This calendar lists every deadline that applies to a company in Germany in 2026: national tax and reporting duties alongside EU-wide regulations - such as the AI Act, NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act - that apply across the whole EU.
Recurring obligations - monthly VAT returns, quarterly filings, annual reports - are expanded into their individual due dates for the year using the rule shown on each deadline's own page. This calendar does not shift dates that fall on a weekend or public holiday; always check the linked official source for the exact filing deadline.
Data last verified 8 September 2026. See the source cited on each deadline
The statutory minimum wage (Mindestlohn) rose from €12.82 to €13.90 gross per hour on 1 January 2026, under the Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung (MiLoV5), which implemented the Mindestlohnkommission's unanimous recommendation of 27 June 2025 and was adopted by the Federal Cabinet on 29 October 2025.
Details →Producers who place batteries (including batteries built into devices, e.g. e-bikes, tools, electronics) on the German market must be registered with Stiftung EAR. When BattDG replaced BattG, every existing registration had to be actively converted to the new system; producers who missed the 15 January 2026 deadline had their registration revoked retroactively to 1 January 2026 and faced an automatic sales ban until re-registered.
Details →| Date | Where | Regulation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Germany NIS2 (NIS2UmsuCG) | Germany: NIS2-regulated entities must register with the BSI |
Since the NIS2-Umsetzungs- und Cybersicherheitsstärkungsgesetz (NIS2UmsuCG) entered into force, 'particularly important' and 'important' entities under the rewritten BSIG (energy, transport, health, digital infrastructure, manufacturing of critical products, and other listed sectors, generally 50+ employees or >€10m turnover, some sub-sectors regardless of size) must self-assess their status and register with the BSI within 3 months, providing name/legal form, contact details, IP ranges and the relevant sectors.
Details →Directive (EU) 2023/970 required pay-transparency and gender-pay-gap-reporting rules to be in German law by 7 June 2026 (pre-interview pay ranges, a ban on asking salary history, workers' right to average pay information, and gender pay-gap reporting for 150+ staff). Germany missed this deadline; the existing 2017 Entgelttransparenzgesetz remains in force in its unreformed, weaker form (only a right to request comparative pay information in companies with 200+ staff) until a reform act is passed.
Details →Directive (EU) 2023/970 requires every employer in the EU, whatever its size, to give job applicants the initial pay or pay range for the role before the interview or in the job ad, and bans asking applicants about their pay history. Workers also get the right to ask, in writing, for their own pay level and the average pay level by sex for people doing the same or equal-value work.
Details →Until mid-2026, parcels worth up to €150 sent to EU consumers from outside the EU were exempt from customs duty (VAT has already been due on them since 2021). Council Regulation (EU) 2026/382 removed that exemption and, from 1 July 2026, applies a flat transitional duty of €3 per item to such low-value consignments, ahead of full ad-valorem tariffs once the EU Customs Data Hub is operational (targeted around mid-2028).
Details →The Cosmetic Products Regulation's list of fragrance allergens that must be individually named on the label grows from about 26 to more than 80 substances, whenever present above 0.001% in leave-on products or 0.01% in rinse-off products. New cosmetic products placed on the market from 31 July 2026 must use the expanded list; stock already on the market before that date can still be sold until 31 July 2028.
Details →Directive (EU) 2024/1799 applies nationally from 31 July 2026. Manufacturers of products with EU repairability requirements (washing machines, fridges, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, displays, phones, tablets, servers, e-bike batteries) must repair them at a reasonable price and time even outside the legal guarantee. When a consumer chooses repair under the guarantee, the guarantee is extended by 12 months. Sellers must offer repair when it is not more expensive than replacement.
Details →Users must be told when they interact with an AI system (chatbots, voice bots). AI-generated or manipulated images, audio, video and text must be marked in a machine-readable way, and deepfakes must be labelled. Since the same date national authorities can fine companies for most AI Act breaches.
Details →The Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG) — formally the Gesetz zur Anpassung des Verpackungsrechts und anderer Rechtsbereiche an die Verordnung (EU) 2025/40 — entered into force on 12 August 2026, the same day the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) itself took first effect. It replaces the previous Verpackungsgesetz (VerpackG) while keeping the existing dual-system/LUCID registration framework, and adds new extended-producer-responsibility financing rules and rising recycled-content/recycling quotas (e.g. plastics recycling quota rising to 75% by 2028).
Details →Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies directly in all Member States. Packaging must be minimised (e-commerce parcels max 40% empty space), food-contact packaging with PFAS above limits is banned, every packaging type needs a conformity assessment and technical documentation, and producers must register for extended producer responsibility in each country where they place packaged goods. Further deadlines follow (harmonised labels 2028, recycled-content minimums 2030).
Details →Manufacturers of products with digital elements (hardware and software, including SaaS-connected devices and standalone apps) must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe security incidents through ENISA's single reporting platform: early warning within 24 hours, full notification within 72 hours, final report within 14 days (vulnerabilities) or one month (incidents). It applies to products already on the market.
Details →Connected products (IoT devices, machines, vehicles, smart appliances) placed on the market from this date must be built so that the data they generate is easily, securely and free of charge accessible to the user, directly on the device where feasible. Since September 2025 users can already request their data and share it with third parties, and pre-contract information about generated data is mandatory.
