This profile assumes a small company (fewer than 50 staff, up to €10 million turnover) that already employs staff, so it includes obligations tied to payroll and the workplace alongside the usual tax and reporting calendar. It also picks up EU-wide rules, such as NIS2 or the AI Act, that apply once a company reaches this size or operates in a covered sector. If your headcount or turnover is different, or you have no employees at all, a different profile will match more closely.
This page assumes a specific starting profile: small company with employees, in Germany. It's a starting point, not tailored advice - your actual obligations depend on your exact sector, turnover and how you operate.
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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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →The statutory minimum wage rises again on 1 January 2027, to €14.60 gross per hour, the second step confirmed by the same Fünfte Mindestlohnanpassungsverordnung (MiLoV5), published in the Bundesgesetzblatt on 2025-11-07. Unlike some earlier cycles, both the 2026 and 2027 steps are already fixed by regulation, not merely proposed.
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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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 →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.
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 →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 →