Tax Accounting Services for German Nonprofit Organizations

Nonprofit organizations in Germany have a great need for qualified tax advice. In particular, if they are tax-privileged, they must continuously observe numerous special tax regulations.

Yes, nonprofit organizations are also subject to tax in principle, but they benefit from reduced tax rates in some cases. However, if the economic income and sales of a nonprofit organization remain within the limits set by the German tax authorities, no taxes are due on them.

When foreign charities are recognized in Germany, they will be able to realize their income from German sources tax-free, even if they are not physically present in Germany.

Regarding the tax laws of nonprofit organizations in Germany, we

• help you choosing the right legal form for your organization from a tax perspective as well as incorporating the organization in Germany,
• draft or check your organizational documents and improve them so that they satisfy all legal requirements for having your organization recognized as an entity exempt under German nonprofit tax law,
• assist newly formed and already existing organizations in working out the best organizational structure (for example with respect to the formation of a separate legal entity for unrelated business activities subject to corporate income tax),
• take care of your financial and payroll accounting, the financial annual statements and all required tax returns for your organization including the so called “Gem1” tax return for charitable organizations,
• give advice on how to manage your German nonprofit organization in a way that is compliant with German nonprofit tax law,
• help with any other tax and legal issues that may arise with respect to your nonprofit organization and discuss on your behalf all upcoming legal and tax issues with the tax and other supervisory authorities,
• help develop a legal and tax secured sponsorship concept for your nonprofit organization which includes drafting the required sponsorship contracts,
• advise your donors on the most tax efficient way of donating to your organization,  
• review and improve your fundraising strategies legally and from a tax perspective; this is especially challenging when it comes to cross-border donations and/or grants from a foreign country to your German organization since in these cases two tax regimes and the respective double taxation treaties have to be taken into account,
• defend your nonprofit tax-exempt status in case the German Revenue Service intends to revoke it - before the tax authorities as well as all German tax courts.

We have been repeatedly awarded by independent parties as one of Germany's leading firms regarding legal and tax services for nonprofit organizations.

The basic approach of our nonprofit tax accountants is to avoid risky and expensive legal disputes from the beginning. Your organization should not only find the approval from the tax authorities in the first place but also keep its tax-exempt status permanently. This requires expert legal advice accompanying all your organization's business decisions. And this is exactly what you can expect from us.