Details →Directive (EU) 2024/825 amends EU consumer-protection law (the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive) to ban generic environmental claims not backed by recognised excellent environmental performance (e.g. 'climate neutral', 'eco-friendly', 'green' used without substantiation), bans claims based purely on carbon-offsetting, and requires sustainability labels to come from a certification scheme or a public authority rather than being self-created. It also bans planned-obsolescence practices and requires clearer product durability/reparability information.
Details →Employers must pay estimated total social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, long-term care insurance) for the current month by the third-to-last bank working day of that same month, and submit the Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) to the relevant Krankenkasse shortly before that. Any shortfall/surplus versus actual payroll is corrected in the following month's payment.
Details →| Date | Where | Regulation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Germany wage tax | Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung: wage tax return filing deadlineRecurring | |
| Germany | Germany VAT | Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung: VAT advance return filing deadlineRecurring | |
| Germany | Germany social insurance | Sozialversicherungsbeiträge: contribution payment and Beitragsnachweis deadlineRecurring |
Employers must electronically file the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung and pay the withheld wage tax by the 10th day after the end of the reporting period. The period is monthly by default, quarterly if the prior year's withheld wage tax was between €1,080 and €5,000, and annual if it was €1,080 or less.
Details →VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Details →Employers must pay estimated total social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, long-term care insurance) for the current month by the third-to-last bank working day of that same month, and submit the Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) to the relevant Krankenkasse shortly before that. Any shortfall/surplus versus actual payroll is corrected in the following month's payment.
Details →| Date | Where | Regulation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | Germany wage tax | Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung: wage tax return filing deadlineRecurring | |
| Germany | Germany VAT | Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung: VAT advance return filing deadlineRecurring | |
| Germany | Germany social insurance | Sozialversicherungsbeiträge: contribution payment and Beitragsnachweis deadlineRecurring |
Employers must electronically file the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung and pay the withheld wage tax by the 10th day after the end of the reporting period. The period is monthly by default, quarterly if the prior year's withheld wage tax was between €1,080 and €5,000, and annual if it was €1,080 or less.
Details →VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Details →Employers must pay estimated total social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, long-term care insurance) for the current month by the third-to-last bank working day of that same month, and submit the Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) to the relevant Krankenkasse shortly before that. Any shortfall/surplus versus actual payroll is corrected in the following month's payment.
Details →Generative AI systems that were already on the market before 2 August 2026 get until 2 December 2026 to implement machine-readable marking and detection of AI-generated output. From the same date AI systems built to generate non-consensual intimate or sexual imagery are prohibited outright.
Details →Directive (EU) 2024/2831 must be transposed by 2 December 2026. Digital labour platforms face a rebuttable presumption that their workers are employees where the platform controls the work, must be transparent about automated monitoring and decision systems, keep humans in the loop for decisions like account suspension, and may not process certain personal data (emotions, private chats).
Details →Directive (EU) 2024/2853 must be transposed by 9 December 2026 and applies to products placed on the market after that date. Software (including SaaS and AI), digital manufacturing files and related services count as products; missing security updates can make a product defective. Courts can order disclosure of evidence and presume defectiveness in complex cases. Free open-source software outside commercial activity is excluded.
Details →Employers must electronically file the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung and pay the withheld wage tax by the 10th day after the end of the reporting period. The period is monthly by default, quarterly if the prior year's withheld wage tax was between €1,080 and €5,000, and annual if it was €1,080 or less.
Details →VAT-registered businesses must electronically file their advance VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung) and pay any VAT due by the 10th day after the end of each reporting period (monthly, or quarterly for smaller businesses). A Dauerfristverlängerung (permanent one-month deadline extension) can be requested via ELSTER; monthly filers must also pay a special advance (1/11 of the prior year's VAT) to keep it.
Details →Each EU country must provide at least one certified EU Digital Identity Wallet so citizens and businesses can identify themselves, sign documents with qualified e-signatures and share verified attributes (company registration, licences) across the EU. Public administrations must accept it for online services.
Details →Employers must pay estimated total social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, long-term care insurance) for the current month by the third-to-last bank working day of that same month, and submit the Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) to the relevant Krankenkasse shortly before that. Any shortfall/surplus versus actual payroll is corrected in the following month's payment.
Details →Companies placing cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy or wood (and derived products such as furniture, paper, leather, chocolate, tyres) on the EU market or exporting them must prove the goods are deforestation-free and legally produced, with geolocation of plots, and file a due diligence statement in the EU information system.
Details →Corporations (GmbH, UG (haftungsbeschränkt), and GmbH & Co. KG) must file their annual financial statements for disclosure via the Unternehmensregister/Bundesanzeiger within 12 months of their balance-sheet date (§325 Abs. 1a HGB); for a calendar-year company that means by 31 December of the following year. Small and micro companies (Kleinstkapitalgesellschaften, §267/§267a HGB) may use reduced formats or, for micro companies, simple deposit (Hinterlegung) instead of full publication, but the 12-month deadline itself still applies.
Details →Both. It combines every national deadline for this country with EU-wide regulations - such as the AI Act or NIS2 - that apply to companies here regardless of country.
Each recurring obligation (a monthly VAT return, a quarterly filing) is expanded into its actual due date for every month, quarter or year it applies, using the recurrence rule published on its own deadline page.
Every entry links to its official source and shows a last-verified date. Dates can move, so always confirm against the official source before relying on one.
All calendars · Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, EU-wide only