Meaning of Permanent Extension Part II
Deadlines for advance VAT returns
A basic distinction must be made between monthly tax and quarterly tax returns when making advance VAT returns . Most companies are affected by the monthly creation. Whether you are a monthly or quarterly payer basically depends on how much sales you achieved in previous periods or how much sales tax you had to pay.
Most companies therefore have – at least without an extension of the deadline – only ten days from the end of the pre-registration period to carry out the pre-registration. This is a fairly short period of time to sort all documents and to have the accounting in perfect order, which also explains the popularity of the permanent extension.
| Assessment total | Payment due date |
| Up to € 1,000 | After the application and approval, there is an obligation to submit an annual sales tax report |
| Under € 7,500 | Here you have your appointment quarterly perform |
| Over € 7,500 | In this case, a monthly advance notification must be made. This also applies to you as a founder in your first year as an entrepreneur. |
Sales tax advance notification – Dates for the permanent extension of the deadline
Deadlines must also be observed when extending the permanent term. All those who pay their sales tax on a quarterly basis have a clear advantage here. In this case, an application only needs to be made once and there is no need to make a special advance payment. There is no need to submit a new application in the following year. As long as you are still a quarterly payer, the long-term extension continues to apply without a new application. The deadline for the first and one-time application for quarterly payers is April 10th .
It is different for those companies that have to submit monthly VAT returns . You have to apply for the permanent extension by February 10th and then make an eleventh of the total of all sales tax returns from the previous year as a special advance payment . For all monthly payers it is necessary to apply for the permanent extension every year – the deadline must not be overlooked, so it is best to enter a date for the following year in the calendar!
Below is an overview of the effect of a permanent extension , i.e. from when it is valid, using the example of this and next year.
| Submission of applications for a permanent extension | Monthly payer | Quarterly payer | Validity of the permanent extension |
| 02/10/20 | Yes | No | January 2020 |
| 03/10/20 | Yes | No | February 2020 |
| 04/10/20 | Yes | No | March 2020 |
| 04/10/20 | No | Yes | First quarter of 2020 |
| 01/10/21 | Yes | No | December 2020 |
| 01/10/21 | No | Yes | Fourth quarter of 2020 |
Apply for a permanent extension
The application for the permanent extension is done quickly. We will now show you the different options, depending on whether you only want a one-time extension of the deadline or whether you want a permanent extension.
One-time permanent extension
According to Healthknowing, a one-time renewal can be helpful if you just want to do the sales tax return later during a particularly stressful phase. In principle, you can even arrange this one-time extension by calling the tax office. As always, you are on the safe side with the written form. An informal, short letter to the tax office is sufficient.
It is important that you remember not only to include the company address in this letter, but also the tax number so that the application can be assigned.
Approval notification from the tax office
The tax office does not issue a notification of approval for your application for a permanent extension of the deadline . This applies if the tax office does not expressly reject your application. So you can take advantage of the long-term extension for yourself even without a notification of approval. This applies until you inform the tax office on your part that you no longer want to claim it, or the long-term extension is revoked by the responsible tax office. The tax office is always instructed to revoke the claim if the claim to taxes appears to be at risk.
One-time permanent extension – sample letter
The letter to the responsible tax office can look something like this:
Dear Sirs and Madames,
Unfortunately, we, the Muster GmbH with headquarters on Musterstrasse X in Musterort Y, tax number XXX, cannot prepare the advance VAT return, which would be due on XX XX 20XX, this time because we have suffered illness-related failures and IT problems.
I therefore ask you to extend the deadline once by one month and to briefly confirm this extension in writing.
Thank you in advance and best regards,
M. Mustermann
Permanent extension via ElsterOnline
The permanent extension can be requested directly via ElsterOnline . To do this, you have to go to the sales tax area and there you can click on the permanent extension to get to the application form.
The form can be filled out with just a few details; have your tax number ready. The form for the special advance payment must then also be filled out. When everything is done, you can check your entries again in peace and then send the data. You will then also receive a corresponding shipping confirmation, which you should print out and keep.
