How to contact Finanzamt Berlin International (until 2023: Finanzamt Neukölln)

Which office: Berlin International or Neukölln?

Finanzamt Berlin International handles VAT for businesses from countries that § 1 (1) UStZustV does not name, for example China, Hong Kong, Canada or Australia. It took over this task from Finanzamt Neukölln in December 2023. More in the guide Finanzamt Berlin International.

Finanzamt Neukölln still exists. Both offices give the same street address but have their own phone numbers and tasks. If you write or call about the VAT of a business based abroad, contact Berlin International.

How do you reach Finanzamt Berlin International?

This is what the official page says, in German time. The page can change, so check the current times there before you call (linked below and under Sources).

• Phone: (030) 9024 15-0, from abroad +49 30 9024 15-0. Monday to Thursday 8:00 to 15:00, Friday 8:00 to 13:00.
• Visits: the page lists no walk-in hours. It asks you to book an appointment on (030) 9024 15-700 during the phone hours.
• Address: Thiemannstr. 1, 12059 Berlin.
• Online: the page links the ELSTER contact form as its „Kontaktformular“. It lists no fax number and no e-mail address.
• Processing time: none is published. On registrations of businesses based abroad, the office writes that it tries to process applications as quickly as possible, and asks you not to ask about the processing status if you can avoid it.

Which way to contact the office for what?

Berlin FAQ = „Hinweise zur elektronischen Kommunikation mit dem Finanzamt“ of the Berlin Senate Department for Finance, retrieved on 23 October 2026. Mein ELSTER needs an account; the ELSTER contact form works without one.

Can you email Finanzamt Berlin International?

For simple matters, yes; for anything binding, use ELSTER or a letter. The office page shows no e-mail address and points to the ELSTER contact form instead. The Berlin tax administration says this about e-mail in its own FAQ:

• Simple letters: you can send simple letters and requests by e-mail, for example a status request or a request for more time. Objections against tax assessments can also be sent by e-mail. The delivery risk is yours, especially when a deadline runs.
• Answers: because of tax secrecy, the office answers only very general questions by e-mail. Answers about your case come by phone or by post, unless you have signed the consent to unencrypted e-mails. The form is on the FAQ page, also in English. The law behind this: data under tax secrecy must be encrypted, unless everyone concerned has agreed in writing (§ 87a (1) AO).
• What to include: your name and full address, otherwise the e-mail cannot be processed; also your tax number and phone number.
• Attachments: PDF only. No zip files, and no e-mails that ask the office to download a document elsewhere.

The law behind it: an objection must be filed in writing or electronically (§ 357 (1) AO), and it is enough that it shows who filed it. Where the law requires written form, an electronic document replaces it only with a qualified electronic signature, or through an electronic form of the tax authority with secure identification, such as ELSTER (§ 87a (3) AO).

Tax returns follow fixed forms: a tax return follows the official form or, where required or allowed, the official electronic data record (§ 150 (1) AO); for VAT the electronic record is required (§ 18 UStG). VAT returns go through the official interface (§ 18 (1) UStG), in practice Mein ELSTER or tax software.

Where is your tax number on the letter („file number“)?

Look for these words on a letter from a German tax office when you search for the „file number“ of your case. The office first tells you your tax number in a letter called „Mitteilung über die Erteilung einer Steuernummer“.

No tax number yet? Then give your company name and full address in every message. Your VAT ID number (USt-IdNr.) is a different number from your tax number.

A whole letter, part by part: our guide How to read a letter from the German tax office.

Which bank details do you use for payments?

One set of bank details for all Berlin tax offices is listed on the official page, recipient „Berliner Finanzämter“. Always state the type of tax and your tax number.

Compare these details with your letter and the official page before you pay. The Berlin tax administration warns that your tax office never asks you by e-mail, text message or phone to make a payment or to give out information.

How do you receive the office's letters in Germany?

The office writes in German (§ 87 AO), mostly by post. If your company has neither its seat nor its management in Germany, the EU or the EEA, the office can ask you to name an authorised recipient in Germany (Empfangsbevollmächtigter, § 123 AO).

If you name nobody after such a request, a letter posted abroad counts as delivered one month after posting, unless it is established that it arrived later or not at all (§ 123 sentences 2 and 3 AO). So the address alone is not enough: someone has to open and read the letter in time.

• Reminder (Erinnerung): a return is missing. File it before the date in the letter.
• Assessment notice (Bescheid): it sets your tax. You can object within one month after notification (§ 355 (1) AO).
• Estimated assessment (Schätzungsbescheid): returns are missing, so the office estimates your tax.
• German tax deadline calculator: when a letter counts as notified and when the objection period ends.
• Tax office finder: which German tax office handles your country.

More in the guide Authorised recipient for the German tax office.

How PortoDoc solves it

1. 01Address: You sign up and get your postal address in Ahrensburg near Hamburg with your personal PD number. It is a delivery address for letters, not a business, registered-office or imprint address.
2. 02Naming us: You sign the power of attorney that includes § 123 AO. Under “For the tax office”, your account shows exactly what to enter. You name PortoDoc to the tax office yourself, for example in the VAT registration form.
3. 03Scan: The tax office writes to us. We scan each letter and you get a notification. The letter appears in your account as a PDF.
4. 04AI summary: Every plan includes an English AI translation; depending on your plan, you also get an AI summary: non-binding aids, not tax advice; the original letter counts.
5. 05Your reply: You or your tax adviser reply to the tax office. We do not file returns, give tax advice or monitor deadlines.

PortoDoc is operated by Postuvio UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Am Tiergarten 10-12, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany. Letters arrive in Ahrensburg (Schleswig-Holstein); data is stored on servers in the EU (Hetzner, Finland).

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