Germany
Germany: 6 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Germany
The 6 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Germany is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports CarsMotor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing carsUS$168.4 bn · 17.3% of world exports of 208 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Medicines, in measured dosesMedicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail saleUS$66.4 bn · 13.8% of world exports of 209 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Motor vehicle partsParts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705US$64.3 bn · 14.2% of world exports of 226 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s joint3rdLogistics and freight Logistics Performance Index4.1 of 5 of 138 economies · 2022 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 12
- World’s3rdResearch and technology High-technology exportsUS$246.6 bn of 123 economies · 2024 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s4thForeign investment Foreign direct investment received, a year on averageUS$82.9 bn of 182 economies · 2023–2025 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s5thLogistics and freight Air freight carried12,767 million tonne-km of 137 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s5thKnowledge-intensive economy Economic Complexity Index1.35 of 142 economies · 2024 Harvard Growth Lab, Atlas of Economic Complexity (CC0) See the top 10
- World’s6thResearch and technology Patent applications by residents40,085 of 121 economies · 2024 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s6thDigital services ICT service exportsUS$59.4 bn of 133 economies · 2025 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s9thResearch and technology Research and development spending3.15% of GDP of 78 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Germany. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Germany.
Payments and payroll
Services for taking payments, paying people and moving money, as each states where a business based in Germany may open an account.
StripeOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
WiseOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
DeelOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026- RevolutOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
AdyenOpen to a business based herelist read 18 Aug 2026
For individuals only here: PayPal.
Not available here: Square.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Germany: where to register, file and check.
Business registerHandelsregister (kept electronically by the Amtsgericht as registry court)handelsregister.de
Tax authorityBundesministerium der Finanzen / Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (German federal tax authorities)bzst.de
Tax treaties in forcebundesfinanzministerium.debundesfinanzministerium.de- Tax treatiesBundesministerium der Finanzen — Double taxation agreementsbundesfinanzministerium.de
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Germany belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 1958
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 1958, Euro area member since 1999, Schengen area member since 1995 and more about Germany’s participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Euro area
- Monetary union · since 1999
Covers a common currency.
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EU Member State since 1958, Euro area member since 1999, Schengen area member since 1995 and more about Germany’s participation in the EU.
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 1995
Covers movement of people.
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EU Member State since 1958, Euro area member since 1999, Schengen area member since 1995 and more about Germany’s participation in the EU.
- European Economic Area
- Single market · since 1 January 1994
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 30.13%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- A company that is not small within § 267(1) HGB must be audited (§ 316(1) HGB); small means not exceeding two of: EUR 7,500,000 balance-sheet total, EUR 15,000,000 turnover, 50 employees on average (§ 267(1) HGB).Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-10
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Der Jahresabschluß und der Lagebericht von Kapitalgesellschaften, die nicht kleine im Sinne des § 267 Abs. 1 sind, sind durch einen Abschlußprüfer zu prüfen.
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- FreeOfficial The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-23
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die Bereitstellung von Registerdaten und von Dokumenten, die zum Register eingereicht wurden, zum Abruf sowie die Übertragung von Schriftstücken in ein elektronisches Dokument nach § 9 Abs. 2 des Handelsgesetzbuchs werden Gebühren nach dem Gebührenverzeichnis der Anlage zu dieser Verordnung erhoben.
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Germany, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 19%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2026-07-01
- Other rates
- 7% Goods listed in Anlage 2 to the UStG, including their import and intra-Community acquisition
- 7% Rental of property listed in Anlage 2
- 7% Theatre, concert and museum admission and comparable performances
- 7% Services of dental technicians and certain dental services
- 7% Livestock keeping, plant cultivation and animal performance testing
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Die Steuer ermäßigt sich auf 7 Prozent für die folgenden Umsätze
- Registration threshold
- EUR 25,000
total turnover (Kleinunternehmer threshold; €100,000 in the current calendar year); previous calendar year
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ist steuerfrei, wenn der Gesamtumsatz nach Absatz 2 im vorangegangenen Kalenderjahr 25 000 Euro nicht überschritten hat und im laufenden Kalenderjahr 100 000 Euro nicht überschreitet.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A small business under the §19 threshold may declare irrevocably that it waives the exemption and charges VAT, which binds it for at least five calendar years.
