Service Finder
As a commercial partnership, partnership company or eGbR, apply for income tax treatment as a corporation
Service Description
Commercial partnerships, partnerships and registered partnerships under civil law have the option of being treated as a corporation for income tax purposes upon request. This option can be exercised for the first time for financial years beginning after December 31, 2021.
When exercising this option, commercial partnerships, partnership companies or registered partnerships under civil law are treated as a corporation for income tax purposes and their partners are treated as the non-personally liable partners of a corporation.
The option is excluded for investment funds within the meaning of the Investment Tax Act as well as for sole proprietorships, partnerships under civil law, communities of heirs and purely internal companies.
The application must be submitted by the commercial partnership, partnership company or registered civil-law partnership to the tax office responsible for the separate and uniform determination of income in accordance with Section 180 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) by remote data transmission in accordance with the officially prescribed data set. If there is no separate and uniform assessment of income for the commercial partnership, partnership company or registered civil law partnership, the application must be submitted to the tax office responsible for the partner's income tax or corporation tax.
The Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern - BZSt) is responsible for companies based abroad that only generate income that is subject to withholding tax on capital gains or tax deduction pursuant to Section 50a of the Income Tax Act and for which income tax pursuant to Section 50 (2) sentence 1 of the Income Tax Act or corporation tax pursuant to Section 32 (1) of the Corporation Tax Act is deemed to have been paid as a result.
If you do not receive a rejection notice, the competent tax authority will assume that the option is valid. As a rule, you will receive notification of the issue of a corporation tax number.
If the conditions for the option are met without interruption, you do not have to submit a new application for the following financial years. The option is terminated upon application or if the conditions for the option no longer apply.
Process flow
- Send the application for the corporate income tax option (e.g. via "My Elster" or the application for companies based abroad provided on the website of the Federal Central Tax Office) to the relevant tax authority.
- Attach any necessary supporting documents:
- Copy of the resolution on the application
- In addition, if the management of the company is located abroad:
- Proof that the company is subject to a tax liability comparable to German unlimited corporation tax liability in the country in which the management is located.
- Certificate of residence from the competent foreign tax authority
- If the tax authorities assume that your application is valid, you will usually receive a letter informing you of your future corporation tax number.
- If the requirements are not met, you will receive a rejection notice.
Who should I contact?
Please contact the relevant tax office for the separate and uniform assessment of the company's income.
In the case of a company based abroad that only generates income subject to withholding tax, please contact the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
Requirements
- Commercial partnerships, partnerships within the meaning of the German Partnership Act (Partnerschaftsgesellschaftsgesetz), registered civil law partnerships and comparable foreign companies are eligible to apply.
- The option is excluded for:
- Investment funds within the meaning of the Investment Tax Act
- sole proprietorships
- Companies under civil law
- communities of heirs
- purely internal companies
- You cannot submit the application before the company is founded.
- If your company is domiciled in Argentina, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Gibraltar, Isles of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, San Marino, Switzerland, Singapore, Sri Lanka or Venezuela, you must appoint a German person authorized to receive documents.
Which documents are required?
- Copy of the resolution on the application
- If the place of management of the company is abroad:
- Proof that the company is subject to a tax liability comparable to German unlimited corporation tax liability in the country in which the management is located (e.g. current corporation tax assessment notice or confirmation from the foreign country) and
- a certificate of residence from the competent foreign tax authority and
- Memorandum and/or articles of association.
- The evidence must be submitted to the competent tax authority together with the application.
What are the fees?
Fee: free of charge
What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?
Application deadline: At any time, at the latest one month before the start of the financial year from which the option is to apply.
By way of derogation, in the case of
- the formation of a new company up to one month after conclusion of the articles of association,
- a change of legal form of a corporation to a partnership until the end of one month after the change of legal form has been registered with the relevant register by the corporation or partnership
with effect for the current financial year.
Legal basis
Applications / forms
- Objection
Appeal
Forms available: Yes
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance necessary: No
Online services available: Yes
What else should I know?
There are no indications or special features.
Further Information
Author
Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF)
The text was automatically translated based on the German content.
Technically approved by
Thuringian Ministry of Finance
Professionally released on
20.08.2025
Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6Plus)