- Why are the data not yet available?
- What are the reasons for an empty data retrieval?
- What happens if you start the VaSt too early?
- What happens if you used the VaSt in the previous year and start too early?
- Can the data retrieval be corrected afterwards?
Using the prefilled tax return (vorausgefüllte St) simplifies the process of completing your tax return, as many details are directly retrieved from the tax office. However, it can happen that the data retrieval is empty or incomplete. This can be confusing, but it is often due to the timing of the request and the status of the data stored at the tax office.
Why are the data not yet available?
If you try to use the prefilled tax return (VaSt) before the tax office has made all the data available, you may experience an empty retrieval. This is particularly common if the retrieval takes place between January and March. By the end of March each year, the tax office usually has not yet provided all the necessary data. To ensure a smooth data retrieval, it is important to wait until after this period to click on the "Submit request" button under "Prefilled tax return."
What are the reasons for an empty data retrieval?
An empty data retrieval can occur for various reasons:
1. Data is not yet available: As mentioned, the data for the current tax year is often not fully available from the tax office until the end of March.
2. Tax return started before data retrieval: If you begin working on your tax return before activating the data retrieval, no data can be retrieved later.
What happens if you start the VaSt too early?
If you still click on the "Submit request" button between January and March and trigger the data retrieval, the following can happen:
- Empty or incomplete data: If your data, such as your income tax statement from your employer, is not yet available or incomplete at the tax office, your tax return will not be prefilled correctly. In this case, you would need to manually enter all the necessary information into your tax return.
- Old or incomplete data: In rare cases, old data may be retrieved. This is unusual, but if outdated data is retrieved, it cannot be corrected. You would also need to manually enter all the necessary information into your tax return.
What happens if you used the VaSt in the previous year and start too early?
In some cases, users who used the prefilled tax return in the previous year may still experience an empty retrieval. Therefore, it is best to use the data retrieval of your already activated prefilled tax return in March each year, so the tax office has all the relevant data available and up to date. So, you just need to wait until March 😊.
After March, open your tax return and begin working on it. Once the tax office data is available for a question, the relevant information box will appear, and you can click the "Prefill" button as usual.
Here we explain exactly how the prefilled tax return works. If you have already used this feature in the previous year, go straight to step 3.
Can the data retrieval be corrected afterwards?
If you start the prefilled tax return before March each year, you may trigger an empty retrieval from the tax office. Please note that it is not possible to retrieve the data again afterwards. Once the tax return is started, the data remains unchanged, and you will need to manually enter any missing information.
Important: You do not correct the data retrieved from the tax office, but rather all the information displayed during the processing of your tax return.