Help
General questions about using ELSTER
ELSTER - the electronic tax return - is a procedure that allows you to submit your tax return to your tax office electronically via the Internet.
Mein ELSTER: Your online tax office bundles the online services of the tax authorities. You can create and submit your electronic tax return here.
ElsterFormular will be switched off in April 2024. Until this date, data transmissions for old years (before 2020) can still be carried out and the ELStAM functions can be used.
You can transfer your data from ElsterFormular to Mein ELSTER or to other software. This saves you having to re-enter the data already entered in ElsterForm. You can start the data export from ElsterFormular under the menu item "Export".
Please note: You must first register with Mein ELSTER. This takes a few days because the access data is sent by post. You can then export from ElsterFormular to Mein ELSTER. It takes about 5 minutes until your data is available in Mein ELSTER after the export. The import of the data is automatically offered to you in Mein ELSTER at the next Login.
We are here for you. With the Chat assistants you can find the contact details of the office responsible for your problem/question.
To do this, select your federal state and your property in the chat.
You will then be offered assistance.
If the help does not lead to success, the contact details will be displayed.
Comprehensive information can be found on the pages ELStAM (private individuals) and ELStAM (employer).
Yes, you will find forms in PDF format for printing and Downloading on the Forms server of the Federal Finance Administration. However, these forms cannot be transmitted via ELSTER.
You can make a subsequent correction to a return that has already been sent by resending the corrected tax return. Software products provide functions such as copying or data transfer to support this.
Make sure that you submit the correct printed and signed compressed declaration to the relevant tax office if you are still using the "compressed" transmission. If you make the transmission electronically authenticated, no further action is required. As a rule, the last declaration submitted will be processed.
In the case of advance VAT returns and wage tax returns, it is necessary to indicate the correction in the form. If forms such as wage tax certificates offer specific correction and cancellation procedures, these must be used.
This form of transmission is not legally permissible (Section 87a Abs. 1 AO).
Advance sales tax return and wage tax return
Entrepreneurs who do not yet have a tax number will receive a standardized questionnaire from the responsible tax office when they register their business. This must be completed by the entrepreneur and then forwarded to the tax office. After verification by the tax office, the entrepreneur receives a tax number from the tax office with which he can then submit the advance VAT return or income tax return electronically to the tax office. Electronic transmission without a tax number is not possible for advance VAT returns or wage tax returns.
In cases where an advance VAT return or payroll tax return is to be submitted without a tax number having already been issued, please contact the relevant tax office. They can then check whether the entrepreneurial status has already been recognized, whether a separate tax number may be issued in the case of an income tax return or whether the advance VAT return or income tax return must be submitted in the conventional form (e.g. on paper).
Technical questions
Your tax data is transmitted via the Internet. In addition to the necessary Internet access, you will need a tax or accounting program that supports ELSTER.
If you use Mein ELSTER, you will find detailed information on the page System requirements.
In principle, ELSTER can be used under all operating systems. Please note the system requirements of the Software used ( My ELSTERSoftware from third-party providers).
You can view the public certificate of the ELSTER servers on the Security download. Then set up this certificate as a trusted certificate in the application that prevented the connection from being established.
To be able to use the electronic tax return procedure (ELSTER) via DATEVnet, you must store a specific Proxy configuration on your system: Further information at www.datev.de -> Info database -> Search -> Enter number 1033943.
Tax and accounting software with ELSTER function