Objection to Tax Assessment Notice
A question that concerns a large part of the German population on an annual basis is the following: When will I receive my tax assessment notice after submitting my tax return? If this notice contains discrepancies, the subsequent question arises: Under what conditions is an objection to the tax assessment notice permissible, and in which cases does such an objection make sense?
The basics of the tax assessment notice are outlined below, and the pressing questions about the permissibility and reasonableness of filing an objection to a tax assessment notice are analyzed and discussed.
Tax Determination: As a response from the tax office to the tax return, the tax assessment determines whether there is a payment due or a refund.
Structure of the Tax Assessment Notice: The tax assessment follows a largely standardized, legally prescribed structure.
Reviewing the Tax Assessment Notice: Upon receipt, the tax assessment should be reviewed for errors and discrepancies.
Objection to the Tax Assessment Notice: In the case of an erroneous tax assessment, it is advisable to file an objection with the responsible tax office.
Short Deadlines for Objection: In principle, there is only one month from the notification of the tax assessment to file an objection.
What Is a Tax Assessment Notice? – An Overview
The income tax assessment notice (commonly referred to as the tax assessment notice) is an official document that serves as the tax authority’s response to the tax return you submitted. Through the tax assessment notice, the responsible tax authority determines your tax liability. This determination may result in either a refund or an additional payment of taxes for you. How the tax authority calculates this determination in detail can be found in your tax assessment notice.

The Tax Return as the Basis for the Tax Assessment Notice
Before receiving your income tax assessment notice, it is mandatory to file your tax return with the responsible tax office.
With increasing digitization, in addition to using traditional paper forms, you now have the option to create and submit your tax return online. Beyond the electronic tax declaration (ELSTER), various tax software programs offer the service of preparing your tax return digitally and efficiently. The digital tax return has the advantage of reduced error rates and generally faster processing by the relevant tax authority. However, regardless of occasional significantly longer or shorter processing times, you should expect to wait six to eight weeks before receiving your tax assessment notice.
If, after six months, you have not received your tax assessment notice—assuming this period has not been interrupted by inquiries from the tax authority—you should inquire with the responsible tax office about the reason for the delay. In such cases, you also have the option to file a formal complaint of inaction.
The Structure of a Tax Assessment Notice
Although a tax assessment notice may appear complex at first glance, it follows a standardized structure.
This structure is based on binding legal requirements. Mandatory elements include the type and amount of the assessed tax, the identification of the taxpayer, and the responsible tax office. In addition, the law recommends including instructions on legal remedies and a justification for the assessment. While the absence of mandatory elements renders the income tax assessment notice invalid as an administrative act under § 125 Abs. 1 AO, and thus ineffective under § 124 Abs. 3 AO, the omission of recommended elements generally does not affect the validity of the notice. However, filing an objection to the tax assessment notice may still be reasonable and appropriate in both cases.
In accordance with these legal requirements, the first page of the tax assessment notice includes your personal data as well as the determination of a refund or additional payment. The following pages provide a breakdown of your income and an explanation of the calculation method used by the responsible tax office.
The Detailed Structure of a Tax Assessment Notice
According to these guidelines, the first page of the income tax assessment notice begins with the header. This includes the taxpayer’s personal information as well as the name of the responsible tax office. It is followed by details regarding the type of tax, the tax year, and the amount of taxable income. After specifying the period on which the tax calculation is based, the calculated tax refund or additional payment is listed under the heading “Assessment.”
The second and third pages of the tax assessment notice then provide a detailed explanation of the taxable income under the section “Taxation Bases.” Here, your reported income (e.g., income from self-employment or employment, rental income, etc.) and expenses (e.g., work-related expenses, commuting allowance, etc.) are itemized. From this, you can deduce which items the responsible tax office has recognized and used as the basis for calculating your income tax.
The final section, “Explanations,” concludes the tax assessment notice. This section provides reasons why the tax office has (or has not) recognized certain income and expenses. It is followed by instructions on legal remedies, which state that the permissible legal remedy against a tax assessment notice is an objection, as per § 347 Abs. 1 AO.
An omitted or incorrect notice of legal remedies does not affect the validity of the tax assessment notice. However, it does extend the objection period from one month to one year from the date the tax assessment notice is issued, as stipulated in § 356 Abs. 2 AO.
Objection to Tax Assessment Notice
Keeping the standardized structure of a tax assessment notice in mind, you should promptly conduct a detailed review of the information in the notice after receiving it. Do not accept your tax assessment notice without question, despite its official nature; it is prepared by humans, and errors can occur. According to statistics from the German Taxpayers’ Association, approximately one in five income tax assessment notices contains errors.
To ensure your income tax assessment notice does not become part of these statistics, you can take simple precautions: The tax assessment notice (ESt-Bescheid) should be checked for formal and substantive errors. Pay particular attention to whether the mandatory and recommended legal requirements have been included in the notice. Additionally, errors are often found in general personal information, the allowances you have claimed, and the correct calculation of the “total amount of income.” You should also verify whether the extraordinary expenses you have declared have been taken into account and whether your work-related expenses, along with other potentially deductible costs, have been correctly calculated.
