Voluntary disclosure to the tax office: when it works and when it does not
A voluntary disclosure (Selbstanzeige) under Section 371 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) can lead to exemption from punishment if it is complete, no exclusion ground applies and the evaded taxes, including interest, are paid on time. Complete means: information on all tax offences relating to one type of tax that are not yet time-barred, but at least on the last ten calendar years. If the understated tax exceeds €25,000 per offence, exemption from punishment does not apply — the route via Section 398a AO then becomes relevant.
Legal position as of: 9 September 2026
What a voluntary disclosure achieves
A voluntary disclosure is a personal ground for exemption from punishment (persönlicher Strafaufhebungsgrund). It does not remove the tax liability, but criminal liability — and even that only under certain conditions. Anyone who meets the requirements of Section 371 AO will not be punished for the offences disclosed; the taxes themselves must be paid in full.
The yardstick for measuring its benefit is set out in Section 370 AO. In the basic offence, tax evasion (Steuerhinterziehung) is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years or a criminal fine; in particularly serious cases the range of punishment is imprisonment from six months to ten years. A detailed assessment can be found on our page on penalties for tax evasion.
Alongside this there is reckless understatement of tax (leichtfertige Steuerverkürzung) under Section 378 AO. It is not a criminal offence but an administrative offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit) and is punished with an administrative fine. Whether a set of facts is to be classified as intentional or as reckless is one of the questions that strongly influence the outcome of proceedings and cannot be answered in general terms.
A matter of wording: An effective voluntary disclosure can lead to exemption from punishment. Anyone who describes it as a sure route there is concealing the conditions — and it is precisely these conditions on which voluntary disclosures fail in practice.
Section 371 AO: the statutory basis
Section 371 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung) governs voluntary disclosure in cases of tax evasion. The provision requires three things, all of which must be met: a complete correction of the incorrect or incomplete information, the absence of an exclusion ground (Sperrgrund) and payment on time.
The payment obligation under Section 371(3) AO covers not only the evaded taxes but also interest on evaded taxes (Hinterziehungszinsen) under Section 235 AO and interest under Section 233a AO. Anyone who misses the deadline loses exemption from punishment, even if the disclosure itself was flawless.
For advance VAT returns (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldungen) and wage tax returns (Lohnsteueranmeldungen), Section 371(2a) AO provides a special rule that relaxes the strict completeness standard in this area. It is the reason why a corrected advance return does not involve the same effort as an amended declaration for income tax.
Completeness: the most common reason for failure
Completeness is the hurdle at which voluntary disclosures most often fail in practice — and it is indivisible. If one year is missing, one account is missing, or one type of income within the same type of tax is missing, exemption from punishment is lost entirely, not proportionately for the missing part.
This rule has an unpleasant consequence: a voluntary disclosure that has been filed cannot simply be supplemented afterwards. Once it has been filed, the offence is generally discovered — and discovery is itself an exclusion ground. Anyone who files too early in order to gain time may thereby close the very route they wanted to keep open.
In practical terms, this means that by far the largest part of the work lies before the filing, in determining the tax bases (Besteuerungsgrundlagen). That is genuine tax advice, not a legal brief.
The ten-year rule
Section 371 AO requires information on all tax offences relating to one type of tax that are not yet time-barred, but at least on all tax offences relating to this type of tax within the last ten calendar years. “At least” is the decisive term: ten years are the lower limit, not the upper limit.
For tax purposes, the open period often extends even further. In cases of tax evasion, the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist) is ten years (Section 169(2) AO), and for anyone who never filed a return it only starts to run later because of the deferred commencement (Anlaufhemmung) under Section 170(2) no. 1 AO. How criminal and tax limitation periods differ is explained on our page on the limitation period for tax evasion.
Exclusion grounds: when it is too late
A voluntary disclosure only works as long as the tax authority does not yet know anything. Section 371(2) AO lists the cases in which exemption from punishment no longer applies. Timing therefore decides whether it takes effect — not the care with which the disclosure was prepared.
