030 555 721 370
anfrage@guhr-steuerberatung.de
Auerstr. 14, 10249 Berlin
Industry · Architects & Engineers
Tax advisory for architects & engineers who plan instead of react.
We are the tax advisors for owners of architecture, engineering and planning firms as well as expert surveyors. We handle your bookkeeping and annual accounts reliably – but we also secure your freelancer status, value your work in progress correctly and reduce your tax burden. Nationwide, digital and personal.
Nationwide · 100% digital- Specialised in architects & engineers
- Personal point of contact
Sound familiar?
Problems that firm owners know all too well.
We speak with owners of architecture and engineering firms every day. This is what we hear again and again:
Your profit hinges on the reporting date – not on cash flow.
Long-running projects, HOAI service phases (the German fee schedule for architects and engineers) and interim invoices distort the picture. Your monthly report shows losses even though the firm is busy – because work in progress is missing.
Trade-tax contamination creeps in unnoticed.
A property-developer share, an executing service or a non-professional partner – and suddenly § 15 (3) no. 1 EStG (German Income Tax Act) 'contaminates' the entire firm. From then on every euro becomes subject to trade tax.
You pay too much tax.
No one shows you the levers: the research allowance (Forschungszulage) for your engineering work, the investment deduction (IAB) and special depreciation for CAD and surveying equipment, the right managing-director salary, provisions for warranty risk.
Fear of the next back payment.
As soon as a large project is billed, the profit lands in full – and with it high back payments and advance payments, while the fee has long since been tied up in new projects.
Your tax advisor doesn't understand the HOAI.
Service phases, partial acceptances, interim invoices, supplements, valuation of half-finished planning work – you first have to explain to your advisor how a planning firm even bills.
Liability and warranty are unresolved for tax.
Planning errors, recourse risk and professional indemnity run without proper provisions. In the worst case the risk hits you twice – legally and fiscally.
What changes for you
More clarity. Fewer taxes. More time for your projects.
We are not a classic tax firm. We deliver what you as a firm owner really need – results, not just ring binders.
Crystal-clear numbers – despite project work.
A live P&L with valued work in progress and a liquidity view across all HOAI phases. You see the real firm margin, not just the bank balance at month-end.
Freelancer status secured.
We continuously check that § 18 EStG (freelance profession) holds and keep trade-tax contamination at bay. Your firm stays exempt from trade tax – documented in a legally sound way.
Noticeably lower tax burden.
Research allowance, investment deduction (IAB), special depreciation, provisions and the right managing-director salary – we check every lever proactively, not just in April.
No surprises from the tax office.
We plan your tax across the project lifetime and smooth advance payments. You know months earlier what a billed major project will cost you.
Time that flows into planning.
Receipts via app, banking automated, incoming invoices from sub-planners booked directly. No more evenings spent on interim-invoice bookkeeping.
Structures that scale with you.
From the professional partnership (PartG) to the office-sharing arrangement to succession – we build the structure that fits your firm and carries the handover to the next generation.
Personally from Karsten Guhr
A planning firm rarely fails for lack of commissions. It fails because of a balance sheet that doesn't reflect project work, an unnoticed trade-tax contamination and a tax burden no one planned for across the project lifetime. That is exactly where we come in: we value your work in progress correctly, secure your freelancer status and give you the clarity to run your firm strategically – instead of just reacting.
We know your business
We speak planning-firm language.
HOAI service phases, interim invoices, work in progress, freelancer status, research allowance, professional indemnity – we know how an architecture and engineering firm ticks. So you waste no time explaining your business model.
- 01
Freelance § 18 vs. commercial trade
Your listed profession (Katalogberuf) properly justified and documented – so your firm doesn't slip unintentionally into trade tax and chamber-of-commerce obligations.
- 02
Trade-tax contamination § 15 (3) no. 1
Executing services, property-developer shares or non-professional partners shielded – if necessary via a separate entity – so the contamination doesn't capture the whole firm.
- 03
HOAI interim invoices & revenue recognition
Interim invoices, partial acceptances and VAT on long-running projects cleanly delineated – margin and profit allocated to the correct year.
- 04
Valuing work in progress
Half-finished planning services capitalised and valued correctly at the balance-sheet date – so no phantom losses arise and no audit challenges follow.
- 05
PartG, PartGmbB & office-sharing
The right legal form for liability, tax and succession – from the PartG with limited professional liability to a pure cost-sharing arrangement.
- 06
Research allowance for engineering
In-house development, structural or building-services innovation, prototyping – up to €1m allowance per year. Many firms don't know they qualify.
- 07
IAB & special depreciation
CAD workstations, surveying and drone technology, plotters and office equipment – planned investments deducted in advance and depreciated on an accelerated basis.
- 08
Liability, warranty & provisions
Warranty and recourse risks provisioned correctly, professional indemnity handled cleanly for tax – lowering profit in exactly the right year.
Industry benchmarks
We know the returns in your field. And get more out for you.
