Submitting your income tax return

What deadlines must be paid attention to?

Persons not advised for tax purposes:
- the annual income tax return must generally be submitted by 31.07. of the following year (for example, for the 2020 assessment period generally by 31.07.2021, for the 2021 assessment period by 31.07.2022) if there is an obligation to submit the return:
- however, due to the effects of the corona pandemic, these submission deadlines for the 2020 to 2023 assessment periods have been extended by law as follows:
o 2021 assessment period: 01.11.2022
o Assessment period 2022: 02.10.2023
o Assessment period 2023: 02.09.2024

- Employees for whom there is no obligation to submit a return, i.e. who voluntarily submit an income tax return, have four years to do so (for example: assessment period 2021; end of submission period = 31.12.2025).
This so-called application extension usually applies to employees who want to obtain a refund of excess income tax withheld by their employer.

Tax advisors:
- the annual income tax return must generally be submitted by the last day of February of the second following year (e.g. for the 2020 assessment period by 28.02.2022, for the 2021 assessment period by 28.02.2023) if there is an obligation to submit the return
- However, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, these submission deadlines for the 2020 to 2024 assessment periods have been extended by law as follows
o 2020 assessment period: 31.08.2022
o Assessment period 2021: 31.08.2023
o Assessment period 2022: 31.07.2024
o Assessment period 2023: 02.06.2025
o Assessment period 2024: 30.04.2026

How long does it take to process

The processing time depends on the time of submission and the scope of the tax return.

What are the costs?

There are no fees or costs for the income tax assessment.