The exclusion grounds under Section 371(2) AO at a glance.
| Exclusion ground | What triggers it |
|---|---|
| Audit order | Notification of an audit order (Prüfungsanordnung), limited to its subject matter and time period |
| Initiation of proceedings | Notification of the initiation of criminal or administrative fine proceedings |
| Discovery | The offence had already been discovered at the time of the correction and the offender knew this or had to expect it |
| Amount threshold | The understated tax or the advantage obtained exceeds €25,000 per offence (Section 371(2) sentence 1 no. 3 AO) |
| Particularly serious case | A statutory example (Regelbeispiel) under Section 370(3) sentence 2 nos. 2 to 6 AO applies |
Audit order, initiation of proceedings, discovery
The first three exclusion grounds differ in how much advance warning they give. An audit order is formally notified and is therefore a visible event; however, it only blocks a disclosure within its subject matter and time period, not everything across the board. The initiation of criminal or administrative fine proceedings is likewise a document that is served on you.
Discovery is the most unpleasant of the three, because it can occur without any warning. It already applies if the person concerned had to expect the discovery. This is exactly where it matters that, from the 2026 reporting period, trading platforms transmit transaction data automatically to the tax authorities — see our page on DAC8.
The amount threshold of €25,000 per offence works differently from the others: it does not depend on what the authority knows but on the amount. If it is exceeded, exemption from punishment under Section 371 AO does not apply — Section 398a AO takes its place, see below.
How a voluntary disclosure works in practice
In substance the process is always the same, regardless of whether it concerns investment income, income from abroad or gains from crypto assets. We describe the process in detail under the voluntary disclosure process.
- 1
Establish the facts and check for exclusion grounds
The first step is to clarify whether the route via Section 371 AO is still open at all: has an audit order been issued, have proceedings been initiated, are there indications that the authority already has knowledge.
- 2
Obtain records and define the period
Bank statements, annual tax statements from banks and brokers, transaction histories. This is where most of the effort arises, and this is where it is decided whether the disclosure will be complete. With crypto assets this is the most difficult step — how scattered exchange and wallet data can be combined into a reliable basis is described in Crypto data preparation (in German).
- 3
Determine the tax bases
The corrected figures are calculated for each year and each type of tax. Gaps in the data must be closed properly or estimated in a comprehensible way — both need to be justified.
- 4
File the amended declaration
What is filed are the corrected tax bases for each type of tax and period — not a declaration of intent, but figures with which the tax office can assess the tax.
- 5
Review the assessments and pay on time
The amended assessments are reviewed, and the taxes, interest on evaded taxes under Section 235 AO and interest under Section 233a AO are paid within the deadline set. Payment is part of the requirements, not merely a matter of processing.
Why a template is not enough
Anyone searching for a template for a voluntary disclosure is usually searching for certainty. A template cannot provide it, for a structural reason: it is not the form of the letter that decides whether it takes effect, but its content — and a template does not know that content.
We therefore do not provide a template. What we disclose instead is what actually matters.
What an effective voluntary disclosure must contain
- The type of tax. Section 371 AO refers to each individual type of tax. Income tax and VAT must be considered separately.
- The period. All tax offences relating to this type of tax that are not yet time-barred, at least the last ten calendar years.
- The corrected tax bases. Specific figures for each year from which the tax office can assess the tax — not an announcement that an amended declaration will follow.
What is most often missing in practice
- Individual years at the edge of the period, because the records for them were no longer to hand.
- Secondary income that, in the mind of the person concerned, did not belong to the same matter but, for tax purposes, belongs to the same type of tax.
- Transactions that were not recognised as taxable at all — with crypto assets, for example, swapping one currency for another.
- Accounts and securities accounts with providers that have since closed down or been taken over.
Each of these points costs exemption from punishment entirely, not proportionately. A template cannot catch any of them, because it does not know the facts. This is not an argument for expensive advice, but a feature of the provision.
What a voluntary disclosure costs
When it comes to costs, two things need to be kept apart that are often mixed up: the advisory fees and the amounts that go to the state in any case. This is covered in detail under What a voluntary disclosure costs.
The advisory fees are governed by the German Tax Advisors’ Fees Regulation (Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung) and depend on the actual work involved — above all on the number of years concerned and on the state of the records. A case with complete reports is something different from one in which trading histories have to be reconstructed across several platforms.
