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Changing adviser

How to change your Steuerberater (Steuerberater kündigen): notice, documents and deadlines for a GmbH or UG

A general tax adviser contract can usually be ended at any time, without a reason, under § 627 BGB, unless your contract or a fixed monthly retainer says otherwise. The adviser must hand over your documents on request, but may hold them back for unpaid fees unless that is unreasonable (§ 66 StBerG). The biggest risk is timing: if you prepare returns yourself after the change, the deadline is seven months after year-end, not the adviser's longer deadline.

Last reviewed: 2026-11-02

First: which change are you making?

A change of arrangement is normal. Keep it factual. You will need the adviser's help for several weeks.

New adviser takes over

The long deadline stays available once the new adviser is commissioned to prepare the returns (§ 149(3) AO). The new firm normally requests the data and gives the tax office a new authority. You still sign the notice.

You take over everything

You need your own bookkeeping, statements and filing route. You lose the long deadline for returns you prepare yourself. Plan the first year-end before you give notice.

You split the work

For example, software for the books and an adviser for returns or for one question. Agree in writing who files what. A filing is easily missed when each side thinks the other is doing it.

Your adviser does not answer

Send one short written reminder with a date. Then give notice, request documents and tell the tax office. If nothing moves, the regional Steuerberaterkammer (tax adviser chamber) is the next address. A court route exists but is slow.

Giving notice (Kündigung)

  • Normal case: notice at any time, no reason needed, no form required (§ 627(1) BGB). You owe the part of the fee that matches the work done (§ 628(1) BGB).
  • Fixed monthly retainer: if it creates a lasting service relationship with fixed pay, § 627 may not apply, and the periods of § 621 BGB can apply instead. With monthly pay, that means notice by the 15th for the end of the month.
  • A single job, such as one set of statements, may be a contract for work. You can still end it, but the adviser keeps the agreed fee minus what was saved (§ 648 BGB).
  • Serious breach: notice for good cause must come within two weeks of learning the facts (§ 626(2) BGB). Take a lawyer's advice before you use this.
  • Read your contract and any fee agreement first (§ 4 StBVV). Send the notice in a way you can prove, such as Einwurf-Einschreiben, plus email.

A German letter you can adapt

Short and without reproach. Have it signed by the person who can represent the company. Change the date if your contract has a notice period.

"Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, namens der [Firma], Steuernummer [Nummer], kündigen wir den Steuerberatungsvertrag zum [Datum], vorsorglich zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt. Bitte geben Sie alle Unterlagen heraus, die Sie von der Gesellschaft oder für sie erhalten haben. Darüber hinaus bitten wir um: Summen- und Saldenliste zum [Stichtag], Buchungsstapel des laufenden Jahres im Kanzlei Software-Format, Kontenplan, Anlagenverzeichnis und offene Posten. Falls dafür eine Vergütung anfällt, teilen Sie uns diese bitte vorab mit. Bitte teilen Sie uns mit, welche Steuererklärungen und Anmeldungen für welche Zeiträume übermittelt wurden und welche Arbeiten begonnen sind. Die erteilte Vollmacht widerrufen wir."

In English: we end the tax adviser contract on [date], or as a precaution at the next possible date. Please hand over all documents you received from or for the company. We also ask for the trial balance at [date], the current year's posting batch in Kanzlei Software format, chart of accounts, fixed asset register and open items. Tell us first if there is a charge. Tell us which returns and reports were sent for which periods and which work has started. We revoke the authority we gave you.

What to ask for, and what you can demand

§ 66 StBerG separates your documents from the firm's working papers. That difference sets the tone of your request.

You can demand

Documents the adviser received from you or for you: receipts, contracts, originals, tax assessment notices (Steuerbescheid), correspondence from the tax office. The firm must keep these documents for ten years, but that storage duty ends if you ignore the firm's request to collect them for six months (§ 66(2) StBerG).

You should ask politely

Results made from your data: trial balance (Summen- und Saldenliste), journal or posting batch, chart of accounts with custom accounts, fixed asset register, open items. § 66 gives no right to a specific file format. Firms often provide them, sometimes for a time fee, so name the format and a date.

You usually cannot demand

The firm's internal working papers and its correspondence with you, or papers you already received (§ 66(2) sentence 4 StBerG). The firm's deadline calendar is internal, so check your tax office account (Steuerkonto) instead.

Which export for which goal

To start clean after a closed year: the final trial balance and last statements are enough. To change mid-year: add the posting batch since 1 January in Kanzlei Software format, plus open items and fixed assets. For a tax audit later: full journal and receipts, because your own retention duty stays (§ 147 AO: 10, 8 or 6 years).

Unpaid fees and held documents

An adviser may refuse to hand over § 66(2) documents until fees and expenses are paid, unless holding them back is unreasonable (§ 66(3) StBerG). Three steps usually solve it. Ask for a proper bill showing fee item, rule and value (§ 9 StBVV). Pay the undisputed part and name the disputed part in writing. Then ask again and name the deadline at risk.

An adviser who has started work keeps the fees already earned, even if the job ends early (§ 12(4) StBVV). Work before the agreed trial balance is billed by time at €16.50 to €41 per started quarter hour (§ 13, § 35(3) StBVV). Ask for an estimate before the final bill.

