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Receive relief from German tax deduction in accordance with § 50c EStG

If you would like to receive relief from German withholding tax, you can submit an application under certain conditions.

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Procedure details

Domestic income from foreign artists, athletes, licensors and supervisory board members is subject to limited tax liability. The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) taxes this income in a tax deduction procedure.

You can apply to the BZSt for relief from German withholding tax. Foreign taxpayers are relieved of German withholding tax by

  • taxes already paid are refunded or
  • with a certificate of exemption, the tax deduction will no longer apply in full or in part in the future.

The following are subject to limited tax liability in Germany:

  • Natural persons if they have neither a domicile nor their habitual residence in Germany and they earn German income.
  • Corporations, associations of persons and asset pools if they have neither their management nor their registered office in Germany and they earn German income.

Relief from German withholding tax can only be granted if there is a double taxation agreement (DTA) between Germany and your country of residence.

If there is no DTA, the best you can do to avoid double taxation is to apply the relevant national regulations in your country of residence.

Applications for relief from tax deduction are processed by the BZSt.

Applications can be submitted by

  • foreign artists
  • foreign sportsmen and sportswomen
  • foreign licensors
  • foreign supervisory board members

Further requirements:

  • In the case of reimbursement: payment of withholding tax

A double taxation agreement must exist between Germany and the country of residence.

  • Required Documents

    You must submit the following with your application

    • Certificate of residence
    • copy of the contract
    • in the case of authorization: Power of attorney
    • in refund cases: the tax certificate issued by the person liable for the refund
    • in reimbursement cases where payment is to be made to a person other than the reimbursement creditor or the person submitting the application: an original authorization to collect issued by the reimbursement creditor

    If you are submitting an application for a corporation, association of persons or estate, you must also enclose the following documents:

    • Extract from the commercial register
    • Organizational chart (with details of the percentage shareholding)

    If necessary, the BZSt will request further documents for examination.

You must apply for withholding tax relief in the BZSt online portal (BOP) at the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), Division St II 9.

Online application:

  • Register in the BOP.
  • If you have already registered for another procedure accessible via the BOP or registered in the ELSTER online portal, you do not need to register again.
  • Select the form "Application for relief (refund/exemption) from German tax deduction pursuant to Section 50c EStG (including licenses, artists, athletes)".
  • Complete the form and send it off.
  • Attach a certificate of residence and the other required documents to the application form.
  • Your application will be processed and checked by the BZSt.
  • You will receive a certificate of exemption or a notice of exemption (refund) or a notice of rejection of your application. The BZSt's decision will also be made available to you via the BOP.
  • If a certificate of exemption is issued, the refund debtor will receive a corresponding notification in the form of a copy of the certificate of exemption for their files.
  • In the case of applications for reimbursement, the reimbursement amount will be paid approximately 4 weeks after receipt of the exemption certificate.

Written application:

A written paper application is now only provided for hardship cases. The prerequisite for a written application is that the applicant does not have the option of submitting an application via the BOP.

If the informal application for recognition of a case of hardship is granted, the applicant will receive the application form by letter.

There are no costs.

for refund applications: within 4 years of the end of the calendar year in which the remuneration was received or not before the end of 1 year after payment of the tax deductions

Please refer to the BZSt website for current processing times. (3 Monate)

  • Appeal
  • Fiscal court action (Cologne Fiscal Court)

Status: 20.08.2024
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium der Finanzen
Source: Federal Portal