German tax deadlines and deemed delivery: when a letter counts as received

When does a letter count as delivered?

Deadlines run from notification („bekannt gegeben“). The German Fiscal Code (AO) fixes that day by the way the letter is sent:

Exception: under § 122 (2) and (2a) AO the rule does not apply if the letter did not arrive or arrived later; in case of doubt the tax office must prove receipt. Under § 123 AO the exception only applies if it is established that the letter did not arrive or arrived later (§ 123 sentence 3 AO). Four days apply to administrative acts posted after 31 December 2024; before that, it was three days (Postrechtsmodernisierungsgesetz of 15 July 2024, BGBl. 2024 I No. 236).

What exactly does § 122 (2) AO say?

• What: a written administrative act sent by post, for example a tax assessment notice.
• Within Germany: it counts as notified on the fourth day after it was posted („Aufgabe zur Post“), no. 1.
• Abroad: it counts as notified one month after it was posted, no. 2.
• Exception: not if the letter did not arrive at all, or arrived later. The exception only covers these two cases.
• Burden of proof: in case of doubt, the authority must prove that the letter arrived and when.

What about weekends and public holidays?

The Civil Code rules apply: deadlines in tax law are calculated under §§ 187 to 193 of the German Civil Code (BGB) (§ 108 (1) AO). For the end of a deadline, § 108 (3) AO adds a rule of its own:

The next working day counts: if a deadline ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it ends at the end of the next working day. The Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) also applies this to the day of notification under § 122 (2) AO (judgment of 14 October 2003, IX R 68/98). So if the fourth day after posting is a Saturday, the letter counts as notified on the following Monday.

Worked example: when does the objection period end?

One notice, two routes: a tax office posts an assessment notice on Tuesday, 13 January 2026. This is how the dates work out:

Example without a public holiday on the day of notification or on the last day of the deadline, assuming the letter arrived in time. A public holiday that only falls within the deadline does not move it (§ 108 (3) AO). General information, as of 24 October 2026; not tax advice for your individual case.

Which deadlines start running?

• Objection: you have one month after notification to object (§ 355 (1) sentence 1 AO). The period runs from the day of notification, not from the day you read the letter.
• Payment: if you do not pay a tax by the end of its due date, a late payment surcharge (Säumniszuschlag) applies: 1 % of the overdue tax, rounded down to the nearest €50, for each month or part of a month (§ 240 (1) sentence 1 AO). For a delay of up to three days, no surcharge is charged, unless you pay in cash or by cheque (§ 240 (3) AO).
• Tax returns: if you file a return late or not at all, the tax office can set a late filing surcharge (Verspätungszuschlag) (§ 152 (1) AO). For annual returns not filed within 14 months after the end of the calendar year, it must usually set one (§ 152 (2) no. 1 AO, with exceptions).
• Amount of the late filing surcharge: 0.25 % of the tax assessed for each month or part of a month, at least €10 a month; for annual returns, 0.25 % of the tax less prepayments and amounts deducted, at least €25 for each month or part of a month (§ 152 (5) AO). For advance VAT returns there is no fixed rate (§ 152 (8) AO).

What can you do?

1. 01Note the dates: write down the date on the notice and the date the letter actually reached you. The law counts from the day the letter was posted (§ 122 (2) AO).
2. 02Work out the day of notification: within Germany the fourth day after posting, abroad one month after posting. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, take the next working day (§ 108 (3) AO).
3. 03Enter the deadlines: add the end of the objection period and the payment due date to your calendar. As the example shows, a one-month period ends on the same date in the following month, moved to the next working day if needed.
4. 04Ask if in doubt: if the letter reached you later than the calculated day, or if you are unsure, ask a tax adviser. In case of doubt, the authority must prove when the letter arrived (§ 122 (2) AO).
5. 05Name an authorised recipient: if you are based outside the EU or EEA, you can name an authorised recipient in Germany. Letters to that address are sent within Germany, so the four-day rule applies (§ 122 (2) no. 1 AO), and the one-month rule of § 123 sentence 2 AO does not come into play. The period then starts sooner. 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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