The web address for the English-language version of the Federal Central Tax Office’s online portal (BOP) is:

Application for exemtion of German capital income tax (de/en)

The number is necessary to register on the online portal and submit an application there.

You can request a BZSt number using the following registration form:

https://www.bzst.de/SiteGlobals/Kontaktformulare/EN/Capital_Yield_Tax_Relief/BOP/kontakt_node.html

In addition to completing and submitting the online registration form, you must e-mail/letter

(a) a copy of your passport or ID card and, if required,

(b) a copy of a commercial register extract

to kapitalertragsteuer@bzst.bund.de/Department St I B 3 An der Küppe 1, 53225 Bonn.

In the e-mail, please specify the date when you submitted the online registration form. Requests for BZSt numbers cannot be processed without this additional documentation.

It is possible to request a company certificate. To do this, you must request a BZSt number for the company. You can then use this number to register the company on the BOP. After registering, you will then receive a software certificate for the company. This certificate enables you to create up to 100 user accounts for company staff. Detailed information is available here.

Certificates are valid for three years and must be renewed after that period expires.

There are no generalised restrictions on the types of persons who can request a certificate.
Non-resident tax advisors and accounting firms that want to file applications on behalf of their clients must be registered with a German chamber of tax advisors (see section 3a of the Tax Consultancy Act [Steuerberatungsgesetz]).

Attachments sent using the BOP must not exceed 100 pdf pages or 10.4 MB. A maximum of 20 attachments not exceeding a cumulative total of 14 MB can be sent.

If the documents you have to submit exceed the BOP’s size/volume limits, we would prefer that you send the documents via e-mail to kapitalertragsteuer@bzst.bund.de.

To ensure that your e-mail is processed correctly, please enter the following information in the subject line:

Transfer ticket number + "Submission of documents"

Please state in the covering letter:
If you know the reference number:
a. reference/file number,
b. name of applicant
c. advisor’s reference number (if applicable)

If you do not know the reference number:
a. applicant’s country of residence (you can use the ISO 3166 alpha-2 code),
b. procedure (refund or exemption),
c. date when application was filed,
d. name of applicant
e. advisor’s reference number (if applicable)

You can also send the documents by post, but this slows down the processing time (because it takes extra time to convert these documents into digital records). It is also possible to transmit documents using the BOP function for submitting receipts. If you use this function, please enter the above information in the free text field.

It is sufficient to upload these documents in electronic form via the BOP. The Federal Central Tax Office may request the submission of original documents on a case-by-case basis.

No. After you have successfully filed an application, you will receive a confirmation notice that includes a transfer ticket number. This means that your application has been received.

Yes, the system is set up so that you can enter multiple e-mail addresses. You can also enter a group e-mail address for this purpose.

With the growing shift to online services, many countries now issue residence certificates as separate documents.
If your tax authority does not do this, please ask them to complete the form (provided by the Federal Central Tax Office) confirming your tax residence. You can upload this form on the BOP here.

You can enter up to 100 separate dividend amounts.

There is no limit on the number of applications per tax advisor.
However, the number of sub-accounts that can be set up using a company BZSt number is limited to 100. If you need more than 100 sub-accounts, you can request additional company BZSt numbers. In addition, there is also a limit on the volume of data and/or number of documents that can be uploaded (see above).

Currently, the only way to show that various BOP applications are related is to state this in the free text field at the end of the application. When doing so, please include the name of the applicant, the date of the application and the transfer ticket number.

Yes, you can use the BOP to apply for refunds of capital income tax even for capital income that accrued prior to 1 January 2023. Please note, however, that the time limit for filing a refund application is four years. This period starts at the end of the year when the capital income was received (see section 50c (3) sentence 2 of the Income Tax Act).

It is not possible to choose.

Yes, the BZSt conducts a review to identify which procedure is more favourable.

MURI statements can be filed either online or in paper form.

If your country of residence does not issue such numbers, please enter a placeholder (such as "–").

It is sufficient if you submit a residence certificate when you file your application for an exemption. Then, when you file your online MURI statement, select "no" in the field for the certificate of residence.

When filling out your online MURI statement, you can file a "nil report" as follows:

You must enter data in the section "Statement of exempted income from capital and income received".

Select the answer "no" under "Income was received" and complete the other mandatory fields.

This is a built-in part of the application and cannot be changed.

Unfortunately, there is no other technical solution at this time.

For capital income tax refunds under section 50c (3) of the Income Tax Act, the following fields must be completed:

"Name of the bank", "City", "Country/territory", "Name of the account holder", and then "BIC" and "IBAN" or "Account number" and "Bank code".
If the payment recipient differs from the applicant, the payment recipient’s full address is required.

We are aware of this problem, which occurs when an application is filed for tax relief under section 43b of the Income Tax Act. It does not occur when an application is filed for tax relief under a double taxation agreement.
Please use the following work-around:

1. If the taxpayer does maintain a permanent establishment, fill out the “Permanent establishment” section of the form normally.

2. If a permanent establishment is not maintained, then:

   Answer "no" to the question "Do the profit distributions of the debtor (subsidiary) accrue to a permanent establishment of the parent company located in another member state of the European Union?".
   Enter "n/a" for "Name of the permanent establishment located in a member state of the European Union".
   Enter "n/a" for "Postcode".
   Enter "n/a" for "City".
   You can then send the application without further difficulty.

Spouses cannot submit a joint application in the electronic application procedure. Each spouse must submit a separate application for reimbursement.

First option:

Each of the two spouses applies for access to the BZSt online portal (registration process) and submits a separate application.

Second option:

One spouse applies for access to the BZSt online portal, submits his or her own application and additionally the application of the spouse as an authorized person. A corresponding power of attorney must be uploaded when the application is submitted.

Please note the following when completing the application form. The following notes must be included in the free text field "Notes on the application":

• "This is a joint custody account in which both spouses each hold a 50% interest."
• Name of the spouse

Communities of heirs cannot submit a joint application in the electronic application procedure. Each of the heirs must submit an individual application for reimbursement.

First option:

Each heir applies for access to the BZSt online portal (registration process) and submits a separate application.

Second option:

One of the heirs applies for access to the BZSt online portal, submits their own application and additionally the applications of the other heirs as an authorized person. A corresponding power of attorney must be uploaded when the application is submitted.

Please note the following when completing the application form. The following notes must be included in the free text field "Notes on the application":

• This is a joint custody account in which I hold an interest of xy % as an heir."
• Names of the other heirs

In general, signatures specified in the eIDAS Regulation are valid in the EU. To ensure legal certainty, however, such signatures must be "qualified electronic signatures". For this reason, the necessary certificates can be issued only by officially approved providers (accredited trust service providers). In Germany, such providers are registered with the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). You can check the eIDAS Dashboard to find out which trust service providers have been accredited by individual EU member states:

Thus the Federal Central Tax Office accepts qualified electronic signatures (including signatures on powers of attorney and authorisation forms) for which an officially approved provider has issued the necessary certificate.