The tax identification number, or tax ID for short, is a series of eleven digits that a person receives permanently from birth. The basic requirement for receiving a tax ID is a permanent residence within Germany.
What are the tax number and tax ID used for?
The tax number is used solely for the handling of tax matters, e.g. B. trade tax, sales tax, property tax, etc. Entrepreneurs are required to state their tax number on the invoice as soon as they do not have a sales tax identification number.
Danger!
In addition to the tax number, there are other mandatory information that must be included in an invoice.
By specifying the tax number, the tax office can be specifically asked for information on how, for example, the last income tax return was submitted.
According to etaizhou, the tax number as well as the tax ID must be stated on every tax return. Currently, both are still used to process all income tax, but it is planned that in the future it will only be the tax ID.
The tax ID is intended to facilitate the exchange of data between the different offices. The employment agency reports the amount of unemployment benefit paid to the tax office using the tax identification number. Health insurances also report deductible contributions that the taxpayer could claim when preparing his tax return via the tax ID. The reports regarding the Rürup or Riester pension are also made using the tax identification number.
Since 2016, new parents have to provide their tax identification number to the family benefits office, without the child benefit being paid out.
If you want to avoid paying capital gains tax unnecessarily, you should promptly provide the tax ID to the bank. If not, the banks tax capital gains (dividends, interest, etc.) and transfer the contributions to the tax office themselves.
Where can I find my tax ID?
- Income tax certificate : The tax ID can be found on the income tax certificate under the item Identification number.
- Income tax assessment : On the income tax assessment is the IdNr. on the left in the upper corner, directly above the tax number.
- Information letter from your tax office : The tax ID can also be found on the information letter from your tax office next to the tax number.
- Inquire online using the input form from the Federal Central Tax Office
Difference between tax number and tax identification number
The tax office assigns the tax number to legal or natural persons . The tax number is assigned directly to a taxpayer in the tax office, the reverse is not the case. If you move, get married or become self-employed, the taxpayer can have several tax numbers . This is not the case with the tax ID, you only get a tax identification number and that for a lifetime. The tax ID will be stored for up to twenty years after death.
While the tax identification number consists of a sequence of eleven digits, the new tax numbers are made up of 13 individual numbers.
The tax number is assigned by the tax office when the tax return is submitted for the first time or upon application when registering a self-employed or commercial activity and can change several times due to relocation and / or marriage. The tax identification number, on the other hand, remains the same for life. The award is made by the Federal Tax Office.
In terms of structure, the tax number (example old tax number XXX / XXX / XXXXX, example new tax number 00 FF 0 BBB UUU P) and tax identification number (example 12 345 678 912) are not in the least similar.
What can you read from the structure of the tax number?
Example :
00 FF 0 BBB UUUU P
FF shows the Federal Tax Office number
BBB indicates the district number.
In NNNN is the so-called discrimination number, while with ” P is” only a check digit.
The most important information at a glance:
- The tax number is used solely for handling tax matters
- The tax office assigns the tax number to legal or natural persons
- For entrepreneurs , the tax number on the invoice duty as soon as they have no sales tax identification number
- By relocation, marriage or independence, the taxpayer may several tax numbers have
- You can find your tax identification number on your income tax certificate, your income tax assessment, the information letter from your tax office or you can request it online from the Federal Central Tax Office
- Without depositing a tax identification number with the family benefits office, there will be no payment of the child benefit
