Deadline for filing the 2025 tax return: July 31, 2026

What are the deadlines for the 2025 tax return?

Three deadlines apply for the 2025 tax year. Those who are required to file a tax return and file it themselves had until July 31, 2026: seven months after the end of the calendar year (Section 149(2) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). This deadline has passed.

Anyone who has the return prepared by a tax advisor or an equivalent authority has until the end of February of the second following year (Section 149(3) of the German Fiscal Code [AO]). February 28, 2027, is a Sunday. The deadline is therefore extended to Monday, March 1, 2027 (Section 108(3) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)).

Those who file voluntarily do not have a filing deadline, but they do have a four-year window.

Who is required to file a tax return?

The obligation exists if a tax law requires it or if the tax office requests the filing (§ 149(1) AO). For employees, § 46 of the Income Tax Act (EStG) lists the following cases: additional income exceeding €410, having two employers at the same time, wage replacement benefits exceeding €410, and a few others. Anyone who does not receive wages—such as self-employed individuals, landlords, or retirees—must file a tax return if the total amount of income exceeds the basic tax-free allowance (Section 56 of the Income Tax Implementation Regulation (EStDV)).

Details on each case can be found in the article “Tax Return: Mandatory or Voluntary.”

When is the deadline for submitting the voluntary declaration?

Those who are not required to file a tax return may submit it as a request for assessment (Section 46(2)(8) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). There is no filing deadline for this, but there is a four-year assessment period (Section 169(2) of the Tax Code (AO)). This period begins at the end of the year in which the tax liability arose (Section 170(1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). For 2025, it ends on December 31, 2029; for 2022, it ends on December 31, 2026. The return must be received by the tax office by that date. It does not have to be processed by then: If the return is filed before the deadline expires, the deadline does not expire until a final and binding decision has been made on it. Therefore, anyone who submits the return for 2025 on December 30, 2029, will not lose anything if the tax office does not issue an assessment until 2030.

What is the deadline when working with a tax advisor?

The extended deadline applies when the return is prepared by tax advisors, tax agents, or equivalent entities in accordance with Sections 3 through 4d of the Tax Advisory Act (Section 149(3) of the General Tax Code). It applies, among other things, to income tax, trade tax, and value-added tax returns, but not to the income tax return, which is filed upon request. Therefore, anyone who files voluntarily and engages an advisor for this purpose does not receive the extended deadline; nor do they need it, since the four-year deadline applies to them. Those who file their own returns are also not eligible for it.

The tax office may order an earlier filing in individual cases—for example, if previous returns were filed late or a large final payment is expected—and may also do so without cause based on a computer-generated random selection (Section 149(4) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). In such cases, a deadline of four months following notification of the order applies.

How is the deadline extended?

The tax office may extend deadlines for filing tax returns, even retroactively, if the consequences of the deadline expiring would be unreasonable (Section 109(1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). It exercises its discretion in this matter. For the deadline for tax advisors under Section 149(3) of the German Fiscal Code (AO), the grounds for an extension are more limited: it requires that a person was prevented from meeting the deadline through no fault of their own (Section 109(2) AO).

An extension also affects the late-filing penalty: If the deadline is extended under § 109 AO, the obligation to pay the late-filing penalty after 14 months is waived (§ 152(3)(1) AO). The request is submitted to the tax office. In Berlin, for example, it can be submitted informally—by mail, email, or phone.

How much is the late fee?

The surcharge amounts to 0.25% of the assessed tax for each month or portion thereof that the payment is late, with a minimum of €25 per month (Section 152(5) of the German Tax Code (AO)). For tax purposes, the amount that counts is what remains after deducting advance payments and tax withholdings; for employees, this is primarily income tax. The amount is rounded down to the nearest whole euro and is capped at €25,000 (Section 152(10) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)).

The surcharge must be assessed if the return is filed more than 14 months after the end of the tax year—for 2025, this means after February 2027 (Section 152(2) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). Prior to that, the decision rests with the tax office (Section 152(1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). For 2025, the 14-month rule applies again for the first time: For the years 2020 through 2024, special rules applied, with the deadline set at 20, 20, 19, 17, and 16 months, respectively. Anyone who is still thinking in terms of the COVID-19 years is therefore being too generous in their calculations.

Anyone who can demonstrate that the delay is excusable will not be subject to a surcharge. Any fault on the part of a representative will be attributed to you: If your advisor misses the deadline, that does not exonerate you. In cases of joint assessment, the surcharge is generally assessed against both spouses or domestic partners; they are jointly liable for it.

The surcharge is calculated only for the period up to the issuance of the first tax assessment notice. Anyone who files a return after receiving a notice of estimated tax assessment will not pay any additional surcharge for the months that follow.

A special rule applies if you are asked to file a return for the first time after the filing deadline has passed and, up until that point, you had reason to believe that you were not required to file a return. In that case, the surcharge is calculated only for the months following the deadline specified in the request.

What happens if no one makes a statement?

The obligation to file a tax return remains in effect even if the tax office estimates the taxable amounts (Section 149(1) of the German Fiscal Code (AO)). If the tax office is unable to determine them, it must estimate them, taking all circumstances into account (Section 162(1) AO). The estimate is a method of calculation for missing information, not a penalty. An objection may be filed against an assessment based on an estimate; the deadline is one month (Sections 347 and 355 of the German Fiscal Code (AO)).

In addition, the tax office may enforce the filing of the return by imposing a penalty, which may not exceed €25,000 per instance (Section 329 of the German Fiscal Code [AO]).