German tax office letters for companies abroad: Finanzamt Hannover-Nord and other tax offices

Sounds familiar?

• A letter from a German tax office, in German.
• The tax office asks you to name an authorised recipient in Germany within a reasonable period.
• A notice posted abroad counts as received one month after posting, unless it arrived later or not at all.

Finanzamt Hannover-Nord: the tax office for UK companies

One tax office per country: for VAT, German law assigns, as a rule, one central tax office per country. Businesses based in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or on the Isle of Man belong to the Finanzamt Hannover-Nord (section 1(1) no. 7 UStZustV). Some special VAT schemes and VAT refunds follow their own rules (§ 1 (2a), (2b), (3) UStZustV).

Other examples: businesses from the United States go to the Finanzamt Bonn-Innenstadt, businesses from Turkey to the Finanzamt Dortmund-Unna. For countries the regulation does not list – Canada or Australia, for example – the Finanzamt Berlin International is responsible (section 1(2) UStZustV).

Every one of these offices writes in German, the official language of German tax authorities (section 87(1) AO). As your authorised recipient, PortoDoc receives these letters in Germany and shows you each one with a short summary.

When the tax office asks for an authorised recipient

Section 123 AO applies to anyone without a residence, habitual abode, seat or management in Germany, another EU member state or an EEA state. The tax office can require them to name an authorised recipient in Germany within a reasonable period.

If no one is named, a document sent by post is deemed received one month after posting, unless it is established that it arrived later or not at all (section 123 sentences 2 and 3 AO). The United Kingdom belongs neither to the EU nor to the EEA, so a UK Ltd without a seat in Germany falls under section 123 AO.

For companies from the EU and the EEA this is not an obligation; they can name us voluntarily so that notices do not travel abroad.

A typical case: construction work in Germany

A construction company from the United Kingdom takes on a contract in Germany. Without an exemption certificate, a client that is a business must withhold 15% of the invoice and pay it to the tax office once the payments in the calendar year are expected to exceed €5,000 (section 48(1) and (2) EStG); the company applies for the certificate under section 48b EStG.

For businesses from the United Kingdom, the central responsible office is the Finanzamt Hannover-Nord (section 20a AO in conjunction with section 1(1) no. 7 UStZustV). So that its letters do not first travel to the UK, the company names PortoDoc as its authorised recipient; notices and queries then stay in Germany: we scan them and the company gets a notification.

What PortoDoc does – and what it does not

Our limits: PortoDoc provides no legal advice, no tax advice and no fiscal representation, and does not monitor deadlines; for summaries, the original letter counts. You make the appointment with the tax office yourself; we provide a template for it. Applications such as the exemption certificate stay with you or your tax adviser.

• Every letter opened, scanned and stored as a PDF in your account
• Short summary with sender, content and urgency, plus a traffic light: red = deadline or urgent, yellow = action needed, green = for information (a hint, not tax advice; the original letter counts)
• Email notification of your choice: notice only, summary, or summary with the letter as PDF
• Registered letters accepted, signed for and scanned like any other letter
• Translation into English in every plan, deadline detection from the Business plan (a non-binding AI hint; you check every deadline yourself)
• After scanning, originals kept safely stored for 90 days, then shredded; sending an original abroad costs €7.90 (letters up to 20 g)

How it works

1. Step 1

   Create an account and choose a plan

   Enter your company details: company name, country and company registration number; then choose a plan and pay. Sign-up works in English. You receive your PD number straight after ordering.

2. Step 2

   Sign the authorisation

   Download the extended authorisation for the tax office – it is already filled in with your company details –, have it signed by hand by the director and upload it to your account as PDF, JPG or PNG (max. 10 MB). The check usually takes one working day.

3. Step 3

   Name us to the tax office

   Your account then shows the box "For the tax office (Finanzamt)" with name and address to copy: Postuvio UG (haftungsbeschränkt) with your reference. Give exactly these details to the tax office as your authorised recipient.

4. Step 4

   Read your post online

   Letters from the tax office arrive with us, are scanned and appear in your account as a PDF with a summary; you get an email.

Prices

For one tax office, Starter is the usual choice: €19.95 a month or €199.50 a year, 10 letters a month, authorisation for one authority (appointment as authorised recipient under section 123 AO). Business (€49.95 a month or €499.50 a year, 25 letters) covers any number of authorities and adds deadline detection, a non-binding AI hint; translation into English is in every plan.

Each additional letter costs €2.95. No set-up fee. The address is not a business, registered-office or imprint address.

All prices include 19% German VAT. Companies based outside Germany pay the same amount, and the invoice then shows no German VAT (EU: with a valid VAT ID, outside the EU: with proof that your company is a business, such as a certificate from your tax authority or a company register extract).

See all prices

Frequently asked questions