How do I submit my tax return to the tax office?
With SteuerGo, you submit your tax return electronically to the tax office. Two submission methods are available to you. In both cases, transmission is secure and encrypted.
How does submission using your own ELSTER certificate work?
If you have a valid personal ELSTER certificate, you can use it to submit your tax return.
How does submission with identification work?
You can also submit your tax return online without your own ELSTER certificate. To do so, you must first identify yourself. SteuerGo will then submit your return on your behalf using the portal certificate.
Do I also need to submit my tax return by post?
With both online submission methods, you do not need to additionally print, sign or submit your transmitted tax return by post.
If the tax office requests supporting documents, you can submit them using the electronic document submission service.
What costs are involved?
The submission method you choose has no effect on the costs at SteuerGo.
How do I submit my tax return to the tax office?
Who is required to submit a tax return?
Whether you are required to submit an income tax return for the year 2025 depends on your personal situation. In many cases, there is no obligation – however, there are exceptions. The legal basis is § 46 Income Tax Act (EStG).
When is there an obligation to submit?
A tax return is mandatory if:
- You received wage replacement benefits (e.g. parental allowance, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit) of over 410 Euro per year (progression clause),
- You had multiple simultaneous employments where one was taxed under tax class VI,
- You and your spouse or civil partner chose the tax class combination III/V or IV with factor,
- You had additional income of over 410 Euro (e.g. from self-employment, rental, capital gains without withholding tax or pensions),
- You were requested to submit by the tax office.
Detailed information on the mandatory assessment for employees can be found here: Obligation to submit a tax return.
When is there no obligation to submit?
Submission is generally not required if:
- You were employed by one employer only in 2025,
- You were classified in tax class I,
- You had no wage replacement benefits or additional income,
- none of the special cases mentioned apply.
Tip: Voluntary submission can be worthwhile
Even without an obligation, a so-called application assessment can be worthwhile. Many employees receive an average refund of over 1.000 Euro – for example, due to work-related expenses, special expenses or exceptional burdens that were not taken into account in the wage tax deduction.
When in doubt: Ask the tax office
If you are unsure whether you need to submit, your local tax office can help.
Who is required to submit a tax return?
How can I amend data that has already been submitted?
If you discover an error after submitting electronically, or if you would like to add information, you can correct your tax return using SteuerGo. The procedure depends on whether a tax assessment notice has already been issued.
What applies before the tax assessment notice?
Amend your details in SteuerGo and electronically resubmit the complete, corrected tax return to the tax office.
In addition, briefly inform the tax office that the new submission corrects the previous return and state which details you have amended.
When you resubmit, you are filing a new version, which will generally be used for further processing.
Wichtig
What applies if you receive a reminder despite having submitted successfully?
An acknowledgement of receipt with a transfer ticket documents successful receipt on the tax administration’s ELSTER servers. A reminder therefore does not automatically mean that your return was not submitted.
Provide your tax office with the acknowledgement of receipt and expressly ask them to check receipt and whereabouts using the transfer ticket. Please observe any deadlines set.
Do not resubmit your return solely because of a reminder. As a rule, resubmission should only be made if there are changes or after expressly agreeing this with the tax office.
What applies after the tax assessment notice?
If you have already received a tax assessment notice, you should generally lodge an appeal within one month of notification if you wish to request changes. In doing so, specify the changes you would like to be made. Resubmission alone does not replace an appeal lodged within the deadline.
How can I amend data that has already been submitted?
