Tax Registration Questionnaire for a GmbH or UG: Guide 2026

After the notary appointment your GmbH or UG is still invisible to the tax office. It becomes visible only through the tax registration questionnaire: this is how you register the company with the Finanzamt, and only then does it receive its tax number. Without that number it cannot issue compliant invoices.

Key Facts at a Glance

• Its own form version: "Gründung einer Kapitalgesellschaft" (formation of a corporation), not the standard form for the self-employed.
• Deadline: one month after starting business activity (§ 138 AO), in practice after the notarial deed.
• Do not wait for the commercial register: the pre-formation company (GmbH i. G.) is already taxable.
• Profit calculation: always balance-sheet comparison, never the simplified EÜR.
• Tax types: corporate income tax, trade tax from the first euro, VAT, plus payroll tax as soon as a director salary is paid.
• Result: your tax number in roughly 2–6 weeks, plus the VAT ID on request.
• Cost: the form itself is free; a tax advisor typically charges €300 to €600 for it.

Why capital companies file a different version

The questionnaire exists in several versions. Which one you need depends on the legal form:

The capital-company version is longer because the Finanzamt has to capture two levels: the company itself and the people behind it. Anyone filling it in with knowledge from a freelancer guide typically misses payroll tax and gets the profit estimate wrong.

For how you arrive at the legal form in the first place, see GmbH formation and UG formation. The general guide for solo founders is tax registration questionnaire.

Who files it, and by when?

The company is obliged to file, represented by its managing director. The deadline is one month after starting business activity (§ 138 AO).

The most common misconception is waiting for entry in the commercial register. That is wrong. Between the notarial deed and the register entry, the pre-formation company (GmbH i. G. or UG i. G.) exists, and it is already subject to corporate income tax. Once the entry goes through, it is treated retroactively as identical to the registered company. In practice: the moment you sign contracts, incur costs, or generate revenue, the clock is running.

Waiting also costs real money. No tax number means no compliant invoice, and invoices you have to correct later cost you time and customer trust.

The questionnaire section by section

1. Company details

Company name per the articles of association, registered office, business address, date of the notarial deed, the competent register court and, if already available, the HRB number. This is also where you set the financial year. In the vast majority of cases the calendar year is correct. A deviating financial year needs the tax office's consent and rarely pays off outside strongly seasonal businesses.

2. Shareholders and holdings

All shareholders with name, address, tax identification number, and the size of their holding. If a legal entity holds shares, for example in a holding structure, you enter the parent company with its register details. The entries must match the shareholder list the notary files with the commercial register exactly, otherwise you get follow-up questions.

3. Management

Who represents the company, individually or jointly, and is the management released from the self-dealing restriction of § 181 BGB. The important follow-up question: is there an employment contract and is a salary paid? Then your company is an employer, even if you are its only employee.

4. Business purpose and activity

Describe the actual activity, not just the broad wording from the articles. The Finanzamt derives the trade tax liability and the correct district from it. Separately: the trade registration with the Gewerbeamt is still due, the commercial register entry does not replace it.

5. Formation type and formation costs

Cash or contribution in kind, sample protocol or individual articles, new formation or conversion from an existing sole proprietorship. Enter the formation costs here as well, to the extent the articles charge them to the company: only then are they deductible at company level. Details in deducting formation costs.

6. Expected revenue and profit

The field with the biggest consequences. You estimate revenue and profit for the year of formation and the following year. From this the Finanzamt sets your prepayments on corporate income tax and trade tax.

Calculate the profit after deducting the managing director salary. This is exactly where the classic mistake happens: founders enter the expected gross profit and forget that their own salary is a business expense of the company. The result is prepayments on a profit that never existed.

This profit attracts roughly 15% corporate income tax plus 5.5% solidarity surcharge on that, plus your municipality's trade tax. Unlike sole traders, capital companies have no trade tax allowance of €24,500: they pay from the first euro of trade income.

Estimating too low means a back payment plus retroactively raised prepayments, often in the same quarter. Estimating too high ties up cash you need more urgently in year one. Both directions can be corrected informally with the Finanzamt later, as soon as the numbers develop differently.

7. Profit calculation and opening balance sheet

For capital companies the question is already answered: they are merchants by legal form under § 6 HGB and therefore required to keep books and prepare a balance sheet. The simplified income surplus calculation is not on the menu. You need an opening balance sheet as of the formation date, and double-entry bookkeeping on an ongoing basis.

