Tax certificate
A tax certificate , according to German tax law by the debtor of the capital gain or the paying agent ( bank or savings ) for the creditor issued if from this bank in the credit of investment income investment income tax and solidarity tax withheld or have been removed.
The tax certificate does not refer to any taxes to be paid (in contrast to the annual certificate), but is proof of taxes that have already been paid. These are offset against the tax amount determined in the income tax assessment ( Section 36 (2) No. 2 Income Tax Act (EStG)).
With the introduction of the final withholding tax on investment income in 2009, the issuing and submission of a tax certificate is only required if the taxpayer wishes to have his investment income assessed by the tax office. Upon application, for example, investment income can be taxed at the personal tax rate when filing the tax return. This is useful for people with a tax rate of less than 25% (final tax rate). In this case, the original tax certificate must be submitted to the tax office; a statement of the income is not sufficient. The tax certificate for investment income is usually only issued by the debtor of the investment income or the paying agent ( bank or savings bank ) at the request of the creditor, whereby, contrary to the wording of the law, most banks now provide the tax certificate without special request.
However, the issuing of a tax certificate is also compulsory in those cases in which no tax has been withheld by the credit institution ( Section 45a (2-4) EStG). This is due to the fact that the tax certificate contains the tax bases, which (among other things also, but not exclusively) include tax amounts that have already been paid.
The annual tax certificate is created either automatically or at the customer's request after the year has expired.
According to a statement from the tax authorities from 2011, after the introduction of the pre-filled tax return, "the possibility of an electronic tax certificate will be examined in the medium term [...], which the banks should then be able to transmit directly to the tax authorities".
In addition to the annual tax certificate, the banks also issue income statements .
Individual evidence
- ↑ capital gains tax; Issuance of tax certificates for investment income according to § 45a paragraph 2 and 3 EStG; Republication of the BMF letter. Federal Ministry of Finance, December 15, 2017, p. 1 , accessed on February 11, 2018 (letter; reference IV C 1 - S 2401/08/10001: 018).
- ↑ Jens Müller: Petition 17903 Finance Administration - Electronic tax certificate for investment income from May 3rd, 2011. (PDF) Reasons for graduation. German Bundestag, p. 3 , accessed on February 11, 2018 .
