Tax deadlines

German tax deadlines 2026

When your tax return and VAT returns are due — the statutory dates for people who file for themselves.

Calendar year the deadline falls in

July 2026

Due on	Filing	Period	Applies to	Deadline
July 31, 2026	Einkommensteuererklärung (Selbsterklärung) *	2025	Individual, International, and Freelancer	74 days ago

Due on	Filing	Period	Applies to	Deadline
December 31, 2026	Einkommensteuererklärung (freiwillig)	2022	Individual and International	in 79 days

For these returns the deadline depends on who files. File it yourself and § 149 Abs. 2 AO applies; where a Steuerberater prepares it, § 149 Abs. 3 AO gives longer. Every other date in the table is the same either way.
A date falling on a weekend or a nationwide public holiday moves to the next working day (§ 108 Abs. 3 AO).
Where a deadline was extended by statute — such as the COVID-19 extensions in Art. 97 § 36 EGAO — the original date stands beside it, struck through. The info marker names the authority.
Only nationwide holidays are taken into account. Where the day is a public holiday in the Land your Finanzamt belongs to, the deadline ends correspondingly later.

This overview is not tax advice. For your own case, please confirm the dates with your Steuerberater or with the Finanzamt responsible for you.

Find a tax advisor — and the longer statutory deadlines apply to you.