What a micro company with no employees must file in Germany in 2026
This profile assumes the smallest company shape: a micro business (fewer than 10 staff, up to €2 million turnover) with nobody on payroll, so duties tied to employing staff are left out. It still covers the recurring basics almost every company has - VAT and other tax returns, the annual financial report - plus EU-wide rules such as the AI Act or the Cyber Resilience Act that apply no matter how small you are. Hire your first employee, or grow past micro size, and a different profile will fit better.
This page assumes a specific starting profile: micro company with no employees, in Germany. It's a starting point, not tailored advice - your actual obligations depend on your exact sector, turnover and how you operate.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
From this date cloud and data-processing providers may no longer charge customers for switching to another provider or for exporting their data (egress). Contracts must already allow termination and migration within 30 days, and providers must offer export in machine-readable formats.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies to all machinery placed on the EU market from 20 January 2027 with no transition. It adds requirements for software safety, protection against malicious tampering, self-evolving (AI) behaviour, digital instructions, and mandatory third-party assessment for certain high-risk machinery categories.
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.
Under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 every EV battery, light means of transport battery (e-bikes, scooters) and industrial battery over 2 kWh placed on the market must carry a QR code linking to a digital battery passport with data on chemistry, carbon footprint, recycled content, performance and durability.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Micro and small companies dealing in the EUDR commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, wood and derived products) get six extra months. Small downstream traders mainly need to collect and pass on upstream due diligence reference numbers; small primary producers in low-risk countries file a simplified declaration.
Payment providers in EU countries outside the euro area must offer euro instant transfers and the free name/IBAN check (Verification of Payee) from July 2027, completing the roll-out across the EU.
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.
Annual income tax (Einkommensteuer), corporation tax (Körperschaftsteuer) and trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) returns must be filed by 31 July of the following year (§149 Abs. 2 AO) when self-prepared. If a Steuerberater (tax advisor) or Lohnsteuerhilfeverein prepares the return, the deadline extends to the last day of February of the second following year (§149 Abs. 3 AO), unless the tax office sets an earlier date under §149 Abs. 4.
General-purpose AI models that were already on the market before 2 August 2025 were given two years to catch up. From this date they must meet the same documentation, copyright and training-data-summary duties as new models.
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.