How to do the Gewerbesteuer in 3 steps

Written by Sophia Merzbach, creative writer and content producer

Updated on April 27, 2023
Read in < 1 minute

You are self-employed and have registered a Gewerbe (business) in Germany? Then you are not only obliged to file an income tax return, but you also have to prepare and pay the Gewerbesteuer (trade tax).

But don’t worry, with the Accountable software this is done with a few clicks. Here we explain how it works!

➡️ Watch out: For certain Gewerbe you need a special permit. You can find out which ones here!

➡️ Not sure wether you are Gewerbetreibender or freelancer? Take the test and find out!

Calculate Gewerbesteuer

Log in to the desktop version of Accountable or create a free account first. Then click on 'Taxes' in the left menu. Now, select 'Gewerbesteuer' from the list of tax obligations. The program will now guide you through the Gewerbesteuererklärung. It is best to have the letters you received from the Finanzamt by your side. Because the first thing you have to do is enter the total amount of your pre-payments which are indicated on one of the letters.
Done

Next, you need to enter a few details about your business, such as name, tax number and location. These details are important so that the program can calculate the correct Hebesatz (tax rate) for you. After that, you need to enter your profit. This is calculated from your income and expenses, which you have previously entered in Accountable. Finally, enter your prepayments last.
Done

You are almost done. In the last step your data will be checked and if everything is correct, you can send the Gewerbesteuererklärung directly via our official ELSTER interface to your Finanzamt (tax office)!
Done

All your taxes. Done.

Just add your invoices. Accountable generates all of your tax returns without mistakes..

Did you find what you were looking for?

Happy to hear!

Stay in the know! Leave your email to get notified about updates and our latest tips for freelancers like you.

We’re sorry to hear that.

Can you specify why this article wasn’t helpful for you?

Thank you for your response. 💜

We value your feedback and will use it to optimise our content.

Sophia Merzbach, creative writer and content producer

Sophia loves literature and writing. She's happy to have joined the Accountable team and is becoming a pro on all things tax related.
In her free time you will find her in a boulder gym, studying Italian or discovering the streets of her new hometown Berlin.

Try Accountable
for free

Taxes can be this easy!