If you have questions about your tax return, your local tax office can help. But how do you know which tax office is responsible for you? Here you will find the answer.
Which tax office is responsible?
Your responsible tax office is generally based on your place of residence. The city or district in which you have your registered place of residence is also your responsible tax office or tax office of residence.
If you have several residences, your marital status plays a role. For single persons, the district in which you predominantly reside is decisive. For married persons, the tax office in the district in which your family residence is located is responsible. This is independent of whether you as spouses file your tax return jointly or separately.
Example:
You live with your family in Düsseldorf. However, in 2022 you spent most of your time in Hamburg for professional reasons and have a second home there. However, your responsible tax office is in Düsseldorf, since your family residence is there. Your tax return will therefore also be sent to a tax office in Düsseldorf.
How do I find my tax office?
You can easily find the German tax offices online. The jurisdiction depends on your specific address of residence. For example, you can search for your tax office online via the Federal Central Tax Office. You can contact your tax office by email or phone.
In the Taxfix app, you simply enter the postal code of your current address to find the responsible tax office.
Which tax office after moving?
After a move, the tax office of the district in which you live and are registered after the move is responsible for you. For example, if you moved from Frankfurt to Berlin in June 2022, you will file your tax return in Berlin.
If, on the other hand, you move just a block away in the same city, the same tax office will probably still be responsible for you as before. However, if you move from one district to another in a large city, your jurisdiction may change, as there are several tax offices in larger cities.
Tax return submitted, then moved - what now?
If you have already sent your tax return to your previous tax office before moving and it has not yet been processed there, it may be necessary for you to send the tax return again to your new tax office. This is usually the case when you move across federal state borders, for example from Bavaria to Lower Saxony. Within a federal state, the tax offices can usually forward tax returns internally.
In such a case, it is best to contact the tax office to which your tax return was originally submitted. There you can ask whether the return can be forwarded internally to the responsible tax office or not. If not, contact Taxfix support to re-submit your tax return to the responsible tax office.
The right tax office after a separation
After a separation, you as a married couple have the option to continue to be assessed jointly, i.e. to file a joint tax return. This option applies to the year in which you separated. If, after your separation, one of you continues to live in the district of the previous tax office, it remains responsible for your tax return.
If both of you have moved away, the allocation depends on the amount of income. The tax office in the district where the higher earner lives is then responsible for your tax return.
In the case of separate assessment, each person submits his or her tax return to the tax office in his or her respective place of residence.