We look after more than 50 planning firms in Germany and see real balance sheets every month – not reference projects. We know what firm return is typical in your discipline, where you should be and which tax levers pull your after-tax result upward.
Typical EBIT / firm-return range
- 8 – 15 %Architecture firm (building construction)Utilisation- and fee-driven · work in progress as a steering lever
- 12 – 20 %Engineering firm (MEP / structural / civil)Higher specialisation · research allowance applies with in-house development
- 6 – 12 %General planningSub-planner share depresses margin · keep contamination risk in view
- 20 – 35 %Expert surveyors / assessorsLow material share · freelancer status clear, high dependence on the individual
This is how we lift your after-tax result – legally and without balance-sheet acrobatics:
- Secure freelancer statusClean separation of freelance and commercial services under § 18 EStG – so the firm stays exempt from trade tax and saves 14–17 % trade tax depending on the municipal rate.
- Steer work in progressValuing half-finished planning at the reporting date shifts profit predictably between years – ideal for smoothing tax progression and back payments.
- Research allowanceUp to €1m per year for engineering and development work – structural, MEP, building physics, digital planning methods. We handle the certificate and the application.
- IAB & special depreciationUp to 50% of planned investments deducted in advance (IAB) plus 20% special depreciation for CAD, surveying, drones and office equipment – profit-reducing exactly when you need it.
- Warranty provisionsRecourse and warranty risks from ongoing projects provisioned in a legally sound way – lowering profit in the right year instead of surprising you later.
- Holding & MD compensationWith a PartGmbB or GmbH: park participation income via a holding effectively at around 1.5% tax and align the managing-director salary optimally with your firm return.
Why GUHR
Tax advisory that finally thinks along.
We don't want to be the next advisor who writes 'receipts by the 10th, please'. We want to be the partner who makes your firm safer, more profitable and ready for handover.
Specialised in planning firms
More than 50 mandates from architecture, engineering and expert surveying – we know the HOAI pitfalls, contamination risks and the real optimisation levers.
Nationwide · digital
Set up entirely digitally. Whether Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin or Leipzig – we are as fast as your planning team.
Proactive, not reactive
We reach out before the tax office asks. Tax strategy across the project lifetime – not only once the major project has been billed.
Personal, not anonymous
A dedicated point of contact who knows your projects, your balance sheet and your HOAI billing. Answers in hours, not weeks.
More than tax advisory
A network of renowned planning firms. Included.
With GUHR you become part of a client circle you would otherwise only meet at specialist conferences. Owners who speak openly about fees, firm returns, succession and growth – because they trust the same advisor.
A selection from our planning-firm client circle
We only name specific clients once released to do so. In the initial call we show you relevant cases from your niche.
What that means for you in concrete terms:
- 01
Owner round-tables
Quarterly meetings in a small circle – topics such as fee calculation, conversion to a PartGmbB, firm handover, staff retention. By invitation, under NDA.
- 02
Peer benchmarks
We mirror your key figures anonymously against comparable firms of your size and discipline. So you see where your firm return really stands.
- 03
Warm introductions
Looking for a specialist planner for a general-planning job, a sub for a discipline or a succession opportunity? We connect you directly – with no commission chatter.
Head office Berlin · clients from Sylt to Garmisch
Nationwide · 100 % digital
One firm. Available anywhere in Germany.
Whether Berlin, Munich or somewhere in between: we run every mandate fully digital – DATEV-connected, signed PDFs, video meetings. No commuting, no postal delays, no 90s-style bookkeeping.
- 01
DATEV Unternehmen online
Receipts, banking, payroll, reports – you work in the standard interface every German tax advisor speaks. No vendor lock-in.
- 02
Video meetings instead of on-site visits
Quarterly review, tax strategy, holding check – via video with screen sharing. You save half a day every time.
- 03
Signed PDFs & digital powers of attorney
Tax filings, annual accounts, contracts – signed via qualified e-signature. Accepted by the tax office, done in minutes.
How we work with planning firms
From the initial call to worry-free bookkeeping.
On average 14 days from the decision to switch to a running digital operation.
Initial call & status check
30 minutes. We check freelancer status, contamination risk, the valuation of your work in progress and the biggest tax levers – free of charge.
01
Onboarding in 14 days
We handle the switch from your previous advisor, set up DATEV and connect your banking as well as your project and office software or existing bookkeeping.
02
Ongoing support
Monthly P&L with valued services, live figures in the dashboard, a dedicated contact – and proactive alerts as soon as we see optimisation potential.
03
Annual review & strategy
Balance sheet, tax optimisation, research allowance and a clear plan for the next financial year – right through to a succession and handover strategy.
04
030 555 721 370FAQ
Answers for firm owners.
What clients ask us most often before switching.
Initial call for architects & engineers
What your firm is giving away in tax – we'll show you in 30 minutes.
You describe your firm and your projects, we name the concrete levers (freelancer status, work in progress, research allowance, IAB, MD salary) and send a written proposal within 48 hours. Nationwide and free of charge.