Document storage

to the income tax return

As of 2018, the tax authorities generally waive the requirement that private receipts be submitted in connection with the income tax return. For example, it is no longer necessary to include a tax certificate. Even if, within the scope of the favorable tax treatment test or an application pursuant to Sec. 32d para. 4 EStG, a credit of the capital gains tax is applied for (cf. Sec. 36 (2) No. 2 EStG).

The submission of donation receipts is also no longer required as of 2018.

However, it is expressly stipulated that the relevant documents must be “held” and presented to the tax office upon request (cf. Section 50 (8) EStDV). This is because the tax office will often request supporting documents when processing the tax return at a later date. Therefore, supporting documents on which the tax return is based must be retained in any case.

This is also recommended if no use has been made of the new option and the supporting documents have already been submitted with the tax return. The expiration of the four-year assessment period should regularly be waited for until the documents are possibly destroyed.