Overview
- A new Lohnsteuer-kompakt analysis of 2025 filings finds an average wait of 50.2 days for income-tax assessments, about 0.6 days faster than the prior year.
- The ranking evaluates processing times at 482 tax offices using more than one million anonymized returns submitted via the portal.
- Finanzamt Zwiesel (Außenstelle Viechtach) is the fastest at 28.4 days, while Finanzamt Berlin International is the slowest at 90.4 days.
- In North Rhine-Westphalia, Bottrop averages 33.1 days and ranks among the top offices nationwide, and Düsseldorf-Altstadt is now 10th with 34.4 days after a sharp year-on-year improvement.
- Large disparities persist, with Bielefeld-Außenstadt taking more than 70 days (rank 474), and authorities cite missing documents, taxpayer queries and complex cases as common causes of delays.