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Ein Unternehmer nach Absatz 1 Satz 1 kann bis zum letzten Tag des Monats Februar des zweiten auf den Besteuerungszeitraum folgenden Kalenderjahres gegenüber dem Finanzamt unwiderruflich erklären, dass er auf die Anwendung des Absatzes 1 verzichtet.
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply; no local representative required
A business with no establishment in Germany registers for VAT at its competent Finanzamt through the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung; the §19 small-business threshold applies only to businesses resident in Germany. A Fiskalvertreter may be appointed but is not required.
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kann sich im Inland durch einen Fiskalvertreter vertreten lassen.
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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Voranmeldungszeitraum ist das Kalendervierteljahr. Beträgt die Steuer für das vorangegangene Kalenderjahr mehr als 9 000 Euro, ist der Kalendermonat Voranmeldungszeitraum.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Germany, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 7 months after the end of the calendar year · each year
unless a tax act provides otherwise, a tax return relating to a calendar year is to be filed at the latest seven months after the end of the calendar year — i.e. by 31 July of the following year. For the 2025 assessment period the return is due 31 July 2026 (28 February 2027 where a tax adviser prepares it, § 149(3) AO).
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Soweit die Steuergesetze nichts anderes bestimmen, sind Steuererklärungen, die sich auf ein Kalenderjahr oder auf einen gesetzlich bestimmten Zeitpunkt beziehen, spätestens sieben Monate nach Ablauf des Kalenderjahres oder sieben Monate nach dem gesetzlich bestimmten Zeitpunkt abzugeben.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 1 month after the end of the assessment notice · each year
the EStG provisions on the charging, payment and refunding of tax apply to corporate income tax (§ 31(1) KStG); where the netting shows an excess to the taxpayer's disadvantage, the amount is payable immediately so far as it corresponds to advance payments already due and otherwise within one month of the tax assessment notice (Abschlusszahlung). The one month runs from the notice of assessment, not from the end of the accounting period, so the rule is recorded against the assessment notice as its reference point and cannot be placed on a calendar without that date.
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sofort, im Übrigen innerhalb eines Monats nach Bekanntgabe des Steuerbescheids zu entrichten (Abschlusszahlung)
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 10 March · each quarter
on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December advance payments are to be made on the corporate income tax the taxpayer is expected to owe for the current assessment period (the § 37(1) EStG dates, applied by § 31(2) KStG; where the fiscal year differs from the calendar year they are paid during the fiscal year ending in the assessment period). The rule records the first of the four statutory dates; advance payments are set only where they amount to at least €400 a year and €100 per due date (§ 37(5) EStG).
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Der Steuerpflichtige hat am 10. März, 10. Juni, 10. September und 10. Dezember Vorauszahlungen auf die Einkommensteuer zu entrichten, die er für den laufenden Veranlagungszeitraum voraussichtlich schulden wird.
- Personal income-tax return
- 7 months after the end of the calendar year · each year
a tax return relating to a calendar year is to be filed at the latest seven months after the end of the calendar year — by 31 July of the following year. For the 2025 assessment period the return is due 31 July 2026 (28 February 2027 where a tax adviser prepares it). A return is compulsory mainly for the self-employed, landlords and others with income not fully taxed at source; employees whose tax is fully withheld generally need not file.
