Tax Accounting And Tax Advice in Germany

Proactive tax planning avoids problems

Companies we have advised when they first started their business in Germany (e.g. by helping them set up a subsidiary, drafting employment contracts and intercompany contracts etc.) also often rely on us for tax consulting services, which are provided by our experienced international tax team.

Planning ahead in this manner avoids legal problems and saves costs down the line. Some of the tax issues that should be dealt with early through proactive tax planning include:

Loans and financing:

• How to finance the German subsidiary (loan or equity)?

Director pay and payroll:

• Is there a limit as to the managing director's salary?
• Is the managing director required to pay German social security taxes?

Tax returns:

• How should the German Revenue Service's catalog of detailed questions be answered after the company has been incorporated?

Transfer pricing:

• How should the rendering of services or the delivery of goods to the German company (or to the parent company abroad) be invoiced and what prices should be applied?

Why tax and legal?

A very significant cost factor in legal and tax consulting is the amount of time spent on communication, research and case development. If companies retain two different firms to handle their legal and tax consulting, the amount of time spent on these matters can easily double.

Duplicating communication, research and case development efforts is not just highly inefficient and very expensive: it is also prone to errors. Thus, in our experience, tax and legal advice should come from a single source.

Ready for a change?

If you already have a tax advisor in Germany and are pleased with his services, we are happy to limit our services to legal matters. However, if you are not satisfied with your current accountant, we can make the process of transferring your tax return, accounting and payroll matters to WINHELLER fast and painless. Receiving legal, accounting and tax advice from a single source will result in strategic and cost advantages that you should not do without.

Statutory, hourly and fixed fees

We pride ourselves on providing specialized international tax advisory services at reasonable and competitive rates. For any ongoing accounting work, drafting of tax returns and annual financial statements, we either charge rates pursuant to the official German Tax Consultants' Fee Ordinance, or by the hour. In appropriate cases we can also offer all-inclusive fixed prices. Our legal work is generally charged on an hourly rate basis if we do not agree on a fixed fee with you.