How does income tax work for Self-Employed?
As a self-employed in Germany, you are expected to declare and pay taxes on your annual income. The declaration is included in the same tax return that you would fill in as an employee. Actually, there is only one income tax return for all your sources of income (self-employed, employee, and other private income such as real-estate or stocks) and deductions (business expenses as self-employed, health insurance, donations, etc.).
You declare (and pay) taxes for the previous fiscal years. For example, your 2024 income has to be declared in 2025, and paid approximately in 2026.
The deadline to submit your declaration yourself is July 31st 2025 (and April 30st 2026 if you submit via your tax advisor).
The deadline to pay is one month after receiving the letter from your Finanzamt
There are 3 parts to consider for your tax return as a Self-Employed professional:
👉 The EÜR (your taxable income as a Self-Employed professional) = turnover - operating expenses. All of which are encoded as Revenue and Expenses within the app.
👉 Your income as an employee (if this applies)
👉 Your personal deductible expenses (Health, Pension, and other insurances ; tax incentives and tax breaks). Depending on your Steuerklasse (tax class), you have made prepayments during the year, which will also be taken into account in the tax return.
Why Accountable is the best solution to submit your income tax:
🔥 Maximize your tax deductions: Count on our personalized tax tips to maximize your professional expenses. All of your professional expenses are included.
🎓 Faster and easier than ELSTER: Done in 7 steps, submitted in under 15 minutes
💰 Free for subscribers: Income tax filing comes included with any subscription - even for trial users. No hidden fees, full service.
✒️ Tax guarantee: In the event of errors due to the Accountable App, we will refund any resulting tax (re-)claims up to €500 (GROW & PRO subscriptions) or up to €10,000 (MAX subscription). More on that here.
Who can submit their income tax with Accountable
If you are an Accountable PRO or GROW user, you can file your income tax submission yourself at no additional costs, since this is included in your subscription. Simply enter your income and expenses correctly in the app.
🕐 You can submit your income tax declaration now if you are
A self-employed active in the previous year, and with your revenue and expenses added into the app
Single without children or married with children (joint declaration)
Self-Employed (also works if you are a part-time Self-Employed and work as an employee)
You have a joint tax assessment with a partner who is employed in Germany or has no income
👉 Most income tax declarations are supported within Accountable, but we do not yet support certain special cases. You can find out more here.
A complete how-to-guide to fill in and submit
💡 The tax returns are available from the web-version only, so be sure you connect to the app using your computer.
The first step to your income tax declaration is to submit your EÜR:
Make sure all your sales invoices and business-related expenses are filled in, validated, and correct.
Accountable automatically fills out your tax return and calculates your taxes - you just need to submit it.
Go to your taxes screen > 2024 > Annual closing 2024 > EÜR
Check that all information is correct (income, deductible expenses, etc.), then follow the submission steps.
Under step 3 (Submission), double-check that your personal details and tax number (Steuernummer) are accurate.
✅ Done! In just a few steps, you’re ready to click "Submit to Finanzamt". After successful submission, Accountable will send you a confirmation email 🎉
The second step is to submit your Income tax declaration from Accountable web:
From your computer, go to your taxes screen for 2024 > Annual closing 2024 > Income tax submission.
👉 We guide you through the different parts of the income tax declaration in 7 steps, and the form is straightforward to fill in.
⚠️You may need Information from the payslip from an employee activity or a certificate from the health insurance company about the contributions paid.
What you need to fill in:
Your personal details
Your income as self-employed (this will be your EÜR), and from other source of revenues such as employment, unemployment income, or Corona subsidies
Public & Private Health insurances
Other insurances (Pension, Accident, Unemployment, Work & disability)
Home related services (Household services, Craftsmen services)
Recap of your prepayments
Review the estimated income tax payment
When everything is filled-in, just click on "Submit to the Finanzamt" and we will send your income statement to the tax office.
✅ Done, in few minutes.
The third step is to pay the Finanzamt:
The app will show you an estimate of the amount you will need to pay: from the mobile app, go to taxes > income tax payment.
💡 Before you pay, you need to wait for a physical letter (Einkommensteuerbescheid) from the Finanzamt, which will indicate the final amount to pay. You have one month to make the payment, starting from the date you receive the letter.
✅ Done, in due time.
The best tax coaches team available to help 💜
Our wonderful team is here to assist you in filing your yearly income tax.
Reach out to us at any time via the chat box in the app or via email at steuer-coach@accountable.de