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Soweit die Steuergesetze nichts anderes bestimmen, sind Steuererklärungen, die sich auf ein Kalenderjahr oder auf einen gesetzlich bestimmten Zeitpunkt beziehen, spätestens sieben Monate nach Ablauf des Kalenderjahres oder sieben Monate nach dem gesetzlich bestimmten Zeitpunkt abzugeben.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 1 month after the end of the assessment notice · each year
where the netting of advance payments and withheld tax shows an excess to the taxpayer's disadvantage, the amount is payable immediately so far as it corresponds to advance payments already due and otherwise within one month of the tax assessment notice (Abschlusszahlung). The one month runs from the notice of assessment, so it is recorded against that notice as its reference point, not against the end of the tax year.
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sofort, im Übrigen innerhalb eines Monats nach Bekanntgabe des Steuerbescheids zu entrichten (Abschlusszahlung)
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 10 March · each quarter
on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December advance payments are to be made on the income tax the taxpayer is expected to owe for the current assessment period. The rule records the first of the four statutory dates; advance payments are set only where they amount to at least €400 a year and €100 per due date.
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Der Steuerpflichtige hat am 10. März, 10. Juni, 10. September und 10. Dezember Vorauszahlungen auf die Einkommensteuer zu entrichten, die er für den laufenden Veranlagungszeitraum voraussichtlich schulden wird.
- VAT return
- Day 10 of the following month · each quarter
a business must submit a VAT return for each VAT period by the tenth day after the end of that period and pay the tax by then. The VAT period is the calendar quarter; it is the calendar month where the tax for the previous calendar year exceeded €9,000 (a business may also elect the month where it was in credit by more than €9,000). A business starting its activity uses the calendar month in the year of start and the following year.
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bis zum zehnten Tag nach Ablauf jedes Voranmeldungszeitraums eine Voranmeldung nach amtlich vorgeschriebenem Datensatz über die amtlich bestimmte Schnittstelle zu übermitteln
- Payroll withholding
- Day 10 of the following month · each month
an employer must file the payroll withholding return and pay over the tax withheld by the tenth day after the end of each withholding period. The withholding period is in principle the calendar month; it is the calendar quarter where the tax withheld for the previous calendar year was more than €1,080 but not more than €5,000, and the calendar year where it was not more than €1,080.
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Der Arbeitgeber hat spätestens am zehnten Tag nach Ablauf eines jeden Lohnsteuer-Anmeldungszeitraums
Running the company
Running a company here
What it takes to keep a company in good standing in Germany: the full guide is on each form’s own page.
Running a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH)
25 obligations for one shareholder who is the sole director, with who may do each, when, and how.
- The director can do
- 20 of its 25 obligations
personally, through the authorities’ own services.
- A professional the law requires
- A notary Register managing directors with a notarised filing
- A licensed auditor — if Not small under § 267(1) HGB Statutory audit above the size limits
- Not required here
- No annual return to the registry · No periodic renewal of the trade notice · No first accounting period longer than twelve months
Not yet covered: UG, AG, OHG, KG, e. K.. Each form has its own requirements.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Germany exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Germany’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars HS 8703 | 9.8% | 11.0% | 10.8% | US$168.4 bn |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 4.6% | 4.2% | 4.3% | US$66.4 bn |
| Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 HS 8708 | 4.0% | 4.3% | 4.1% | US$64.3 bn |
| Human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera, other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified or obtained by means of biotechnological processes; vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yeasts) and similar products; cell cultures, whether or not modified HS 3002 | 2.5% | 2.6% | 2.9% | US$45.2 bn |
| Other aircraft (for example, helicopters, aeroplanes), except unmanned aircraft of heading 8806; spacecraft (including satellites) and suborbital and spacecraft launch vehicles HS 8802 | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.6% | US$24.6 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.4% | US$21.5 bn |
| Instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary sciences, including scintigraphic apparatus, other electromedical apparatus and sight-testing instruments HS 9018 | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | US$18.5 bn |
| Machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter HS 8479 | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.2% | US$18.2 bn |
| Gold (including gold plated with platinum), unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form HS 7108 | 0.53% | 0.72% | 1.1% | US$16.4 bn |
| Electronic integrated circuits HS 8542 | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.0% | US$16.2 bn |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$1,553.3 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.