Tax advisor for foreign founders in Germany: what your Steuerberater must cover

Why language alone isn't the point

A German GmbH or UG has the same obligations whoever owns it: bookkeeping, annual accounts, publication, business taxes and often payroll. What an international set-up adds is the number of questions where German rules meet another country's — and that's where general practices often struggle.

The real need is rarely one thing. A realistic profile looks like this:

• English — perhaps also Japanese or Chinese — for day-to-day communication
• a GmbH or UG, so double-entry bookkeeping and annual accounts
• shareholders outside Germany
• payroll for the managing director or the first employees
• sales to customers in other EU countries, or payments to a group company abroad
• remote cooperation, because the founders aren't tied to one German city

Each item narrows the field. The combination is what makes the search hard — and it's exactly what you should screen for.

What your Steuerberater should handle

Getting registered with the tax office

Once the company starts operating, it has one month to give the tax office further details via the tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung), generally submitted electronically (§ 138 (1b) and (4) AO, the German Fiscal Code). Your answers — expected revenue and profit, VAT details — shape early tax prepayments. Many advisers complete it for you.

Ongoing compliance

Bookkeeping, VAT returns during the year, annual accounts, corporate income tax and trade tax returns, and filing the annual accounts with the company register within one year of the balance sheet date (§ 325 HGB, the Commercial Code). Filings are in German; a good adviser explains them in your language.

Where the company is managed from

A company is subject to unlimited German corporate income tax if its registered office or its place of management is in Germany (§ 1 KStG). The place of management is the centre of the company's top-level management (§ 10 AO). If key decisions are taken abroad — for example because the managing director lives in another country — another country may also claim taxing rights. An adviser with international experience raises this early.

Shareholders and related companies abroad

Dividends to foreign shareholders, shareholder loans, and services or licences between your GmbH and a related company abroad have tax consequences in Germany and in the other country. Prices between related companies must be at arm's length, and cross-border transactions with related parties can come with documentation requirements.

Payroll and the managing director

Hiring in Germany means payroll, wage tax and social security contributions. Whether a shareholder who is also managing director is subject to social security depends on their position in the company — something to clarify early.

Checklist: screening an adviser

• Admitted Steuerberater? The title is protected (§ 43 StBerG). Check the official register.
• Clients like you: How many GmbHs with foreign shareholders or managers do they advise?
• International depth: Who handles cross-border questions? Some advisers hold the chamber-awarded title Fachberater für Internationales Steuerrecht (specialist in international tax law).
• Language in practice: Is your day-to-day contact fluent in your language — not just the partner in the first meeting? Are summaries and invoices available in English?
• Remote set-up: Can onboarding, document exchange and signatures happen remotely?
• Scope and fees: What's included, and what's billed separately — tax registration, payroll, questions about foreign shareholders?
• Capacity: Can they take you on now, and who will be your contact?

More questions for the first call: questions to ask a tax advisor before you sign.

What a Steuerberater doesn't do

Forming the company — articles of association, notarisation, commercial register — runs through a notary, often with a lawyer. Residence permits are a separate matter too. Your Steuerberater should work alongside these professionals, not replace them.

How GetSteuer helps

On GetSteuer you choose every language you want to work in — independent of the language you use on our website — plus your legal form, the services you need and your situation, such as foreign shareholders, international business or import/export. We only show your request to Steuerberater who cover all the languages and services you selected and who are taking on new clients. Experience with your situation counts in their favour.

Advisers first see your request without contact details and decide whether they're interested. Up to 5 can get in touch per search. If none fits, ask us to keep looking — your answers stay saved.

Already working with someone who isn't a fit? Read switching your Steuerberater. Mainly after English? Read English-speaking Steuerberater in Germany.