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The break-up of the “traffic light” coalition and the Bundestag elections that were brought forward to 23 February 2025 are having a considerable impact on tax reforms and plans for legislation. The lack of a majority makes concluding key legislative plans more difficult.

With the start of 2025, significant changes to the law governing payroll tax and social insurance came into force. From the abolition of the “one fifth rule” for payroll deductions to new long-term care insurance contributions to changes to deadlines for applying for allowances – many rules have a direct influence on everyday accounting. Current case law and tax authority guidelines also offer options for structuring. This article gives you a compact overview of the most important points.

After a wait of over a year, on 5 December 2024 the German Federal Ministry of Finance published its final guidance on application of the ban on deduction of operational expenses under Section 4k of the German Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz – EStG) for hybrid mismatches. It includes crucial statements on applying Section 4k, which are of particular practical importance to US inbound structures. Here we’ve summarised the most crucial effects for companies concerned.

Stricter requirements for the recognition of expenses from cross-border financing relationships: The Annual Tax Act 2024 disappoints hopes for a true grandfathering protection for existing loans. This article explains what companies now need to bear in mind.

From the start of 2025 new thresholds apply to social insurance. The thresholds have been adjusted to match the trend in income.

For private persons, protecting their privacy is a central need, both personally and in terms of their wealth structures. A new judgment by the German Administrative Court Cologne (Verwal-tungsgericht Köln) (17/07/2024–13 K 5996/19) protect the privacy of wealthy private individuals.

Organisations and the self-employed who regularly commission creative or publication services shouldn’t forget an important deadline at the turn of the year – reporting their social insurance contribution for artists for 2024. The contribution deadline is 31 March 2025. In this post we tell you what you need to look out for to comply with your contribution duties properly and on time.

The rules on the taxation of profit and loss from foreign currency transactions are being changed according to the Federal Ministry of Finance Circular of May 2022. It should be assumed that starting from tax year 2025 the tax authorities are going to start looking more closely at foreign currency balances. What does this mean for investors, and what needs to be done before the end of the year?

Companies must protect data even better. There is the risk of action for damages if data subjects lose control of their personal data for even a short while.

After resolution in the Bundestag on 18 October 2024, the Bundesrat, the upper house, approved the Annual Tax Act 2024 (JStG 2024) on 22 November 2024. The Act should now be promulgated shortly. Below, we let you know about selected changes to business taxes.

Poland will be among the first countries to implement mandatory e-invoicing for B2B transactions, starting in February 2026. As part of our series “E-invoicing in the EU” we will cover Poland’s experiences with the progression of this new regulation, changes to expect for businesses operating in Poland, and highlight how the Polish Grant Thornton firm approaches the implementation challenge.

The use of online marketplaces, automated storage systems and digital payment systems has made retail more efficient, but also more susceptible to cyber-attacks. In light of this, the EU NIS2 Directive is becoming increasingly more important.

Producers of single-use plastic products must be registered on the German Environment Agency’s DIVID platform by 31 December 2024 – for the first reporting year of 2024. Find out what you need to do in this article.

From 1 January 2025, German businesses will have to be able to receive and process e-invoices. Which challenges does the retail sector have to be aware of at the end of the year, and how can it make use of the opportunities it brings?

In this post, we let you know the details and show you what to pay attention to with practical im-plementation.

The German Bundestag has introduced exit taxation on investments at record speed. The Bundesrat, the upper house, didn’t ratify yet but is expected to assent to the new rules so that they might enter into force starting on 1 January 2025.