Fees and billing
General information about fees
I generally charge for my services in accordance with the Tax Advisor Remuneration Regulation (StBVV). This sets the legal fee framework for typical activities such as tax returns, annual financial statements, and tax consulting.
Further information for download:
Initial consultation/initial advice
A brief introductory meeting (approx. 15 minutes) to clarify whether working together is a good fit is, of course, free of charge.
Specific professional questions will be discussed as part of a consultation, which is subject to a fee.
Fees according to StBVV
The amount of the statutory framework fee according to § 11 StBVV is based, among other things, on the importance, scope, and difficulty of your case.
Well-prepared and coordinated documents usually reduce the amount of work involved—and thus the fee.
Time-based fees
If a time-based fee is permissible or agreed upon in accordance with the StBVV, the hourly rate based on the type, scope, and difficulty of the work. Non-binding orientation values (as of June 2025):
- €115/hour – standard services
(e.g., preliminary closing work, review of a tax assessment notice, answering questions on other topics by email or phone) - €135/hour – more complex services
(e.g., tax audits, business consulting, business closures)
In practice, the transitions are fluid. The amounts stated are plus statutory expenses and VAT.
Individual fees are agreed upon for structuring advice, corporate succession, expert opinions, and expert statements.
Fixed prices
Upon request, fixed prices can be agreed upon for recurring services, e.g. for
- Annual financial statements (from January 1, 2025)
- Income surplus account (from January 1, 2025)
- Bookkeeping (from January 1, 2025)
The fixed prices are based on average cases and allow you to plan your costs.
Billing by time
Billing by time only occurs if this is required by law or agreed upon individually.
For general ongoing inquiries and support activities, the fee is €115 per hour. This applies, for example, to:
- Support with preparatory work for financial statements or accounting
- Clarification of other queries by email or telephone
- Coordination and correspondence with the tax office or third parties, as well as subsequent submission of documents
For particularly important, urgent, or complex tasks (e.g., tax audits, company founding, restructuring, investment and tax planning), a separate fee will be agreed upon.
The legally allowed maximum rate is €164 per hour (as of July 2025). However, this only applies in particularly significant or exceptional cases and is previously clarified (e.g., defense against imminent enforcement measures).
Billing is based on each quarter hour or part thereof (Section 13 StBVV).
The fees are plus statutory expenses (20%, max. €20) and VAT.
Transparent billing
To ensure that you can always see exactly where costs are incurred, each service is assigned to a specific order.
Therefore, services are not offset against or combined with services provided at a later date.
In the case of private income tax mandates, a summary approach is often chosen, as this is practical in this context.
Your advantages:
- You know at all times which service has which value
- No hidden cross-subsidies or unclear mixed calculations
- Fewer queries and less erffort required for reconciliation
Advance payment and payment terms
Depending on the type of service and necessity, clients are required to pay a lump sum advance payment, which is credited to the final invoice upon completion of the respective order. On the one hand, this serves to cover long-term work during the year and reduces administrative costs.
For uncomplicated invoice settlement, you can set up a SEPA direct debit mandate if you wish.
Note: Fixed prices are optional. The sample fixed price lists below are for initial guidance only.
Fee calculator
Note on the fee calculator
The fee calculators provided are based on the StBVV and are intended to offer a rough guide. For reasons of user-friendliness, however, they only take a few parameters into account and do not consider any individual circumstances.
Good to know:
If the documents are complete and well organized and the effort involved is average, the fees for tax returns and annual financial statements range between the minimum and average fees.
Fee examples
The following table contains non-binding examples, in each case plus 19% VAT. Further examples can be found on the website of the Berlin Chamber of Tax Consultants.
Micro-limited company (e.g. GmbH)
Performance period: two years
Paramenters: Revenues = 15.000 €; Total assets = 20.000 €; Employees = None
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| Annual financial statements (including preparation report) | 400,00 € | 400,00 € |
| Filing in the Federal Gazette | 150,00 € | 150,00 € |
| Company tax returns (corporate income tax, trade tax, VAT) and e-balance sheets | 400,00 € | 400,00 € |
| Review of tax assessment notices | 85,00 € | 85,00 € |
| Total fee | 1.035,00 € | 1.035,00 € |
Micro-limited company (e.g. GmbH), incl. accounting
Performance period: two years
Paramenters: Revenue = 15.000 €; Total assets = 20.000 €; Employees = None
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| Accouting setup (incl. providing DATEV Unternehmen online) | 250,00 € | – |
| Accounting - Quaterly (approx. 20 receipts each) | 400,00 € | 400,00 € |
| Clarification of missing receipts or additional reconciliations in the first year (2 hours à 115 €) | 230,00 € | – |
| Annual financial statements (including preparation report) | 400,00 € | 400,00 € |
| Filing in the Federal Gazette | 150,00 € | 150,00 € |
| Company tax returns (corporate income tax, trade tax, VAT) and e-balance sheets | 400,00 € | 400,00 € |
| Review of tax assessment notices | 85,00 € | 85,00 € |
| Total fee | 1.915,00 € | 1.435,00 € |
Self-employed / Freelancer
Perfomance period: two years
Paramenters: Income = 65.000 €; Expsenses = 10.000 €; Employees = None
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| Import of external accounting / Additional reconciliation work in the first year (3 hours at 115 €) |
115,00 € | – |
| Business tax returns (including Annex EÜR) | 550,00 € | 550,00 € |
| Private tax return without other income | 200,00 € | 200,00 € |
| Review of tax assessment notices | 65,00 € | 65,00 € |
| Total fee | 930,00 € | 815,00 € |
Self-employed / freelancer (including tax record keeping)
Performance period: two years
Paramenters: Income = 65.000 €; Expenses = 10.000 €; Employees = None
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting setup (including provision of DATEV Unternehmen online | 250,00 € | – |
| Tax records - Quarterly (approx. 50 documents each) | 600,00 € | 600,00 € |
| Clarification of missing receipts and additional coordination effort in the first year (2 hours at €115)) |
230,00 € | – |
| Business tax returns (including Annex EÜR) | 550,00 € | 550,00 € |
| Private tax return without other income | 200,00 € | 200,00 € | Review of tax assessment notices | 65,00 € | 65,00 € |
| Total fee | 1.895,00 € | 1.415,00 € |
Private income tax return (including purchase of rental property)
Performance period: two years
Paramenters: Income from work = 120.000 €; Income from letting = 10.000 €
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| General form (including extraordinary expenses, special expenses, pension expenses) | 250,00 € | 200,00 € |
| Annex N for employees | 300,00 € | 250,00 € |
| Annex for letting and leasing | 250,00 € | 200,00 € |
| Preliminary work for the income from letting (e.g. purchase price allocation, determination of depreciation base) in the first year (3 hours at 115 €) |
345,00 € | – |
| Review of tax assessment notices | 65,00 € | 35,00 € |
| Subsequent submission of documents for property purchase for the first year (1 hour at 115 €) | 115,00 € | – € |
| Total fee | 1.325,00 € | 685,00 € |
Private income tax return
Performance period: two years
Paramenters: Income from work = 120.000 €
| Services | 1. Year | 2. Year |
|---|---|---|
| General form (including extraordinary expenses, special expenses, pension expenses) | 250,00 € | 200,00 € |
| Annex N for employees | 300,00 € | 250,00 € |
| Review of tax assessment notices | 35,00 € | 35,00 € |
| Total fee | 582,00 € | 485,00 € |