Tax number in Germany: applying with the tax registration questionnaire online

Have you started a trade or a freelance activity and need a tax number (Steuernummer)? You apply for it with the tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung). Since 1 January 2021 you must transmit it electronically to your tax office (Finanzamt), unprompted and within one month after you start. The tax number comes by post.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Trade (e.g. online selling): You also notify the trade office (Gewerbeamt); the questionnaire goes to the tax office too.
Freelancers: You notify the tax office directly of the start, also with the questionnaire.
Form: electronic, for example via Mein ELSTER; paper only on application in cases of undue hardship.

What is the tax number – and where do I find it?

In principle every case handled by a tax office receives a tax number, and the tax office tells you what it is. How many digits it has differs from federal state to federal state. The competent tax office usually assigns it when you file a first tax return or after a move; a separate tax number can be assigned for different types of tax. For a new business you apply for it with the tax registration questionnaire – more on this below.

On a notice (Bescheid) the tax number appears at the top left, after the word “Steuernummer”; the look of the notice can differ slightly depending on the federal state or type of tax. It is independent of the tax ID and should not be confused with it. In Mein ELSTER you enter it according to the standard scheme of the federal states; for a tax number from Hesse the leading 0 is part of it.

Who submits the questionnaire, and by when?

Prerequisite: You start a trade, a self-employed (freelance) activity or an agricultural and forestry activity.
Trade (for example online selling): You report the start of your trade at the same time to the trade office (§ 14 GewO). The municipality informs the tax office. In addition you give the tax office the information that matters for tax – that is the tax registration questionnaire.
Freelance activity: You notify the tax office directly of the start of the activity, also with the questionnaire.
Deadline: within one month of the start (§ 138 para. 4 AO). Do not wait for mail from the tax office: the questionnaire must come unprompted.
Form: electronic, in the officially prescribed data set. Paper works only if the tax office waives it on application because of undue hardship.
Competent tax office: This depends on the place where your business is managed.

Three numbers that are often confused

Number	Issued by	Used for
Tax identification number (Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer, Steuer-ID)	Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), for natural persons	your personal number, not your business's
Tax number (Steuernummer)	your tax office, after the questionnaire	for your business, for example for advance returns and tax returns
VAT identification number (Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer, USt-IdNr.)	BZSt, in addition to the tax number	for trading in the EU and, for example, for registering for the One-Stop Shop (OSS)

What does the questionnaire ask?

The official ELSTER filling-in guide divides the most important parts like this:

Information for setting the prepayments: your expected income for the year of opening and the following year. From this the tax office sets prepayments – so estimate realistically.
Method of determining profit: Anyone who, for example, must keep books under commercial law determines the profit with a balance sheet; in principle this also applies with more than €800,000 of turnover or more than €80,000 of profit in a year. Other traders and freelancers can use the income surplus statement (Einnahmenüberschussrechnung, EÜR) – more on this under Preparing and filing the EÜR.
Wage tax (Lohnsteuer): only if you have employees.
VAT: expected sales in the current year and the following year, small business regulation yes or no, expected payable tax, taxation on the basis of agreed consideration (Soll-Versteuerung) or on the basis of payments received (Ist-Versteuerung), and whether you need a VAT ID number.

Small business owner: yes or no?

In the year of founding your sales as a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer) are VAT-exempt as long as your total turnover does not exceed €25,000; the sale with which you exceed the limit is already subject to regular taxation. From the following year the rule is: previous year no more than €25,000 and current year no more than €100,000.

As a small business owner you generally do not submit an advance VAT return or a VAT return, generally do not pay VAT over, can regularly not deduct input VAT, and must not write invoices that show VAT. Exception: for certain purchases, for example services for which you owe the tax as the recipient, or intra-Community acquisitions, you owe the VAT anyway.

If you waive the small business regulation, you are bound to regular taxation for at least five calendar years. VAT return for a small business in Germany: do I have to file? explains when you file an advance return as a small business owner anyway.

