Submitting Multiple Tax Returns at Once: Reasons and Tips

This is distinct from the voluntary submission of income tax returns. This may affect, for example, founders who were not required to file a tax return before commencing their self-employed activity. For voluntary tax returns, the legislature allows a longer filing period of four years after the end of the relevant tax year. Ask the Guhr Steuerberatung whether filing retrospectively is worthwhile in your case!

In this article, we address both questions. We also look at the simultaneous submission of different types of tax return.

As a freelancer or trader, you are required at a minimum to complete an annual income tax return. The following returns may also be required:

• VAT return
• Trade tax return
• Corporation tax return

For all tax returns, the legislature sets a deadline of 31 July of the following year. Where a tax adviser takes on these administrative tasks, an extended filing deadline applies until the end of February of the year after that.

If you miss these deadlines, your tax authority will as a rule send you a reminder, followed by letters threatening or imposing a penalty payment. In cases of significant delay, taxpayers may find themselves in the situation of having to submit an overdue tax return at the same time as the current one. Any outstanding tax returns requested by the tax office can be submitted at any time.

Business owners are obliged to submit one or more tax returns, such as an income tax return and a VAT return. The position is different, for example, for many employees: for them, filing a tax return is optional.

The tax office accepts such voluntary tax returns up to four years after the end of the tax year in question. This may also be of interest to you as a business owner if you were previously in salaried employment subject to social insurance contributions, or if for other reasons you were not required to file a tax return before setting up your business.

Where applicable, submit your tax returns in one go. Up to the cut-off date of 31 December 2023, for example, you can file returns for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Your Guhr Steuerberatung will calculate in detail whether this is worthwhile for you!

Submitting multiple tax returns simultaneously via Elster is straightforward. You are not required to observe any particular chronological order: you can, for example, submit the return for the previous year before that for the year before it.

If you work with a tax consultancy, your tax experts will handle this task for you. In that case, you also benefit from extended filing deadlines: engaging a tax adviser extends the deadline by seven months.

Many business owners are required to file several tax returns for different types of tax. Typical combinations include:

• Income tax and VAT
• Income tax, VAT, and trade tax
• Corporation tax, VAT, and trade tax

Before starting a business, find out which tax returns you will be required to complete. Tax advisers can answer all your questions on this subject. With regard to trade tax in particular, you should have it checked each year whether you are obliged to file a return. For sole traders and partnerships carrying on a trade, the legislature provides an annual allowance of 24,500 euros: you only need to prepare a trade tax return if your trading income exceeds this figure.

With the support of tax advisers, you can conscientiously fulfil your duty to cooperate with the tax office. A tax consultancy will complete all your tax returns and ensure that you take full advantage of every opportunity to reduce your tax burden. This assistance is particularly important when you need to submit returns retrospectively. The same applies when you are required to prepare returns for multiple types of tax each year. Guhr Steuerberatung relieves you of this administrative burden, allowing you to concentrate on your core business!