ED13 - Tax Office: Tax Number, § 60a AO, Wage Tax Return

Problem

After incorporation and business registration, the tax office (FA) gets in touch - but in the SME sector it is unclear which obligations arise from this and how they are evidenced in the repo:

• "Tax number? The tax advisor has it." - many entrepreneurs do not know their own tax number, let alone where it is kept
• Wage tax return as a black box - the LStA is done by the payroll office, but the entrepreneur has no evidence in the repo
• ELSTER certificate not documented - the personal or organisation certificate is installed somewhere, but not evidenced in the repo
• USt notification vs. KSt notification confused - different tax numbers for different tax types, but only one is available
• No deadline monitoring for FA filings - LStA, UStA, ESt/KSt returns have different deadlines, but nobody monitors them centrally
• § 60a AO notice unknown - the notice on non-profit status (§ 60a Abs. 1 AO) is the basis for tax exemptions, but it sits somewhere in paper form

Key Message

Tax office obligations in the Git repo mean:

1. Tax numbers as registry entries - central storage in registry/ with sidecar, one number per tax type
2. Wage tax return as a JSON artefact - LStA with source_sha256 referencing the ELSTER receipt
3. ELSTER certificate documented - .pfx file with sidecar (not the certificate itself into the repo, but the evidence)
4. Deadline check for all FA filings - LStA, UStA, ESt/KSt with auto-warning
5. § 60a AO notice as a document with sidecar - notice of exemption with validity tracking

Compliance by Design: FA obligations are not managed retroactively, but are structurally captured through registry entries with sidecars, deadline checks and JSON artefacts.

Tax Numbers in the Registry Directory

Practical example: The KMU has KSt tax number <STNR>, USt tax number <STNR>, LSt tax number <STNR>, W-IdNr <WID>, USt-IdNr DE<UID>. Each number is stored as a document with sidecar in registry/. The § 60a AO notice (recognition of non-profit status) is also stored there, with validity tracking.

§ 60a AO Notice - Non-Profit Status

Important: The § 60a AO notice is the basis for all non-profit privileges (KSt, USt, VBG, flat-rate allowances). Without this notice, tax exemptions are out of reach. The notice must be stored in the repo with a sidecar so that evidence can be provided during an audit.

Wage Tax Return (§ 41a EStG)

LStA as a JSON Artefact

{
  "$schema": "https://gitcover.org/schemas/diary-entry-1.0.schema.json",
  "V7GUID": "<V7GUID-Class-aus-Registry>",
  "uuidV7": "<uuidV7-Object-mit-vorgegebener-Zeitmarke>",
  "author": "E1",
  "role": "Lohnverantwortlicher",
  "tenant": "ORG-1",
  "sphere": "ideell",
  "source": "FA",
  "source_sha256": "<SHA-256-der-ELSTER-Quittung>",
  "tags": ["lsta", "§41a-estg", "nullmeldung", "aktivrente"],
  "lsta": {
    "monat": "09/2026",
    "brutto": 2000.00,
    "lst": 0.00,
    "soli": 0.00,
    "kist": 0.00,
    "freibetrag_aktivrente": 2000.00,
    "art": "nullmeldung"
  }
}

Note: The uuidV7 is the DocID of the entry. The composite key V7GUID:uuidV7 is used for storage organisation and DB queries. The lsta object documents the wage tax return with all components. For Aktivrente (§ 3 Nr. 21 EStG), the LSt = 0.00 - this is a nil return (see ED23).

Documenting the ELSTER Certificate

Important - .pfx not into the repo: The .pfx file (certificate + private key) is not added to the Git repo - it contains cryptographic secrets. Instead, a sidecar is stored that documents the existence and activation of the certificate (date, status, ELSTER test receipt). The .pfx file is kept securely outside the repo (e.g. on an encrypted data carrier).

See ED15: The practical use of the ELSTER certificate (authority interface practice, DE-Mail, brokering by GitCover) is covered in ED15.

Deadline Monitoring for FA Filings

Practical tip: The deadline check is maintained as a Git artefact and updated with every commit. The auto-warning (see ED08) warns 14 days before an FA deadline expires. This way, no missed deadline is overlooked any more - and § 152 AO (late-filing surcharge of up to EUR 25,000) is avoided.

Risk Leverage

Harness Requirement (Preview)

Derivable from ED13:

The complete requirements list in Harness-Anforderungen.md.

Sources

• AO (§ 60a - non-profit status recognition, § 149 - tax returns, § 152 - late-filing surcharge)
• EStG (§ 41a - wage tax return, § 41b - wage tax certificate)
• UStG (§ 18 - VAT advance return, § 14 - e-invoice)
• AFJD/agents/ (anonymised) - SSoT concept with registry, deadline check, ELSTER

Source Topology and CDN Reference Links

Note: This mapping of sources, mirror and community hub reflects the current state and may change. Please check the respective canonical source on gitcover.org for the current state.