Soll or Ist taxation, and what about the VAT ID number (USt-IdNr.)?

Agreed consideration (Soll), the normal case: You declare the VAT for the period in which you delivered or performed – regardless of when payment arrives; advance payments already in the period in which you receive them.
Payments received (Ist), on application: The tax arises only when payment arrives. Freelancers with an income surplus statement get this without a turnover limit, traders only with total turnover in the previous year of no more than €800,000; in the year of founding, total turnover extrapolated to the year counts.

Apply for the VAT ID number (USt-IdNr.) at the same time

If you state in the questionnaire that you need a VAT ID number, the tax office forwards the application to the BZSt after registering you for VAT. You need it, for example, for VAT-exempt supplies to businesses in other EU countries and for registering for the OSS.

What does the route via ELSTER look like?

Register your trade, if you operate a trade (§ 14 GewO).
Register with ELSTER: you must be registered there to submit the questionnaire. With the certificate from this registration you can at first only transmit the questionnaire.
Fill in the questionnaire online and send it electronically to the tax office within one month.
Receive the tax number by post.
Afterwards convert the registration into a full user account so that you can transmit returns and advance returns.

With regular taxation the advance returns start from now on, each by the 10th day after the end of the period – dates and exceptions: Submitting the advance VAT return online.

Which mistakes happen often?

Waiting for a letter from the tax office. The questionnaire is due unprompted within one month.
Confusing tax ID and tax number. The tax ID is personal; the tax office issues the tax number for your business after the questionnaire.
Estimating unrealistically. The expected income is used to set the prepayments.
Overlooking the €25,000 limit in the year of founding. The sale that exceeds it is already taxable in the regular way.
Waiving the small business regulation lightly. The waiver binds you for five years.
Forgetting the VAT ID number. Without it, no registration for the OSS and no VAT-exempt supply to EU businesses.

How VAT GPT helps with the questionnaire

Fill in: In VAT GPT you fill in the tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietorships.
Check: You check and confirm your details.
Send: VAT GPT sends the questionnaire to the tax office; the tax number comes by post.

After that you carry on in the same account: upload Amazon and eBay reports and invoices, check the result, send with VAT GPT Pro, namely advance VAT return, OSS return, annual VAT return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns. All in one place. There is Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT). Try for Free Now

Frequently asked questions about the tax number

What is the tax registration questionnaire? The form with which you report to the tax office that you are starting a trade, a self-employed or an agricultural and forestry activity and give the details that matter for tax. Since 1 January 2021 you use it to apply for the tax number for your business – electronically.

Where do I find my tax number? On a notice from the tax office, at the top left after the word “Steuernummer”. The tax ID is a different number.

How long does it take until I get the tax number? The tax office sends it to you by post after checking the questionnaire. ELSTER does not state a fixed processing time.

Do I need a trade registration as a freelancer? The trade registration under § 14 GewO concerns trades. Anyone who starts a freelance activity notifies the tax office – with the tax registration questionnaire.

Do I have to submit the questionnaire as a small business owner too? Yes. The small business regulation is a statement in the questionnaire, not an exception from it.

By when must the questionnaire be with the tax office? Within one month after you start your activity.

Can I submit the questionnaire on paper? Only if the tax office, on your application, waives electronic transmission because of undue hardship.

What is the difference between the tax number and the VAT ID number? The tax office issues the tax number for your business. The VAT ID number is a separate number that the BZSt issues in addition; you need it for trading with businesses in other EU countries and for the OSS.

When do I have to submit the first advance VAT return? With regular taxation, by the 10th day after the end of your first advance return period. For a founding up to the end of 2026 the expected tax decides: above €9,000 monthly, otherwise quarterly. From 2027 the wording of § 18 para. 2 UStG (as of 21 October 2026) again provides for monthly filing in the year of founding and the following year – more on this: Submitting the advance VAT return online.