Reclaiming Bauabzugsteuer: the deadline and the steps

The deadline

The claim must be in by the end of the second calendar year after the year your client registered the withholding with the Finanzamt (§48c(2) EStG). Your client registers by the 10th of the month after payment (§48a(1) EStG). A payment from March 2024 can therefore be claimed until 31.12.2026. A tax treaty may give a longer deadline.

The steps

1. Ask your client for the statement per payment: invoice amount and date, payment date, amount withheld and the Finanzamt (§48a(2) EStG).
2. Ask your home tax office for a certificate of tax residence.
3. File the claim electronically with Finanzamt Kleve (NL) or Trier (BE). On paper only if the Finanzamt allows it.
4. If you run German payroll or file a German income or corporate tax return, the amount is usually credited instead of refunded. Have a Steuerberater check that.

With the Bauabzug-kit

You enter client, date and amount per payment. We show the last day, make the German letter asking your client for the statement and e-mail you 90, 30 and 7 days before each deadline. This is not tax advice.

Take the free check

Sources

1. §48c EStG, read on 27.10.2026
2. §48a EStG, read on 27.10.2026
3. BZSt, Merkblatt zum Steuerabzug bei Bauleistungen (04/2025), read on 27.10.2026