read my letter free →What happens when an annual return is missed
Three things run in parallel, and mixing them up is what makes this expensive.
- The year stays open. An unfiled annual return does not lapse. Eventually the tax office estimates your figures itself, under § 162 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO), and that estimated assessment (Schätzbescheid) is deliberately not generous. Filing the real return displaces it.
- The objection window. An objection (Einspruch) runs one month from the date the assessment counts as delivered, and a German notice counts as delivered whether or not anyone read it. Once that window closes, the estimate can become final even though it was never accurate.
- The penalties. A late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag) and late-payment surcharges (Säumniszuschläge) are assessed separately from the tax. They do not disappear when you file, though a remission application can sometimes reduce them.
What it costs
| What | Price | What it assumes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual VAT return (Jahreserklärung), per year | from €599 net | That you give us the figures. Turnover, input VAT, the numbers from your own records. This is the same way our ongoing annual return works: you supply the figures, we prepare and file the return. |
| Monthly or quarterly return (UStVA), per return | from €99 net | If what is missing is preliminary returns rather than the annual one. One late quarter is one return, not three. Same condition: you supply the figures. |
| Working the figures out from your records | €200 / hour | If you cannot produce the numbers and we have to reconstruct them from marketplace reports, bank statements or invoices. Estimated up front, and we agree any overrun with you before continuing. |
| Application to remit penalties (Erlassantrag) | quoted per case | A separate procedure with its own reasoning. It can be refused. |
| Response to a formal hearing letter (Anhörung) | quoted per case | Deadline-driven, handled alongside the returns. |
| Reactivating a cancelled VAT number | quoted per case | Only if the Finanzamt has already deregistered you. |
Why there is no buy button. No two of these cases are the same. One year with clean figures is not the same job as four years reconstructed from Amazon settlements while an objection deadline runs. So you tell us what you are dealing with, and we send you a fixed quote for your case. You decide from there.
Being straight with you
- We file what you give us. We do not invent figures, and we do not sign off numbers we cannot see.
- A remission application can be refused. The Finanzamt decides, not us. Our fee is for doing the work properly, not for a particular answer from the tax office.
- Fees are payable up front and are not refundable.
- If your case needs more than we quoted, we tell you and agree it before we carry on. We do not run up an invoice quietly.
Tell us about your case
The more of this you can answer, the more precise the quote. If you do not know something, leave it blank and say so.
Related
- The German annual VAT return explained, what it contains and when it is due.
- Late-filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag), what § 152 AO actually says.
- Personal liability notices (Haftungsbescheid), when a director is assessed personally.
- Reactivating a deregistered VAT number, if the Finanzamt switched yours off as well.
- Send us the letter for a free plain-English read of what it says.