Tax number for a business in Germany: what comes after the trade registration

After you register a trade, the tax number does not arrive by itself. The trade office does pass the data of your notification on to the tax office (section 14 (8) GewO), but your tax office needs further information from you: you submit the tax registration questionnaire electronically and without being asked within one month of starting the activity (section 138 (1b) and (4) AO). The tax number then arrives by post from the tax office.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Trade office and tax office: The trade notification also goes from the trade office to the tax office. It does not replace the questionnaire.
Your step: The tax registration questionnaire via ELSTER, within one month.
Processing: The tax office checks and sends you the tax number by post. Berlin gives an average processing time of about 2 weeks once all documents are available; other tax offices may differ.
Costs: Berlin lists no fee for the tax registration; registering with ELSTER is free.
Until then: With an e-mail-only registration you can at first only send the questionnaire in ELSTER, not yet tax returns.
Invoices: As a rule the invoice shows the tax number or the VAT ID (section 14 (4) sentence 1 no. 2 UStG). A small-amount invoice of up to 250 euros needs neither (section 33 UStDV, not for sections 3c, 6a and 13b UStG); for intra-Community supplies and services to businesses in other EU countries the VAT ID must be on it (section 14a (1) and (3) UStG).

The order

Register the trade. The notification is made at the same time as the business starts (section 14 (1) GewO). How that works online: Business registration online in Germany.
Register with ELSTER. With your e-mail address, if the tax office has not yet assigned you a tax number. Creating the user account is then completed immediately, and no letter is sent.
Fill in and send the questionnaire. The fields are explained in Tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietors.
Wait for the tax number. The tax office notifies you.
Convert the user account. Once you have the tax number, you convert the registration into a full user account and can submit returns and advance returns.

Why is the trade registration not enough?

The law provides two reporting routes that run side by side. Under section 138 (1) AO you notify the opening of a commercial business to the municipality, and the municipality informs the tax office. In addition, section 138 (1b) AO obliges you to give the tax office further information on the tax-relevant circumstances, in the officially prescribed data set via the officially designated interface (ELSTER). Berlin puts it like this: anyone who takes up a commercial activity is obliged to give the tax office information; for the questionnaire there is a legal duty of electronic transmission.

The tax office in whose area the management of the business is located is responsible for the tax registration. The BZSt offers a search for the local tax office.

How long does it take?

The ELSTER help texts name no nationwide deadline for the tax office. Berlin gives an average processing time of about 2 weeks once all required documents are available. More on this, including what you can do while you wait: Tax number in Germany: applying with the tax registration questionnaire online.

Several activities and side businesses

The tax office assigns the tax number per case; a separate one can be assigned for different types of tax (ELSTER). Anyone who starts a trade or a freelance activity alongside employment must notify the tax office - with the tax registration questionnaire. The Existenzgründungsportal of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs says: after you submit the form you may receive an extra tax number.

Common mistakes

Waiting for the tax office. The questionnaire is due without being asked, within one month.
Mixing up the trade licence and the tax number. The trade licence is the confirmation of your trade registration; the tax office assigns the tax number.
Mixing up the tax number and the tax ID. The tax number is independent of the identification number.
Waiting with the questionnaire until the first invoice. As a rule invoices must show the tax number or the VAT ID (section 14 (4) sentence 1 no. 2 UStG); without an assignment you do not have it.
Submitting the questionnaire on paper. That is permitted only on request in special cases of hardship.

How it works with VAT GPT

Fill in the questionnaire: In VAT GPT you fill in the tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietors free of charge directly in the app.
Check: You see your details in the "Check & submit" overview.
Send: VAT GPT sends the questionnaire to the tax office so that you get your tax number.

Afterwards you carry on in the same account: upload Amazon and eBay CSV reports and invoices, check the result, send with VAT GPT Pro - advance VAT return, OSS return, annual VAT return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns. With Go you use all Pro features free of charge for 30 days. Get to know VAT GPT or create an account right away.

What VAT GPT does not do

VAT GPT does not handle your trade registration with the trade office; the app points to the local trade office for it.
VAT GPT is not tax advice - for example on whether you should stay a small business owner or waive the rule.
The questionnaire is available in VAT GPT only for sole proprietors, not for partnerships or corporations (for example GbR, UG, GmbH).
VAT GPT does not prepare a corporate income tax return (for example for a GmbH or UG).

What does VAT GPT cost?

Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features), Pro €49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get the tax number automatically after the trade registration? No. The trade office does inform the tax office, but you must submit the tax registration questionnaire yourself, electronically.

By when? Within one month of the event that triggers the duty, that is of starting the activity (section 138 (4) AO).

What does it cost? Berlin names no fee for the tax registration, and registering with Mein ELSTER is free.

Where do I get the tax number? The tax office sends it to you by post after checking the questionnaire. Later you find it on notices at the top left, after the word "Steuernummer".

Do I need a trade registration as a freelancer? No; liberal professions are exempt from the trade notification. You submit the questionnaire all the same.

I am employed and starting on the side. Do I need a second tax number? You notify the activity with the questionnaire. The Existenzgründungsportal says you may then receive an extra tax number.