The deadline changes if you self-file

Corporate tax, trade tax, annual VAT and partnership determination returns, calendar-year companies (§ 149 AO, § 108(3) AO).

Tax year 2025

You file yourself: 31 July 2026, already passed. Adviser commissioned: 1 March 2027. Automatic late filing surcharge if not filed within 14 months after year-end (§ 152(2) AO).

Tax year 2026

You file yourself: 2 August 2027. Adviser commissioned: 29 February 2028.

If you are already past the date

If you end the mandate in November 2026 and 2025 is still open, you may already be outside the seven months for your own return. Ask for an extension under § 109 AO straight away, also retroactively, and state the reason. Or commission a new adviser for that year. Decide this before you give notice.

If you do nothing

The tax office can estimate your income (Schätzung), set a surcharge and reminders, and the filing duty still stays (§ 149(1) AO). For annual returns the surcharge is at least €25 per started month of delay (§ 152(5) AO).

Authority, letters and VAT during the change

  • Revoking the authority (Vollmacht) takes effect for the tax office only when the office receives it (§ 80(1) AO). Write to the tax office yourself, with tax number and date, and ask that notices now go to the company.
  • Until then, a notice may go to the old adviser, and the one-month appeal period runs from notification: a posted notice counts as notified on the fourth day after posting (§ 122(2), § 355(1) AO). Ask the old adviser to forward post at once.
  • Your permanent VAT extension (Dauerfristverlängerung) is granted to the company as the taxable business, not to the adviser (§ 46 UStDV), so it continues after the change. If you file monthly, you must calculate, report and pay the special prepayment yourself by the date of the first return each year (§ 48(2) UStDV).
  • Find out which VAT period was filed last, then file the next one on time: the 10th day after the period, or one month later with the extension (§ 18(1) UStG, § 46 UStDV).
  • Your own ELSTER certificate: apply before you give notice, because the activation code comes by post and the next VAT return is due anyway. See our ELSTER registration guide.
  • Payroll: if the adviser runs pay, arrange the move separately and ask for wage accounts and reports. We do not offer payroll, so you need another adviser or provider.
  • Check the bank account the tax office holds for refunds and any direct debit mandate.

Timing: clean cut or mid-year

A clean cut comes after a fully closed year: statements adopted, E-Bilanz and returns filed. Your own books then open from final figures.

Mid-year works too, but it takes more. You need all movements since 1 January, not just last year's statements. You need open items at the handover date, or your books start without receivables and payables. You also need to know the last VAT period filed. Avoid a change in the last weeks before a filing deadline.

What our software does in this change, and what it does not

You can start from your adviser's last trial balance (Saldenliste) as a Kanzlei Software export, Excel or PDF. It gives the opening figures for bookkeeping and next statements. Taking over the history from your previous system is part of the free set-up with the complete package or bookkeeping only: up to two hours of personal help per company, and a fixed-price offer first if your move needs more. Posting batches in Kanzlei Software format go through that team route unless self-service import is enabled for your company. Prices are on our pricing page.

Until now your filings probably went out under the firm's certificate. To file from our software you need your company's own ELSTER certificate (Organisationszertifikat), uploaded in the tax settings, plus its PIN at each filing. You get it through the ELSTER portal, and the activation code comes by post. Do this before you give notice. Supported returns are then sent directly from the software.

We give no advice, do not represent you before the tax office, do not write to your adviser for you, and offer no payroll. If your case has open audits, disputes, a group structure or a late year, keep or find an adviser for that part.

Frequently asked questions

How do I change my Steuerberater as a GmbH?

Check the contract, ask what has been filed, then give notice in writing, signed by a managing director. Request documents and data, revoke the authority with the tax office, and start with the new adviser or your own setup. The company gives notice, not you personally.

Can I switch tax adviser in the middle of the year?

Yes. No law fixes a date. Bring the posting batch since 1 January, open items and fixed assets, and agree who files the next VAT return. If you can wait for a closed year, the handover is simpler.

My Steuerberater is not responding. What now?

Send a short written request with a date and name your next deadline. Check your tax office account yourself. If needed, give notice, ask the tax office for an extension and contact the regional Steuerberaterkammer. It can help with professional conduct questions. It does not do your filing.

How do I get my bookkeeping data from my old Steuerberater?

Ask for the trial balance at a date, the posting batch in Kanzlei Software format, chart of accounts, fixed assets and open items. These are working results, so ask politely and accept a reasonable fee. Originals you provided can be demanded under § 66(2) StBerG.

Do I need to tell the Finanzamt that I changed?

You need not report the notice, but you do need to revoke the authority there. Otherwise notices can keep going to the old firm, and appeal periods can run without you knowing.

Does my deadline change if I leave my Steuerberater?

Yes, if you prepare the return yourself. Your deadline is then seven months after year-end, or 2 August 2027 for 2026. With a commissioned adviser it is 29 February 2028 for 2026.

Can I keep the adviser only for the annual tax return?

Yes. Many arrangements are partial. Agree the scope in writing, and tell the adviser in what form they will receive your figures. Our exports include a Kanzlei Software-format posting batch and trial balance, and the adviser can also work in our adviser environment.

Primary sources and scope

Authoritative references for the key claims on this page. Check the current text before making a filing or accounting decision.