Overview

• Taxpayers would receive a prefilled return on their smartphones that they could approve with one tap or edit directly in the app.
• Bavaria envisions a staged launch beginning in mid-2026 for a limited group such as single, childless employees, followed by gradual expansion.
• The concept builds on the existing Elster infrastructure, which Bavaria already develops for federal and state tax software.
• Finance Minister Albert Füracker describes the proposal as legally secure and fully digital, seeking cross-state agreement to avoid isolated solutions.
• Hesse is running a separate pilot via the Kassel tax office for about 6,000 people, highlighting growing experimentation with automated filing in Germany.