8. VAT

Three decisions are due:

• Standard taxation or the small-business scheme. § 19 UStG depends on revenue, not legal form, so a UG may in principle be a small business. It rarely makes sense: you lose input VAT deduction on the notary, formation costs, hardware, and running expenses, and B2B customers reclaim VAT anyway. More on the trade-off in the small-business VAT scheme.
• Accrual or cash VAT accounting. With cash accounting you remit VAT only once your customer has paid. That protects liquidity and is available on request up to €800,000 in prior-year revenue.
• VAT ID. Tick the box straight away if you buy services from the EU or sell into it, including cloud services such as AWS or Google. Otherwise you have to apply separately later.

Your estimated VAT liability also determines the rhythm of your VAT return. Newly formed companies have generally started on a quarterly rather than monthly cycle since 2021, and this relief applies through 2026.

9. Registering as an employer

As soon as a managing director salary is paid, the company needs an employer number (Betriebsnummer) and files payroll tax returns. In the questionnaire you state the number of employees, including shareholder-directors and mini-jobbers. Payroll tax is reported monthly, quarterly, or annually depending on the amount involved. For how salary and distribution compare, see salary vs. dividend.

10. Bank details and authorizations

The company's business account, not your private one. A SEPA direct debit mandate is optional but prevents late-payment surcharges from forgotten transfers. If you work with a tax advisor, you enter the authorization to receive correspondence here.

How to file it

Electronic submission has been mandatory since 2021; paper is only available in hardship cases.

With Norman, guided and free. Norman hides the freelancer sections and shows only the fields that apply to a GmbH or UG. You answer questions about shareholders, management, share capital, and plan figures, Norman transfers them into the correct form fields and files the registration with the Finanzamt via ELSTER. You do not need your own ELSTER certificate. Details of the flow are on the tax registration for a GmbH or UG page.

Manually via ELSTER. Create an account (activation takes up to two weeks because the code arrives by post), select the "Gründung einer Kapitalgesellschaft" version under "Formulare & Leistungen", complete and submit. Expect 2–6 weeks until the tax number arrives.

Through a tax advisor. Technically the most comfortable option, and with holding structures, contributions in kind, or foreign shareholders also the most sensible one. Expect €300 to €600 for preparation. For a normal one-person GmbH, that is money you can save.

Common mistakes, and how to avoid them

• Waiting for the commercial register. The pre-formation company is already taxable, and the one-month deadline runs from the start of activity.
• Estimating profit before the director salary. Leads to prepayments on a profit that does not exist.
• Counting on the trade tax allowance. The €24,500 applies only to sole traders and partnerships, not to a GmbH or UG.
• Reflexively choosing the small-business scheme. Costs you input VAT deduction on notary and formation costs, in the most expensive year of all.
• Skipping the employer section. Paying a director salary without registering payroll tax accumulates back payments and late-payment surcharges.
• Forgetting the VAT ID. Applying separately later costs extra weeks during which you are blocked in EU trade.
• Treating trade registration as done. The commercial register entry and the trade registration are two separate procedures; both are due.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file before the commercial register entry?

Yes, if your company is already active. The pre-formation company is subject to corporate income tax from the notarial deed onwards, and the one-month deadline under § 138 AO attaches to the start of activity, not to the register entry.

What does the questionnaire cost for a GmbH?

The form itself costs nothing, neither via ELSTER nor with Norman. Costs only arise if you engage a tax advisor, typically €300 to €600.

Do I need a tax advisor for this?

No. The questionnaire is not reserved work; you may file it yourself. With holding structures, contributions in kind, conversions, or foreign shareholders, advice is nevertheless sensible.

Can a UG use the small-business VAT scheme?

In principle yes, since § 19 UStG looks at revenue rather than legal form. In practice it rarely pays off, because you lose input VAT deduction on formation and operating costs and business customers reclaim VAT anyway.

How long does the tax number take?

Usually 2 to 6 weeks after submission, depending on the tax office. Until then you cannot issue compliant invoices, so file early.

How is this different from registering as a sole trader?

The capital-company version additionally captures shareholders, management, share capital, formation costs, and the opening balance sheet. Corporate income tax replaces income tax, trade tax applies without an allowance, and the director salary brings payroll tax with it.

Can I change my profit estimate later?

Yes. An informal letter to the Finanzamt is enough to adjust the prepayments. Do it actively as soon as it becomes clear that reality differs substantially from the estimate.

Conclusion

The tax registration questionnaire is more extensive for capital companies, but it is not specialist work. Three fields decide the outcome: a profit estimate calculated after the managing director salary, a deliberate VAT choice, and employer registration as soon as a salary is paid. Get those three right and you start without surprise prepayments and without a back-payment assessment in year two.