If you notice any discrepancies that cannot be explained, it is advisable to file an objection to the income tax assessment notice.
Filing an objection to the tax assessment notice is advisable if you detect errors during your review of the notice or if discrepancies—particularly differences between the tax return and the tax assessment notice—remain unresolved.
Requirements for Filing an Objection to a Tax Assessment Notice
The prerequisites for filing an objection to a tax assessment notice are the existence of a valid objection reason and compliance with the objection deadline. Additionally, the objection should be formally correct and include a justification to improve the chances of success.
Objection reasons may include errors in the tax assessment notice, unexplained discrepancies between the tax return and the tax assessment notice, or the rejection by the tax office of costs, tax allowances, or flat-rate amounts that were stated in the tax return.
An objection is considered timely if it is filed within one month of the notification of the tax assessment notice. If this deadline is missed, the tax assessment notice becomes legally binding, meaning that the tax determination can no longer be changed. Aside from rare deadline extensions—such as a successful application for reinstatement to the prior status or cases where the mandatory legal remedy notice is not included in the tax assessment notice—it is crucial to adhere to the short objection deadline.
The deadline begins on the date the income tax assessment notice is considered notified. According to § 122 Abs. 1 AO, this is three working days after the date specified in the tax assessment notice. The same applies under § 122 Abs. 2a AO for electronically transmitted tax assessment notices. If the start or end of the deadline falls on a public holiday or weekend, the deadline begins or ends on the next working day.
Example Calculation: Until When Can I File an Objection?
Date of the postmark on the tax assessment notice: December 1
Plus notification of the administrative act (3 working days): + 3 days
Start of the objection period: December 4
End of the objection period: January 4
If January 4 falls on a Sunday, the deadline would extend to the next working day, in this case, January 5.

If the deadline has already expired, there may still be ways to amend or revoke a flawed tax assessment notice. Our tax law experts carefully examine whether the correction provisions of the German Tax Code (Abgabenordnung) are applicable in such cases.
Formally, it must also be noted that the objection must be submitted in writing. Mandatory formal requirements for the admissibility of an objection include the personal data of the objector, the official designation of the notice, and the tax year. The objection must be addressed to the tax office that issued the disputed tax assessment notice. The letter must make it unequivocally clear that an objection is being filed.
Although not legally required, providing a justification is essential to the success of your objection to the tax assessment notice. Only if the responsible tax authority understands which errors you identify or which determinations you specifically contest can it conduct a targeted review of these aspects and uncover internal errors.
In some situations, it may be advisable to file an objection without providing a detailed justification immediately and to submit this later to meet the objection deadline.
One advantage of the objection process is that the tax office must review the disputed tax assessment notice again without charging any fees. The responsible authority is generally the tax office that issued the original notice.
The Consequences of the Objection
If the objection is successful, the tax office will issue a revised notice that corrects the error. If this revised notice contains further discrepancies, another objection can be filed against it.
Initially, a permissible objection to a tax assessment notice means that the responsible tax office will subject the notice to a renewed and comprehensive review – and, if necessary, issue a corrected version.
However, keep in mind that filing an objection does not automatically suspend the payment obligations arising from the original tax assessment notice; the objection does not generally have a suspensive effect. Such a suspension can only be achieved by filing an application for suspension of enforcement – we can also handle this application for you. In urgent matters involving the suspension of enforcement or interim orders, the application should be justified immediately.
If the tax authority has doubts about the legality of the issued tax assessment notice, it will, in most cases, approve an application for suspension of enforcement. However, it is important to note that the applicant may be required to pay so-called suspension interest if the notice is not amended in their favor. This interest amounts to 0.5% per month. We will assess individually whether an additional application for suspension of enforcement is advisable and necessary in your case, alongside the objection.
During the review process, the tax office may re-evaluate all components of the notice, including aspects not addressed in the objection. Furthermore, it is possible that the tax office may identify errors in the tax assessment notice that had previously worked in your favor. Such a reformatio in peius (“change for the worse”), which could result in a reduced tax refund to your disadvantage, cannot be carried out by the tax office without notifying you. In such a case, you have the option to withdraw your objection under § 362 AO. This withdrawal will render the original tax assessment notice legally binding.
If the tax office rejects an amendment, a so-called objection decision will be issued. With this decision, the objection procedure is concluded. In this case, the only remaining option is to take the matter to the tax court to challenge the objection decision.
How Can We Assist You with Errors in Your Tax Assessment Notice?
We can provide you with professional advice and years of experience when it comes to drafting the justification for your objection. Even less obvious errors that may have been included in your tax assessment notice can be identified and refuted with a well-structured justification.
However, we also offer assistance at later stages of the process. It is possible that, even after an objection, the responsible tax office may maintain its determination. In such cases, you still have the option of pursuing legal action through the competent tax court. Together, we can discuss which course of action is most appropriate for your specific situation.
In any case, our law firm, with its extensive experience in criminal law and tax law, will provide you with excellent contacts and efficient legal counsel.