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What’s the Difference Between the German Tax ID Number and the Freelance Tax Number?

December 13, 2017 by Sandy Kappey 13 Comments

You say Steuernummer and I say Steuer-ID-Nummer,

You say Umsatz-ID-Nummer and I say Sozialversicherungsnummer.

Steuernummer, StIDNr, UStID-Nr, SV-Nummer, let’s call the whole thing off.

Hmm. Not really an option. So instead, I’ll take you through it simply, carefully and lovingly. I wish everyone would sing songs about tax.

Steuer-ID-Nummer (tax identification number)

Also known as the tax ID number, the StIDNr. and incorrectly as the social security number.

When you register your address for the first time in Germany, you don’t have to do anything extra to get this one. It just arrives in the mail about 3-4 weeks later. This is an 11 digit-long identification number that the tax office likes you to use whenever you call or write to them. It looks like this:

12  345  678  901

You only get one in your lifetime and it doesn’t change, even if you change your name or address. If your child is born in Germany, they’ll get it in the mail shortly after their birth. Sometimes it’s the first piece of mail your baby ever receives in their lifetime. I haven’t quite figured out whether I find that sweet or kind of creepy.

If you never received it or you lost the piece of paper, you can apply for them to re-send it to you online. It takes a few weeks to come through. You will only receive it at the address where you are currently registered, and they won’t send it electronically.

In the past, some people have had luck going to their local tax office and asking for it in person. I accompanied a few of these people a few years back – the employee at the Finanzamt just wrote the number on a piece of paper for them and hushed them away. But officially, you should only receive it by post. So plenty of people go to the Finanzamt and get turned away and told to use the website instead, especially in the last couple of years.

Your employer might hassle you for your Steuer-ID-Number before they will pay you. If that is their policy, you will just have to be patient and wait.

 

Steuernummer (freelance tax number)

Also known as the freelance tax number.

If you decide you’d like to become self-employed, you’ll need a Steuernummer (a freelance tax number). It looks like this:

12 / 345 / 67890

You get it by filling out a very long form and submitting it to your local Finanzamt. This is a separate process to getting your Gewerbeschein (business license), which you may or may not need depending on the type of work you do. But whether you are a tradesperson or in a freelance profession, if you are self-employed and need to write invoices, this number will need to be on them.

Achtung! Don’t get confused – there’s another Steuernummer that you might get after submitting your very first tax return in Germany that looks IDENTICAL to the freelance tax number. It’s also called a Steuernummer. How very confusing. But they are phasing this one out in favour of the Steuer-ID-Nr.

The 7 page form gives the Finanzamt important information about how you’d like to set up your business – things like your legal form, the type of work you do, your contact details and authorized representatives, how to handle income tax, how to handle VAT, etc. If you’d like some personalised help filling out this form, I’d be very happy to help.

 

Sozialversicherungsnummer (social insurance number)

This number is only issued to you if you are in a working arrangement that obligates you to make social contributions. For example, if you have ever been employed in Germany or if you are accepted into the Künstlersozialkasse as a self-employed person. Usually, it just happens, you don’t have to do much except let your employer sort that out for you, and you’ll find the number on your salary slip.

If you have one but have lost it, you can go to your closest Deutsche Rentenversicherung office (DRV) and just ask for it, ask your old employer, or look at an old payslip. If you are self-employed and not paying into the pension, you don’t really need the number for much. If you are a freelance teacher, don’t contact the DRV and ask to be issued with one or even make any contact with the DRV at all unless you’re cool with making compulsory back payments on your income as a freelance teacher for up to five years of the time you’ve been one. Read here to find out more about that.

Umsatzsteueridentifikationsnummer (USt-IDNr.)

Yep, that’s a word. This is your VAT identification number.

The VAT identification number is only for businesses (including self-employed sole traders). It starts with two letters that designate the country your business is registered in, and then continues with 9 numbers. Like this:

DE123456789

Even if you register as a small business (Kleinunternehmer) and don’t have to worry about charging or claiming VAT, you still might need a VAT ID number. For example, European companies with whom you trade might ask for it so that they can figure out whether they have to charge you VAT or not.

There are two ways to get a VAT ID number. You can either request one when you’re filling out the big long 7-page form to get your freelance tax number (Steuernummer) by checking a box, or, you can visit this website and apply. Choose “Vergabe einer USt-IDNr” from the right-hand menu.