In any case, the additional taxes, the interest on evaded taxes under Section 235 AO and the interest under Section 233a AO go to the state. These amounts are payable regardless of who prepares the amended declaration.
If the understated tax exceeds €25,000 per offence, the surcharge under Section 398a AO is added. Prosecution is then dispensed with if the taxes and interest are paid on time and, in addition, a sum of money in favour of the state treasury:
The surcharge under Section 398a(1) no. 2 AO, graduated according to the amount evaded.
| Amount evaded | Surcharge |
|---|---|
| up to €100,000 | 10% |
| over €100,000 up to €1,000,000 | 15% |
| over €1,000,000 | 20% |
Two features of this surcharge are often overlooked: it is not refunded if the legal consequence does not occur in the end. And the court may credit it against a criminal fine (Section 398a(4) AO) — it does not have to.
Tax advisor or lawyer?
Behind this question there is usually the worry of starting with the wrong profession and losing time. The law answers it expressly. Section 392(1) AO reads:
“By way of derogation from Section 138(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, tax advisors, tax agents, public auditors and sworn auditors may also be chosen as defence counsel insofar as the tax authority conducts the criminal proceedings independently; otherwise they may conduct the defence only jointly with a lawyer or a law lecturer at a German university within the meaning of the Framework Act for Higher Education who is qualified to hold judicial office.”
Section 392(1) AO (unofficial translation)
In voluntary disclosure cases, the tax authority as a rule conducts the proceedings independently. As a tax advisory firm (Steuerberatungsgesellschaft), we may therefore defend you in these proceedings — in all other cases jointly with a lawyer.
The scope of the work speaks for the tax focus in any case: data preparation, determining the tax bases, the amended declaration and correspondence with the tax office make up by far the largest part of a voluntary disclosure mandate. For questions of tax criminal law we work with Thorsten Franke-Roericht, lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) and Of Counsel to our firm.
How responsibilities are divided in detail and when the criminal law side comes to the fore is explained on our page on tax criminal law.
Voluntary disclosure after the tightening in 2011 and 2015
Voluntary disclosure as it applies today is considerably narrower than the instrument many people remember. Anyone reading guides from earlier years or relying on stories from friends and acquaintances is working with an outdated picture.
Three features of the current version are decisive, and all three are laid down in the law:
- Completeness relates to all tax offences relating to one type of tax that are not yet time-barred, and to at least ten calendar years. A partial voluntary disclosure for individual years has no effect.
- Above €25,000 per offence, exemption from punishment under Section 371 AO no longer applies; what remains is the route via Section 398a AO with a surcharge.
- Payment of interest — interest on evaded taxes under Section 235 AO and interest under Section 233a AO — is a requirement, not a side effect.
This version came about in two steps. The Act to Combat Undeclared Money of 2011 (Schwarzgeldbekämpfungsgesetz) (Federal Law Gazette (BGBl.) I 2011, p. 676) ended the partial voluntary disclosure: since then, the completeness requirement has applied to all tax offences relating to one type of tax that are not yet time-barred. It also introduced an amount threshold above which exemption from punishment no longer applies, and, with Section 398a AO, the route via a surcharge.
The Act Amending the Fiscal Code of 22 December 2014 (BGBl. I 2014, p. 2415), in force since 1 January 2015, tightened the rules further: the amount threshold was lowered to today’s €25,000 per offence, the correction period was fixed at a minimum of ten calendar years, the surcharge under Section 398a AO was graduated according to the amount evaded, and payment of interest became a requirement for effectiveness. Anyone who remembers the instrument from the time before that remembers a considerably more generous one.
Special cases
The requirements of Section 371 AO are the same for all types of income. What differs is the effort required to determine the tax bases — and that depends heavily on where the income comes from.
Crypto assets
The most time-consuming case, because transactions are spread across several platforms and wallets and many of them are not recognised as taxable at all — swapping one currency for another, for example. On top of this comes the time pressure caused by the reporting obligation from 2026. Details on voluntary disclosure of crypto gains.
