Fixing period
The assessment period is the period after which a tax assessment, cancellation or amendment is no longer permissible ( § 169 Tax Code (AO)). After the deadline has expired, a change is only possible in the cases of § 174 and § 177 AO.
Individual deadlines
In Germany , the deadline for customs duties and consumption taxes is one year, and for other taxes four years. In the case of frivolous tax reductions, the period is extended to five years, in the case of tax evasion to ten years.
Start and end of the period
The assessment period begins at the end of the year in which the tax was incurred ( Section 170 (1) AO). The assessment period begins at the earliest at the end of the year in which the tax return was submitted, but at the latest after three years. If a tax is only set on application, the deadline does not begin before the end of the year in which the application was made ( Section 170 (3) AO - start-up suspension ). The expiry of the assessment period can also be inhibited - see § 171 AO.