If you’re feeling like this is all a bit too taxing (oh no she didn’t!), this guide from All About Berlin might help.

 

Filed Under: Moving to Germany, Being self-employed, Doing Business in Berlin, Freelance Life, Life in Germany

Freelance Teachers in Germany Must Pay into the Pension Fund
Five Great Things About German Bureaucracy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kati Maillot says

    December 29, 2018 at 7:40 pm

    Hi, I wonder about this: “There are two ways to get a VAT ID number. You can either request one when you’re filling out the big long 7-page form to get your freelance tax number (Steuernummer) by checking a box, or, you can visit this website and apply. Choose “Vergabe einer USt-IDNr” from the right-hand menu.”
    I recently filled the 7-page form and indeed applied also for a VAT ID number (even though kleinunternehmer), for EU Client purposes. However, I just received the steuernummer, but no VAT ID number. Do you know if the VAT ID number typically is sent to applicants at the same time as the steuernummer, or does it arrive later by separate mail.

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      December 30, 2018 at 1:29 pm

      Hi Kati,

      You’ll probably get another letter in the mail. The Finanzamt tends to send correspondence for different matters separately.

      Happy New Year!
      Kathleen

      Reply
  2. Shiraz says

    June 14, 2019 at 6:07 pm

    Hello there! What happens if I have lost the certificate I received from the Finanzamt when I registered as a “self-employed”? Are there any documents that can prove that I’m actually registered as a self-employed person?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      July 3, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      You can write to them and ask them to send you the letter again. Alternatively, you can use your VAT-IDNr. notification if you have one, or even your tax return if you have done one.

      Reply
  3. Aileen Murphy says

    December 3, 2019 at 12:04 am

    Hi,
    Where is the list of types of freelance work? I find a few online .. but there are differences in these lists. Thanks for this!

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      December 4, 2019 at 3:36 pm

      Is this what you mean?
      https://freiberufler-werden.de/katalogberufe-freiberufler-liste/
      Even with this list, there are still grey areas. Sometimes the workers at the Finanzamt can’t figure it out.
      Cheers, Kathleen

      Reply
  4. Akanksha Vithalkar says

    January 16, 2020 at 10:34 pm

    Hi,
    Very helpful article. My question is what am I supposed to do if I have to only work for 15 days as a freelancer for a particular task? Do I still need to get a freelance number and should I deregister myself once I am done so that it doesn’t affect my employment in future?

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      March 18, 2020 at 11:39 am

      What a pain. Will you earn more than 410 EUR profit per year? Do you need to send an invoice?
      If you need to send an invoice, then you’ll need a freelance tax number to do so. Then you’ll also need to submit an income tax return for that tax year, even if you then de-register the business.
      The only situation where you don’t need to claim this self-employed income on your tax return is if your profit fall below 410 per year. But you’d still need the registration to get the tax number to write the invoice. You just wouldn’t pay tax on the 410 EUR (or lower) profit.

      Reply
  5. Tim says

    February 26, 2020 at 8:25 pm

    Hello, I have a part-time job in Germany and want to do some freelance work in the other days. I have a German tax number; do I need to get a freelance tax number as well?

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      March 18, 2020 at 9:49 am

      Yes, get a freelance/self-employed tax number. You might also need a Gewerbeschein. Watch this video or read this post for more info.

      Reply
  6. Gregor says

    June 1, 2021 at 9:18 am

    Thanks as always for the incredibly helpful article, Kathleen. Pretty simple question but hard to find an answer online, do you know how to best inform the Finanzamt you would like to start collecting Umsatzsteur and move on from being a Kleinunternehmer?

    Reply
    • Kathleen Parker says

      June 5, 2021 at 11:20 pm

      If you want to tell them, write them a letter with your signature. You can even scan it in and email it to them, or inform them through the ELSTER portal. But you don’t have to inform them especially if the conditions mean that you don’t have a choice and you must move on from being a Kleinunternhemer. E.g. You already know you will earn more than 22,000 EUR revenue in 2021. You can just… start charging VAT from Jan 1 of the next calendar year.

      Reply
      • Gregor says

        June 15, 2021 at 4:01 pm

        Thanks so much, Kathleen! I followed your advice and received a letter confirming the change a couple of weeks later. Appreciate your wonderful advice and column here.

        Reply

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