030 555 721 370
anfrage@guhr-steuerberatung.de
Auerstr. 14, 10249 Berlin
Industry · Consultants & Coaches
Tax advisory for consultants & coaches who want to keep more.
We are the tax advisory for management and strategy consultants, business coaches, online-course and info-product providers, and interim managers. We handle bookkeeping and annual accounts reliably – and beyond that, we answer the decisive question: freelance or commercial, and when a GmbH starts to pay off. Nationwide, digital and personal.
Nationwide · 100% digital- Specialized in consultants & coaches
- A personal point of contact
Does this sound familiar?
Problems that consultants & coaches know all too well.
We talk to consultants, coaches and course providers every day. This is what we hear again and again:
High margins, yet too little left over.
Your business runs with almost no cost of goods – profit margins of 40 to 60% are normal. That is exactly why a huge share ends up with the tax office instead of with you.
No one has properly settled freelance vs. commercial.
Consulting can qualify as freelance (§ 18 EStG, exempt from trade tax); coaching and online courses are usually commercial. A wrong classification costs you year after year – or catches up with you in an audit.
VAT on online courses is a blind flight.
Are you selling courses to private EU customers, to businesses, or abroad? Electronically supplied services, OSS, reverse charge – if this is handled incorrectly, you are liable.
You pay too much tax.
No one shows you the room for structuring – not on legal form, not on a holding company, not on the investment deduction or retirement provision.
Fear of the next back payment.
A strong launch year, a big mandate – and suddenly high prepayments and back payments from prior years arrive, with no reserve set aside for them.
Your tax advisor doesn't understand your model.
Memberships, prepaid course packages, retainers, success fees – you have to explain to your advisor how your business even works in the first place.
What changes for you
More clarity. Less tax. More time for your mandates.
We are not a conventional tax practice. We deliver what you as an entrepreneur really need – results, not just binders.
Noticeably lower your tax burden.
We review freelance vs. commercial, the right legal form, a GmbH with profit retention, holding structures and investment deductions – proactively, not just in April.
Crystal-clear numbers – every month.
Live management reports and a liquidity view, including correctly deferred course and membership revenue. You always know what you can withdraw, invest or retain.
VAT set up on a solid legal footing.
The OSS scheme, reverse charge and the correct treatment of electronically supplied services – a clean standard setup for domestic and foreign revenue.
No surprises from the tax office.
We plan your taxes ahead and flag prepayments in good time. You know months earlier what's coming – and set aside the right reserve.
A strategic sparring partner.
Setting up a GmbH, holding structures, managing-director salary vs. distribution, retirement provision – we think ahead before the tax office asks.
Time that flows into your mandates.
Receipts via app, banking automated, invoices booked directly. No more weekends lost to Excel – you work on your offer instead.
Personally from Karsten Guhr
Consultants and coaches earn their money with their minds – margins are high, cost of goods is low. That is precisely what makes the tax burden the core problem: without the right structure, almost half the profit flows to the tax office. We start with the fundamentals – freelance or commercial, a GmbH from what level of profit, a holding company or not – and then get the maximum out for you. Legally, durably and personally.
We know your business
We speak your language.
Retainers, day rates, success fees, course packages sold in advance, memberships, launches, interim mandates – we know how consultants and coaches operate. So you don't waste time explaining your business model.
- 01
Freelance vs. commercial
Consulting under § 18 EStG (no trade tax) cleanly separated from commercial coaching and online courses. We classify every type of revenue correctly.
- 02
VAT on online courses
Treated as an electronically supplied service: OSS for private EU customers, reverse charge for foreign B2B, and the correct rate for live formats.
- 03
Deferred revenue (RAP)
Prepaid course packages and annual memberships accrued to the right period – so your profit isn't distorted by lump-sum cash inflows.
- 04
When a GmbH pays off
Profit retention at around 15% corporation tax instead of the top personal rate of up to 45%. We calculate the threshold for your specific profit.
- 05
MD salary vs. distribution
The right mix of managing-director salary, bonus, pension commitment and distribution – tailored to your margin, not to a one-size-fits-all formula.
- 06
Holding structure
Bundle and reinvest profits through a holding almost tax-free under § 8b KStG (participation exemption) – ideal for consultants with several income streams or an exit in mind.
