Go Beyond

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified that tooling supplies, as they are known, are to be considered distinctly for VAT treatment and are not automatically an ancillary supply to the supply of parts, especially if the goods are not supplied in the same way. The judgement therefore has a crucial effect on the automotive and supplier industry and a direct impact on contract drafting, invoicing and input tax deduction.

The publication by the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) of the final version of the MiKaDiv Communication Handbook (in German) as of 10 December 2025 means the framework for the reporting procedure is in technical and processing terms now set in its binding form.

Active pensions, electronic allowances, income thresholds, electric cars – as 2026 begins, employers are again facing numerous challenges in payroll and social security. These have come about from recent court decisions, the authorities changing their interpretations and new legal regulations.

Since 1 January 2026 an important change came into force for all employers: the old paper-based procedure for reporting contributions to private health and private care insurance was replaced by a completely electronic data exchange procedure. The aim of this transition is to simplify the processes involved with payroll deduction, reduce sources of error and make the tax treatment of premiums for privately insured employees more efficient and legally certain.