Advisor or self-filing
Do you need a Steuerberater in Germany? What the law requires, and what it does not
Almost every guide for foreign founders states that a German company needs a Steuerberater. No statute says so. What exists is a reserved profession with a narrow scope, an audit duty that depends on size and belongs to a different profession entirely, and one genuine disadvantage for filing yourself: a shorter deadline. This page works through the provisions one by one, then says plainly where professional advice is worth paying for.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-20
Every duty is addressed to the company, not to an adviser
Start with who the law speaks to. § 41 of the GmbH Act obliges the managing directors to ensure proper bookkeeping, § 264 (1) sentence 1 of the Commercial Code obliges the legal representatives to prepare the annual financial statements, and § 34 (1) of the Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) makes those same representatives responsible for the company's tax obligations.
The electronic filings follow the pattern. § 5b (1) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act requires the taxpayer to transmit the balance sheet and income statement in the officially prescribed data format, and § 18 (1) sentence 1 of the VAT Act addresses the entrepreneur for the VAT advance return. In neither does an adviser appear. Representation is explicitly optional, since § 80 (1) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code says a party may have itself represented by an authorised representative.
What is actually reserved, and to whom
The reservation is real but narrower than its reputation. § 5 (1) sentence 1 of the Tax Advice Act (Steuerberatungsgesetz) prohibits anyone not listed in § 3 and the related provisions from providing business assistance in tax matters, and § 3 lists tax advisers, lawyers, auditors and sworn accountants.
The decisive definition sits in § 2 (2): assistance in tax matters is any activity in the affairs of others, as soon as it requires a legal examination of the individual case. Your own company's tax affairs are not the affairs of others, so a managing director filing the company's own return assists nobody, and an employed bookkeeper works in the employer's own affairs. Where a third party is paid, the limit bites: a self-employed bookkeeper may set up charts of accounts, post ongoing business transactions, run ongoing payroll and prepare the wage tax return under § 6 (1) no. 1, and only with three years of practical accounting work behind them.
The statutory audit is a different question entirely
An audit is not an adviser's job and is not owed by every company. Under § 316 (1) sentence 1 of the Commercial Code, the annual financial statements and management report of corporations which are not small within the meaning of § 267 (1) must be audited. Small companies and micro-entities are outside the duty altogether, which covers the large majority of owner-managed GmbHs and UGs, and where it does apply the statements cannot be adopted without the audit.
The one real disadvantage: seven months instead of fourteen
This is where filing yourself genuinely costs you something. Under § 149 (2) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code, returns relating to a calendar year must be filed no later than seven months after the end of that year. For 2025 that is 31 July 2026, a Friday, which therefore does not move.
Where persons within the meaning of §§ 3 and 4 to 4d of the Tax Advice Act are engaged, § 149 (3) extends the deadline to the last day of February of the second following calendar year. For 2025 that is 28 February 2027, a Sunday, so under § 108 (3) it ends on 1 March 2027. Filing yourself therefore costs about seven months of breathing room. It can be extended under § 109 (1), and the stricter test in § 109 (2) applies only to the advised cases.
Where advice is genuinely worth the fee
- Restructurings: share exchanges, mergers and conversions, anything touching the Reorganisation Tax Act with its blocking periods.
- Setting up a holding or a tax group, where a formal agreement running at least five years commits the company before any tax result appears.
- Cross-border matters: permanent establishments, transfer pricing, withholding tax relief, double taxation treaties.
- A tax audit, an appeal or a dispute over a valuation. Software prepares and files; it does not argue your case.
- Planning decisions such as director remuneration against distribution, or losses after a change of ownership under § 8c of the Corporate Income Tax Act.
- The first year of anything unusual, because a recurring ordinary year is very different from a year with a one-off event in it.
The arrangement most small companies end up with
The realistic question is not adviser or no adviser. It is which parts of the year need professional judgement and which are simply work, and a single domestic company with clean books and no unusual transactions produces a year that is almost entirely the second kind.
That is how our software is built. Bookkeeping runs from uploaded documents, an e-mail inbox or a bank connection, with our AI proposing the account and the tax key for you to confirm. From the trial balance come the HGB annual financial statements, the disclosure with the Company Register, the E-Bilanz under § 5b of the Income Tax Act and the corporate and trade tax returns, all validated before they leave. Transmission runs through the ELSTER portal with the company's own organisation certificate. The first annual financial statements per workspace are free, and personal assistance costs 100 euros per hour after a free assessment. What the software does not do is represent you before the tax office, advise on your individual case or audit anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is a GmbH legally required to engage a tax adviser?
No. No provision of the Commercial Code, the GmbH Act or the Fiscal Code requires it. Bookkeeping is the managing directors' duty under § 41 of the GmbH Act, preparing the annual accounts is the legal representatives' duty under § 264 (1) of the Commercial Code, and § 80 (1) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code says a party may appoint a representative, not that it must.
May I file the E-Bilanz myself?
Yes. § 5b (1) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act obliges the taxpayer to transmit the content of the balance sheet and income statement in the officially prescribed data format by remote data transmission. It prescribes the format, not the sender. On application the tax office may waive electronic transmission to avoid undue hardship.
What exactly may a self-employed bookkeeper do for me?
Under § 6 (1) no. 1 of the Tax Advice Act: set up charts of accounts, post ongoing business transactions, run ongoing payroll and prepare the wage tax return, provided they have three years of practical accounting work behind them. Preparing your corporate or trade tax return is outside that list.
Does an employed bookkeeper need a licence?
No. The prohibition in § 5 of the Tax Advice Act covers business assistance in the affairs of others, and § 2 (2) defines assistance in tax matters as any activity in the affairs of others. An employee working on the employer's own books is not acting for a third party.
Do I lose anything by filing without an adviser?
One thing: about seven months of time. Self-filers must file within seven months of the end of the calendar year under § 149 (2) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code, so 31 July 2026 for 2025. With an adviser engaged the deadline for 2025 becomes 1 March 2027, because 28 February is a Sunday.
Does my company have to be audited?
Only if it is not small within the meaning of § 267 (1) of the Commercial Code. § 316 (1) sentence 1 confines the audit duty to those companies, and where it applies the statements cannot be adopted without it. Preparing the statements is still management's job.
Who is liable if something is wrong?
Management, in either model. Managing directors owe the care of a prudent businessman under § 43 of the GmbH Act, and § 69 sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code makes legal representatives liable for tax claims not met through intentional or grossly negligent breaches. This page explains statutory rules and is not tax advice.
Primary sources and scope
Authoritative references for the key claims on this page. Check the current text before making a filing or accounting decision.