What is a Steuernummer (Freelance Tax Number)?
Freelancers and self-employed workers need a Steuernummer (Freelance Tax Number) when working in Germany. The Steuernummer is issued by your local tax office (Finanzamt) and is a unique identifier of you and your freelance work.
The Steuernummer is needed in order to issue invoices and correctly process tax on freelance income. It is a legal requirement that your Steuernummer is shown on your invoices, and many clients will not accept invoices that do not have this all-important number on them.
As the application process for getting a Steuernummer is a lengthy 8-page German form, we recommend using Sorted for this process. As part of their free Starter plan, Sorted offers a super helpful online service that guides you through the Steuernummer form in English. This ensures you understand the form fully and enter all the correct details. Better still, Sorted will then submit the completed freelance tax number form to your local tax office (Finanzamt) on your behalf.
For more information about the Steuernummer, see our blog post on the differences between a Steuernummer and Steueridentifikationsnummer in Germany.