Overview

• DSTG leader Florian Köbler has called for the abolition of manual returns for employees and retirees, proposing fully automated filings that citizens would only need to verify.
• Coalition partners in the CDU/CSU and SPD government plan to expand prefilled digital returns for simple tax cases under existing tax simplification commitments.
• All taxpayers must file 2024 returns by July 31, 2025 or secure an extension to April 30, 2026 through a tax advisor or Lohnsteuerhilfeverein.
• Late filers incur a mandatory minimum surcharge of €25 per month, prompting advisers to warn of mounting penalties for missed deadlines.
• Advisers urge last-minute claims of 20 percent labour-cost deductions for household and handwerker services and a potential €5,200 garden work bonus, drawing on Estonia’s and Austria’s fully online models as proof of concept.