Germany
November 2012
Electronic filing of accounts for German
tax purposes under the so-called “E-Bilanz”
becomes mandatory
From 2013 onwards, taxpayers who prepare financial statements must file their accounts
electronically in a specialised set format provided by the German tax authorities. The
adaptation of this new standardised format will have a huge impact on tax payers and
the tax return preparation process and is expected to be complex and demanding.
To ensure an efficient implementation of the new format, tax payers should start their
preparation for adaption early.
Background
In recent years, German taxpayers were
required to file tax returns in electronic
form, such as e.g. VAT returns and CIT
returns. This development of electronic
filing of tax returns will soon be extended to
also include the underlying documents to
(corporate) income tax returns, namely tax
balance sheets as well as profit and loss
accounts (including special balance sheets
for tax purposes).
Sect 5b German Income Tax Act (ITA)
stipulates that tax payers who prepare
financial statements have to file their
balance sheets as well as profit and loss
statement in a special format, the so-called
“E-Bilanz” (electronic financial statement).
This “E-Bilanz” is based on a special format
provided by the German Ministry of
Finance, namely the so-called “taxonomy”.
The “E-Bilanz” was tested in a pilot project
in 2011. As we were engaged in this by
various participating clients, PwC has
already had the opportunity to test the
“E-Bilanz” early in the process already.
Impact on tax payers
The obligation to file balance sheets and
profits and loss statements only in the
“E-Bilanz” format will have a huge impact
for the tax payers concerned during the tax
compliance process.
In order to comply with the requirements of
the standardised format of the “E-Bilanz”
every general ledger account of the tax payer
must be "mapped" to the taxonomy.
2
PwC
Real Estate Tax Services NewsAlert
Germany - November 2012
The mapping, though, is a one-time only
exercise and can be reused in successive
years. Amendments will be necessary to
reflect changes in the tax payer's chart of
accounts or possible updates of the official
taxonomy.
Due to the quite detailed structure of the
taxonomy, it is to be expected that the
mapping of the general ledgers will result in
a more complex and demanding preparation
compliance process than for the currently
used paper forms.
For tax payers who do not account under
German GAAP but, for instance, IFRS, the
mapping of the general ledger to the
taxonomy should generally be more labour intense since the adaptation should be more
complex than for general ledgers under
German GAAP.
If the tax payers do not prepare tax balance
sheets but file their statutory balance sheet,
the schedule of the required tax adjustments
(so-called “Überleitungsrechnung”) has to
be filed in the standardised taxonomy as
well.
Affected persons
The obligation to prepare the “E-Bilanz”
applies to all tax payers who generate profit
income (“Gewinneinkünfte”) and - either
mandatorily or voluntarily - prepare
financial statements. It applies irrespective
of the corporate form, i.e. to both
corporations as well as individuals.
Furthermore, the obligation applies to both
German tax resident tax payers as well as
foreign tax resident tax payers with limited
German income tax liability but only to the
extent they generate German sourced
business income.
For example, a foreign tax resident
corporation that owns and lets German real
estate is subject to German income tax on
this rental income. It is therefore obliged to
prepare the “E-Bilanz”, i.e. the balance
sheets as well as profit and loss statement
for this rental income. The same applies if
the foreign resident taxpayer generates
German sourced income via a German
Permanent Establishment.
Effective Date
In principle, for German resident taxpayers
the “E-Bilanz” has to be submitted for FY
starting after 31 December 2011. However,
balance sheets and profit and loss
statements submitted in paper will be
accepted for FY 2012, according to a decree
by the German Federal Ministry of Finance.
Consequently, the filing of the “E-Bilanz”
effectively becomes mandatory only for FY
starting after 31 December 2012. Tax payers
may nevertheless submit their balance
sheets as “E-Bilanz” on a voluntary basis for
FY 2012.
Non German tax residents with German
sourced business income, such as rental
income, or a German permanent
establishment are obliged to file the
“E-Bilanz” for FY starting after 31 December
2014. Voluntary submission for prior fiscal
years is possible.
Our View
Even though the “E-Bilanz” will not be
mandatory prior to FY 2013, the preparation
for implementation should start early. Due
to its complexity, the organisational and
technical implementation of the “E-Bilanz”
will be a time-consuming and demanding
process. We therefore recommend liaising
with your tax adviser the earlier the better.
It might be useful to apply the “E-Bilanz” in
FY 2012 on a voluntary basis. Early
implementation ensures that the deadline
for mandatory utilisation will be met and
should ease the compliance preparation
process for FY 2013 and after. This will also
allow you to acquaint yourself with the
details of the new regulations. Last, but not
least, you can avoid software problems with
the mapping.
As PwC were engaged in the pilot project
testing the “E-Bilanz”, we gathered insight
knowledge and experience with the
requirements, enabling us to provide an
efficient service.
3
PwC
Real Estate Tax Services NewsAlert
Germany - November 2012
For more information, please contact your
local PwC real estate tax service provider
or one of the contacts below.
Global
Nationally
Uwe Stoschek
Global Real Estate Tax Leader
+49 30 2636-5286
[email protected]
Germany
Europe and Africa
David Roach
Regional Real Estate Tax Leader
+352 49 48 48 3057
[email protected]
Uwe Stoschek
+49 30 2636-5286
[email protected]
Dr. Michael A. Müller
+49 30 2636-5572
[email protected]
Helge Dammann
+49 30 2636-5222
Middle East
[email protected]
Oliver Reichel
Regional Real Estate Tax Leader
+971 2694 6946
Dr. Hans-Ulrich Lauermann
+49 69 9585-6174
[email protected]
Sven Behrends
+49 89 5790-5887
[email protected]
Central Eastern
Europe
Glen Lonie
Regional Real Estate Tax Leader
+420 251 152 619
[email protected]
Americas
[email protected]
Marcel Mies
+49 211 981-2294
[email protected]
Alexander Lehnen
+49 40 6378-2136
[email protected]
Paul Ryan
US Real Estate Tax Leader
+1 646-471-8419
[email protected]
AsiaPacific
KK So
Regional Real Estate Tax Leader
+852 2289 3789
[email protected]
These Newsalerts are intended as general information for our clients. Concrete action should not be taken without reference to the specific sources
given or advice from your usual PwC office. The comments above do not purport to be sufficient information to take a management decision.
Parts of this publication may not be copied or otherwise disseminated without the written permission of the publisher.
© 2012 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved. "PwC" refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International
Limited (PwCIL), or, as the context requires, individual member firms of the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity and does
not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm.