German tax deadlines in 2026, with the weekend shifts already applied

Monthly and quarterly, due on the tenth and the twenty-fifth

Each date below is the day you must actually file or pay in 2026.

• VAT advance return and payment, by the tenth day after the period ends, under § 18 (1) sentences 1 and 4 of the VAT Act. The quarter is the default, the month applies above 9,000 euros of prior-year tax.
• Wage tax return and payment, by the tenth day after each period, under § 41a (1) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act.
• Withholding tax return and payment after a distribution, by the tenth day of the following month, under § 44 (1) sentence 5 of the Income Tax Act.
• EC sales list, by the twenty-fifth day after the reporting period ends, under § 18a (1) of the VAT Act.
• Shifted in 2026: the tenth becomes 12 January, 11 May and 12 October, and the twenty-fifth becomes 26 January, 27 April, 26 May, 27 July, 26 October and 28 December.

Prepayments: four rounds, two rhythms

• Corporate income tax with solidarity surcharge: 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December, under § 37 (1) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act through § 31 (1) sentence 1 of the Corporate Income Tax Act. All four fall on working days in 2026.
• Trade tax to the municipality: 15 February, 15 May, 15 August and 15 November under § 19 (1) sentence 1 of the Trade Tax Act. In 2026 the real dates are 16 February, 15 May, 17 August and 16 November.
• Prepayments follow the last assessment, which makes the second year of a profitable company the difficult one, because the arrears and the new prepayments arrive together.

The 2025 annual returns, and the last piece of 2024

Corporate income tax, trade tax and the annual VAT return for 2025 are due on 31 July 2026 where the company files itself, seven months after the end of the calendar year under § 149 (2) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code. That date is a Friday, so nothing shifts, and the E-Bilanz under § 5b of the Income Tax Act travels with the corporate return. With a tax adviser engaged, § 149 (3) sets the last day of February of the second following year, so 28 February 2027, a Sunday, moves it to 1 March 2027.

One 2024 date still runs through 2026: for advised taxpayers the deadline for assessment period 2024 ends on 30 April 2026, the last remnant of the pandemic extensions in Article 97 § 36 of the Introductory Act to the Fiscal Code. From assessment period 2025 onwards only the ordinary deadlines apply.

The annual accounts chain for financial year 2025

• Prepare by 31 March 2026 for medium-sized and large corporations, within the first three months under § 264 (1) sentence 3 of the Commercial Code.
• Prepare by 30 June 2026 for small corporations and micro-entities, within the first six months under § 264 (1) sentence 4 and § 267a (2).
• Adopt by 31 August 2026 for a GmbH that is not small, within the first eight months under § 42a (2) of the GmbH Act.
• Adopt by 30 November 2026 for a small GmbH or UG, where the same provision allows eleven months.
• Disclose by 31 December 2026, within one year of the balance sheet date under § 325 (1a) sentence 1 of the Commercial Code. Capital-market-oriented companies have four months under § 325 (4).
• These dates assume a financial year matching the calendar year; another year end shifts all five in step.

The permanent extension, and what it does not extend

On application the tax office extends the deadlines for transmitting VAT advance returns and for paying the advance payments by one month, under § 46 of the VAT Implementing Regulation (Umsatzsteuer-Durchführungsverordnung). Monthly filers pay a special advance payment of one eleventh of the previous year’s advance payments under § 47 (1), due by 10 February 2026 under § 48 (2), which is credited against the last period of the year rather than lost. What it does not touch is everything else: the EC sales list keeps its deadline in § 18a (1) of the VAT Act and the wage tax return keeps its own in § 41a (1) of the Income Tax Act.

What a missed date costs

For annual returns the late filing surcharge is 0.25 percent of the assessed tax reduced by prepayments and creditable deductions, for each started month, but at least 25 euros per started month, under § 152 (5) sentence 2 of the Fiscal Code, capped at 25,000 euros. Paying late is separate: 1 percent per started month under § 240 (1).

Disclosure is enforced by a different authority. The Federal Office of Justice threatens a penalty and sets a further period of six weeks; after that it is at least 2,500 and at most 25,000 euros under § 335 (1) and (3) sentence 1 of the Commercial Code. A micro-entity filing late pays 500 euros, a small corporation 1,000 euros.

How this runs in our software

The tax office section keeps the calendar per company and financial year, derives the dates from the legal form, the size class and the filing rhythm, applies the working day rule and shows what is open and what is done. The VAT advance return, the EC sales list, the annual VAT return and the withholding return come from the journal and are validated before transmission through the ELSTER portal. The dates here are for orientation and are not tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

When must the 2025 tax returns be filed?

31 July 2026 if you file yourself, the seven-month deadline of § 149 (2) sentence 1 of the Fiscal Code, and that day is a Friday so it does not shift. With a tax adviser engaged the deadline is 28 February 2027, a Sunday, so it ends on 1 March 2027.

What happens when the tenth falls on a weekend?

The deadline moves to the next working day under § 108 (3) of the Fiscal Code. In 2026 that affects 10 January, which becomes 12 January, 10 May, which becomes 11 May, and 10 October, which becomes 12 October. The 25 December EC sales list deadline moves to 28 December.

Monthly or quarterly VAT advance returns?

The calendar quarter is the default under § 18 (2) sentence 1 of the VAT Act. The calendar month applies where the tax for the previous calendar year exceeded 9,000 euros, and at no more than 2,000 euros the tax office may release you from advance returns altogether.

What does the permanent extension actually extend?

Only the transmission of the VAT advance returns and the payment of the advance payments, by one month, under § 46 of the VAT Implementing Regulation. The EC sales list and the wage tax return have their own deadlines and are unaffected.

What is the special advance payment for?

It is the price monthly filers pay for the permanent extension: one eleventh of the previous year’s total advance payments under § 47 (1) of the VAT Implementing Regulation, due by 10 February 2026. It is credited against the last period of the year rather than lost.

By when must the 2025 annual accounts be disclosed?

31 December 2026 for a calendar financial year, one year after the balance sheet date under § 325 (1a) sentence 1 of the Commercial Code, transmitted electronically to the body maintaining the Company Register.

Do these dates apply to a non-calendar financial year?

The recurring filings and the prepayment rounds do, because they follow the calendar. The accounts chain does not: preparation, adoption and disclosure run from the balance sheet date, so a year ending on 30 June shifts them by six months.

Primary sources and scope

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

• § 108 Fiscal Code (AO), working day rule
• § 152 Fiscal Code (AO), late filing surcharge
• § 240 Fiscal Code (AO), late payment penalty
• § 42a GmbH Act (GmbHG), adoption of the accounts
• § 335 Commercial Code (HGB), disclosure penalties