- 07
IAB & special depreciation
Claim up to 50% of planned investments in advance to reduce taxable profit (Investitionsabzugsbetrag) – for tech, studio equipment, software and vehicles.
- 08
Home office, travel & pension
Home office, travel costs to clients abroad, and a tax-optimized retirement provision for high, personally driven profits.
Industry benchmarks
We know your industry's margins. And we get more out for you.
We support consultants, coaches and course providers nationwide and see real numbers every month – not launch promises. We know what's typical in your niche, where you should be, and which tax levers pull your after-tax margin up.
Typical profit margin (EBIT)
- 30 – 50%Strategy & management consultingOften freelance under § 18 · no trade tax, highly person-dependent
- 40 – 60%Business & executive coachingUsually commercial · trade tax applies, legal-form question is decisive
- 35 – 55%Online course & info productScalable · VAT and deferred-revenue topics are the lever here
- 40 – 60%Interim managementHigh day rates · bogus self-employment and reserve planning in focus
How we lift your after-tax margin – legally and without accounting acrobatics:
- GmbH & profit retentionRetained profits are taxed in the GmbH at around 15% corporation tax instead of the top personal rate of up to 45% – ideal once profits are high and stable.
- Holding structureDistributions to a holding are 95% tax-free under § 8b KStG (participation exemption) – effectively around 1.5% instead of over 26% at the private level.
- Secure freelance statusWhere your consulting qualifies as freelance under § 18 EStG, trade tax falls away entirely – we secure the classification cleanly.
- Managing-director compensationA mix of salary, bonus, pension commitment and distribution, optimally aligned to your margin and your tax-free allowance.
- Investment deduction (IAB)Claim up to 50% of planned investments in advance to reduce taxable profit – for tech, studio, software and vehicles.
- Retirement provision & reservesA basic pension, professional pension scheme or GmbH pension commitment lowers today's tax while building assets for later.
Why GUHR
Tax advisory that finally thinks with you.
We don't want to be the next advisor who emails "receipts by the 10th, please." We want to be the partner who makes your business more profitable, more secure and more predictable.
Specialized in consultants & coaches
Numerous mandates from consulting, coaching and online business – we know the typical tax traps and the levers that actually work.
Nationwide · digital
Set up entirely digitally. Whether Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin or Leipzig – we're as fast as you are.
Proactive, not reactive
We reach out before the tax office asks. Tax strategy for the current year – not for the last one.
Personal, not anonymous
One fixed point of contact who knows you, your offer and your numbers. Answers in hours, not weeks.
More than tax advisory
A network of successful consultants & coaches. Included.
With GUHR you join a client circle you'd otherwise only meet on stage or in masterminds. Entrepreneurs who speak openly about fees, scaling, legal form and wealth building – because they trust the same advisor.
A selection from our consultant & coach client circle
We name specific clients only with their consent. In the first meeting we'll show you relevant cases from your niche.
What that means for you in practice:
- 01
Founder round-tables
Quarterly small-group meetings – on pricing, setting up a GmbH and holding, scaling, and wealth building. By invitation, under NDA.
- 02
Peer benchmarks
We mirror your key figures anonymously against comparable consultants and coaches of your size and niche. So you see where you really stand.
- 03
Warm introductions
Looking for a co-trainer, a specialist for a sub-field or a partnership? We connect you directly – with no commission games.
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 consultants & coaches
From the first call to worry-free bookkeeping.
On average 14 days from the decision to switch to a running digital operation.
First call & status check
30 minutes. We review your legal form, revenue structure, tax burden and the biggest levers – free.
01
Onboarding in 14 days
We handle the switch from your current advisor, set up DATEV and connect banking, Lexoffice, sevdesk or your existing bookkeeping.
02
Ongoing support
Monthly management reports, live figures in the dashboard, one fixed point of contact – and proactive tips the moment we spot potential.
03
Annual review & strategy
Annual accounts, tax optimization and a clear plan for next year – including the legal-form and holding question, not just a look back at numbers.
04
030 555 721 370FAQ
Answers for consultants & coaches.
What you ask us most often before switching.
First call for consultants & coaches
What you're giving away in tax – we'll show you in 30 minutes.
You describe your setup, we name the concrete levers (freelance vs. commercial, GmbH & holding, VAT on online courses, MD salary) and send a written proposal within 48 hours. Nationwide and free.