Online trading and platforms
With income via sales and intermediary platforms, two types of tax often come together: income tax and VAT. Both must be considered separately, and the special rule of Section 371(2a) AO applies to advance VAT returns.
Content creators
Collaborations, affiliate income and benefits in kind are often not perceived as income. How we handle these cases is explained under influencers and tax criminal law.
Inheritance cases
Heirs step into the tax obligations of the deceased. If an undeclared source of income comes to light while the estate is being reviewed, a separate obligation to correct arises — with its own deadline.
Frequently asked questions about voluntary disclosure
The questions we are asked most often about voluntary disclosure to the tax office.
When does a voluntary disclosure exempt you from punishment?
A voluntary disclosure under Section 371 AO can exempt you from punishment if it is complete, no exclusion ground applies and the evaded taxes, including interest, are paid on time. Complete means: information on all tax offences relating to one type of tax that are not yet time-barred, but at least on the last ten calendar years. If the understated tax exceeds €25,000 per offence, exemption from punishment does not apply; Section 398a AO may then be considered.
What happens after a voluntary disclosure to the tax office?
The tax office reviews the tax bases that have been disclosed and issues amended tax assessments for the years concerned. At the same time, the criminal and administrative fines unit (Straf- und Bußgeldsachenstelle) examines whether the disclosure meets the requirements of Section 371 AO. The additional taxes, interest on evaded taxes under Section 235 AO and interest under Section 233a AO become due — payment within the deadline set is a requirement for exemption from punishment.
How long does a voluntary disclosure take?
That depends almost entirely on how quickly the tax bases can be determined. If complete records are available, the amended declaration can be prepared within a few weeks. If years have to be reconstructed — for example transaction histories from trading platforms that no longer exist — this part alone takes considerably longer. The subsequent processing by the tax office is outside your own control.
Can I make a voluntary disclosure without a lawyer?
Legally, Section 371 AO does not require representation. In practice, however, a voluntary disclosure rarely fails because of the form and almost always because of completeness — and completeness requires the tax bases to be determined correctly for all years concerned. In addition, under Section 392(1) AO tax advisors may act as defence counsel in tax criminal proceedings insofar as the tax authority conducts the proceedings independently.
How much does a voluntary disclosure cost?
The advisory fees are governed by the German Tax Advisors’ Fees Regulation (Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung) and depend on the work involved, above all on the number of years and the state of the records. These must be distinguished from the amounts that go to the state in any case: the additional taxes, interest on evaded taxes under Section 235 AO and interest under Section 233a AO — and, above €25,000 per offence, the surcharge under Section 398a AO of 10%, 15% or 20%.
Is it possible to file a voluntary disclosure with the tax office without a lawyer?
Yes, the law does not require representation by a lawyer. The question, however, usually aims at something else: whether it is advisable. Because an incomplete voluntary disclosure costs you exemption from punishment entirely and not just in part, it is the quality of the determination of the tax bases that decides whether it takes effect — not the question of who signs the submission.
When should you make a voluntary disclosure?
As long as no exclusion ground has arisen. Section 371(2) AO names in particular the notification of an audit order, the notification of the initiation of criminal or administrative fine proceedings and the case in which the offence had already been discovered and the person concerned knew this or had to expect it. Anyone considering whether a voluntary disclosure is an option for them should have this checked before any of these events occurs.
What if the voluntary disclosure was incomplete?
Then exemption from punishment does not apply — and it fails entirely, not just for the missing part. This is the harshest feature of Section 371 AO and the reason why determining the tax bases makes up most of the work. A voluntary disclosure that has already been filed and is incomplete cannot simply be supplemented afterwards, because the offence is generally regarded as discovered once it has been filed.
About the author
Maximilian Klein — Tax Advisor (Steuerberater) & Founder
Tax advisor (Steuerberater) focusing on amended declarations and voluntary disclosures — from determining the tax bases through to the assessment notice.
Note: This page reflects the legal position as of 9 September 2026 and does not constitute advice on your individual case. Whether and in what form action is required depends on the specific circumstances and documents and requires them to be reviewed.
Next step
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Whether the route via Section 371 AO is open to you depends on timing and on completeness. We assess both before you file anything — including for a voluntary disclosure in Düsseldorf.
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