Switching your Steuerberater in Germany: a step-by-step guide

Good reasons to switch

Many international founders stay with an adviser who doesn't fit, because switching sounds complicated — and because finding someone new took so long the first time. These are signs it's worth it:

• You find out about missed deadlines from the tax office, not from your adviser.
• Emails go unanswered for weeks, or there's no fixed contact person.
• You can't follow what your adviser tells you, because the conversation isn't in a language you're comfortable with.
• Your business has changed — a GmbH instead of freelancing, employees, foreign shareholders, sales across the EU — and your adviser has no experience with it.
• You receive filings but no advice, although you need it.

How to switch, step by step

1. Secure your new adviser first. Many practices are at capacity, so don't give notice until someone has agreed to take you on.
2. Read your engagement letter (Mandatsvereinbarung) for notice rules and work in progress, such as annual accounts already started.
3. Plan the handover with your new adviser. They'll tell you which documents and data they need and from when they take over.
4. Give notice in writing. State the end date, ask for your documents to be returned and your accounting data to be transferred, and set a reasonable deadline. A German template is below.
5. Settle open invoices. While fees are unpaid, the old practice may be entitled to hold back documents.
6. Update the authorisation with the tax office. Your new adviser registers their power of attorney (Vollmacht); the old one should be withdrawn so letters and assessments reach the right place.
7. Hand over open deadlines. List pending returns, letters from the tax office and dates, and give the list to your new adviser.

Giving notice: what German law says

A contract with a Steuerberater is usually a service contract based on special trust. German law lets you terminate such contracts at any time, without giving a reason (§ 627 (1) BGB, German Civil Code). Your engagement letter may still contain specific rules, so check it.

You pay for work already done: the practice can charge the part of its fee that matches the work performed so far (§ 628 (1) BGB). Half-finished annual accounts are therefore usually billed proportionally — one more reason to pick your timing.

Your old adviser writes in German, so your notice can be in German too. The template below is short and neutral; replace the placeholders in square brackets.

Betreff: Kündigung des Mandats – [Firma], Steuernummer [Steuernummer]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

hiermit kündige ich das Mandat für [Firma] zum [Datum], hilfsweise zum nächstmöglichen Zeitpunkt.

Bitte geben Sie mir bis zum [Datum] die Unterlagen heraus, die Sie von mir oder für mich erhalten haben, und übertragen Sie die Buchhaltungsdaten an meine neue Kanzlei [Name der Kanzlei].

Bitte teilen Sie mir außerdem offene Fristen und laufende Vorgänge mit und senden Sie mir Ihre Schlussrechnung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Name, Funktion]

What it says: you terminate the engagement for your company on a given date, or else at the earliest possible date; you ask for your documents to be returned and your accounting data to be transferred to your new practice by a deadline; and you ask for open deadlines, ongoing matters and a final invoice. Send it in a way you can prove, for example by registered mail.

Getting your documents and data back

Your adviser must return, on request, the documents received from you or on your behalf (§ 66 (2) StBerG, the Tax Advisers Act). While fees are outstanding, they may refuse — unless that would be unreasonable (§ 66 (3) StBerG).

For digital accounting data, the Federal Chamber of Tax Advisers describes the handover in its guidance on ending an engagement (in German). If both practices use the same software, data can usually move directly between them. Ask beforehand whether there's a charge.

Your new adviser will tell you exactly what they need. Typically:

• Annual accounts (Jahresabschluss) or cash-basis accounts (EÜR) and tax returns for recent years
• Tax assessments (Steuerbescheide) and any open letters from the tax office
• Trial balance (Summen- und Saldenliste), fixed-asset register, open items
• This year's bookkeeping data
• Payroll records, if you have employees
• For a GmbH or UG: articles of association, commercial register extract, list of shareholders
• Tax numbers and VAT ID

When to switch

The cleanest cut is after a completed year: last year's accounts and returns are done, and the new adviser starts fresh. Switching mid-year works, but agree clearly who books up to which date so nothing is done twice — or not at all.

Don't wait if deadlines are being missed or your adviser has stopped responding. Then a quick switch is usually the lesser evil.

Choose the right fit this time

When you switch, you usually know exactly what was missing — experience with your legal form, your industry, international structures, or simply the language. Test for exactly that with our questions to ask a tax advisor. If English matters, read what “English-speaking” should really mean.

On GetSteuer you can say that you want to switch and describe what you need, including every language you want to work in. We only show your request to advisers whose profile fits and who are taking on new clients.