tax number

The tax number (abbreviation: St.-Nr. ) is an ordinal number assigned by the tax office to every taxable natural or legal person under which the person is listed at the tax office. The number is clearly assigned to a taxpayer. The tax number is of central importance for all administrative processes within the tax authorities. There are different tax numbers for many types of tax.

Germany

Overview

In Germany, the tax number is a code that is used by the tax administration for natural persons and legal entities. The use of tax numbers is provided for in Section 8 of the “Accounting Regulations for Tax Offices” (BuchO). In addition to the tax identification number, there are the following identifiers or identification features ( Section 139a, Paragraph 1, Sentence 1 of the Tax Code ):

the tax identification number was also introduced nationwide for natural persons ( § 139b tax code ) from 2008 and is assigned centrally.

the business identification number for economically active natural or legal persons as well as associations of persons ( § 139c tax code ) is assigned by the responsible tax office .

the sales tax identification number for entrepreneurs within the meaning of the sales tax law (introduced across the EU).

Structure of the tax number

The tax numbers - with the exception of the tax identification number - are composed differently depending on the federal state . A new nationwide scheme has been developed for submitting electronic tax returns using the ELSTER process. The individual schemes are listed below:

state	Standard scheme of countries	Unified federal scheme (12-digit tax number)
Baden-Württemberg	FFBBB/UUUUP z. B.93815/08152	28FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 289381508152
Bavaria	FFF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.181/815/08155	9FFFBBBUUUUP z. B. 918181508155
Berlin	FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.21st/815/08150	11FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 1121st81508150
Brandenburg	0FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 048/815/08155	30thFFBBBUUUUP z. B. 304881508155
Bremen	FF BBB UUUUP z. B.75 815 08152	24FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 247581508152
Hamburg	FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.02/815/08156th	22ndFFBBBUUUUP z. B. 220281508156th
Hesse	0FF BBB UUUUP z. B. 013 815 08153	26thFFBBBUUUUP z. B. 261381508153
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	0FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 079/815/08151	40FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 407981508151
Lower Saxony	FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.24/815/08151	23FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 232481508151
North Rhine-Westphalia	FFF/BBBB/UUUP z. B.133/8150/8159	5FFFBBBBUUUP z. B. 513381508159
Rhineland-Palatinate	FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.22nd/815/08154th	27FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 2722nd81508154th
Saarland	0FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 010/815/08182	10FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 101081508182
Saxony	2FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 201/123/12340	32FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 320112312340
Saxony-Anhalt	1FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 101/815/08154th	31FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 310181508154th
Schleswig-Holstein	FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B.29/815/08158th	21stFFBBBUUUUP z. B. 212981508158th
Thuringia	1FF/BBB/UUUUP z. B. 151/815/08156th	41FFBBBUUUUP z. B. 415181508156th

In the standard country scheme, the length of the tax number varies between 10 and 11 digits. The federal scheme unifies these to 12 digits. (F) FF represent the last two or three digits of the four-digit federal tax office number (BUFA no.). BBB (B) also stands for the district number within the area of the respective tax office. In North Rhine-Westphalia it was 4 digits, otherwise 3 digits. (U) UUU is the personal distinction number. It was 3-digit in North Rhine-Westphalia, otherwise 4-digit. P is a one- digit check digit . If a 13-digit tax number is required for electronic transmission, a 0 must be inserted between the 4th and 5th digits.

Identification Number

In 2008, a uniform national tax identification number (TIN, Tax Ident Number) was introduced, which remains valid when moving. Contrary to earlier plans, the tax numbers were not abolished, but used in parallel. Based on the tax number, the tax office's post office can identify which area of work in the tax office is responsible.

Austria

As of 2003 , the supplier must use his EU tax number ( UID number ) as an invoice feature for deliveries and services carried out in Germany.

Taxable natural as well as legal persons receive their own tax number from the tax office, under which all tax activities are saved and managed.

The tax account number is made up of the tax office number and tax number . In everyday language usage , the term tax number is often used as a synonym for the tax account number actually intended.

Switzerland

Until June 30, 2008, the AHV number was decisive for the taxation of natural persons in Switzerland . The insurance number has been in effect since July 1, 2008 . This includes

the numeric country code 756 for Switzerland according to the standard ISO 3166 -1
a nine-digit, personal, "non-speaking" number as well
a check digit ( EAN-13 ).

The company identification number (UID) is used to identify “ legal persons ” in tax matters.

Spain

In Spain the following tax numbers are distinguished:

Número de Identificación Fiscal (NIF) - tax number for residents
Número de Identificación de Extranjeros (NIE) as a tax number for foreigners.

There is no distinction between tax number and sales tax identification number . The NIF combines both. In the past there was also the name CIF - Código de Identificación Fiscal . The NIF applied to individuals and the CIF to corporations. Today these are both officially called NIF. The term CIF is still used in Spain. The structure of the NIF also differs depending on its use for individuals or companies.

Italy

In Italy, the tax number (codice fiscale) includes the surname and first name, date of birth (+ gender), place of birth and verification number. Example: "MST MXA 90L01 F205 F" (Max Mustermann, July 1, 1990, Milan). Men are assigned the digits of the date of birth without change; Women add 40 to the number of days (so, for example, July 1, 1990 for women returns 90L41).

To calculate the Italian tax number there are e.g. B. a service.

For Italians born abroad and those who live or work in Italy, the place of birth is replaced by a code for the country of birth (from Z100 for Albania to Z337 for Zimbabwe ).

The electronic citizen card enables digital communication with the Italian tax administration.

European TIN portal

Since most EU countries use Tax Identification Numbers (TINs) to distinguish taxpayers and to simplify national tax administration, the EU Commission published:

Information about TINs of the EU member states, including descriptions of the structures and characteristics of national TINs, examples of official documents containing TINs, and national contact points that have been approved for publication.
an online checking module that checks the TIN syntax (the algorithm) or, if this is not available, the TIN structure.

There is currently no TIN at EU level. Some countries do not automatically assign a TIN to taxpayers. The online verification module does not verify a person's identity or confirm the existence of a TIN. It is checked whether the syntax (the algorithm) and / or the structure of the TIN is correct. If a country did not provide any algorithms, only the structure is checked.

Individual evidence

↑ Internet presence of the Federal Central Tax Office. In: bzst.de. BZSt portal, accessed on June 29, 2020 .
↑ Tax office search and GemFa XML export file. In: bzst.de. BZSt portal, accessed on March 17, 2020 .
↑ Calcolo Codice Fiscale. Comuni.it, accessed on August 30, 2016 (it-IT).
^ TIN on-the-Web - European Commission. In: ec.europa.eu. Retrieved August 30, 2016 .

[1] Internet presence of the Federal Central Tax Office. In: bzst.de. BZSt portal, accessed on June 29, 2020 .

[2] Tax office search and GemFa XML export file. In: bzst.de. BZSt portal, accessed on March 17, 2020 .

[3] Calcolo Codice Fiscale. Comuni.it, accessed on August 30, 2016 (it-IT).

[4] TIN on-the-Web - European Commission. In: ec.europa.eu. Retrieved August 30, 2016 .