Company Formation in Germany
For Non-residents
The experience of over 150 cases through 8 main following services
Wise Business Group
aims to help international entrepreneurs and investors set foot in Germany and start a successful business life.
August 24, 2024
A brief about querying the information of a company in Germany
You can use the following sources if you intend to buy a specific company in Germany and want to inquire about some tax, legal, and credit information before purchasing the company:
1. Inquiring about the company's registration history, legal status, and its managers through the Handelsregister website
2. Access to annual reports, balance sheets, and financial information of the company through the Bundesanzeiger website
3. Inquiring about the company's possible lawsuits through local judicial authorities in Germany
4. Inquiring about the company's tax situation through tax consultants or local auditors
5. Receiving a comprehensive report of the company's financial, credit, and judicial status through validation companies
July 17, 2024
An overview of start-up grants in Germany
If you dream of starting your own business in Germany, you must be very persistent and incur huge expenses. Most start-up entrepreneurs in Germany cannot provide enough capital to start a business alone. There are many options for financing businesses in Germany, especially in the start-up phase. The most important is the start-up grant awarded to young entrepreneurs by the German Employment Office. To apply for it, you must have a coherent business plan and obtain confirmation from specialized and reliable institutions in Germany indicating that your business idea is viable. You can also use a KfW start-up loan to finance your business or receive a grant from other development or guarantee banks in Germany.
June 25, 2024
The legal form of limited partnership with shares (Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, KGaA) in Germany is a combination of the structure of both joint stock companies (AG) and limited partnership (Kommanditgesellschaft). A limited partnership with shares (KGaA) like stock companies in Germany must be commercially registered. Also, it should register its activity with the regional trade office.
May 19, 2024
Information on UG or mini-GmbH companies at a glance
• The entrepreneurial company (UG) has existed since 2008.
• It is a particular form of limited liability company (GmbH), not an independent legal form.
• It is also colloquially called a mini-GmbH.
• The required capital for establishing a UG in Germany is 1 euro.
• Shareholders must keep one-quarter of the company's annual net profit to compensate the initial capital.
• By providing 25000 euros, you can convert it to a GmbH.
April 29, 2024
One of the common questions of our clients is often related to the purchase conditions and how to conclude a GmbH company purchase agreement in Germany. […]
April 22, 2024
Summary of important information about the VAT number in Germany
• The responsible tax office, as one of the departments involved in the business registration process in Germany, will automatically be notified of your business registration at the trade office.
• You must apply for a sales tax number when you start your business in Germany and as soon as the business license is available. The reason for this is that you have to correctly record all the financial transactions of your business in the accounts from the beginning.
• Receipt and collection of sales tax is part of a commercial activity. Finally, you must pay it to the tax office by mentioning your requested tax number.
• To obtain a VAT or sales tax identification number, you can submit your application online when registering your business and as part of your tax registration. Another way is to submit your request in writing and directly to the responsible federal tax office.
• VAT number is used in Germany to facilitate trade with other EU member states. Note that the corresponding country code will be placed in front of the numerical sequence.
• The German sales tax law explicitly states that you can use the VAT ID number on your invoices instead of the personal tax number.
• Small businesses in Germany are not required to declare sales tax as long as they do not exceed the limit. It is essential for cross-border trade in the European Union to Obtain a VAT identification number.
March 19, 2024
The new immigration rules in Germany at a glance
In 2023, the German government created new changes to the immigration rules for skilled workers. These changes have been made to attract skilled foreign labor and solve the labor shortage in Germany. The significant changes are related to the following:
• Requirements for obtaining a blue card
• Recognition of educational qualifications
• Introduction of opportunity card
Generally, according to the changes made in the immigration laws to Germany, a broader range of jobs with lower earnings will be eligible to obtain the German Blue Card. There is no requirement to recognize educational qualifications before entering Germany. If specialists get enough points, they can enter Germany using the opportunity card and search for their qualified job.
March 11, 2024
A review on "Made in Germany" label provision
"Made in Germany" label is somehow equals a guarantee for high quality products. To sum up, for using this label, you should follow some rules:
Your production process including development, design, production and quality assurance must be done in Germany.
The parts determine the nature of your products should be made in Germany. In other words, the base of value chain should be in Germany.
March 4, 2024
A brief overview of the types of legal forms in Germany
The legal form of a company specifies the ownership structures and the distribution of risk and liability in that company. Therefore, choosing it before starting a business is especially important.
Legal forms in Germany are divided into three categories: corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships. Each of them also has different subsets as follows:
Corporations in Germany
• Limited Liability Company (GmbH)
• Company with limited liability and limited partnership (GmbH & Co. KG)
• Entrepreneurial Company (UG)
• Public joint stock company (AG)
• Private limited company based on shares (Ltd.)
Partnerships in Germany
• Civil Law Partnership (GbR)
• General partnership (OHG)
• Limited Partnership (KG)
Sole proprietorships in Germany
• Sole proprietors
• Sole merchants
• Freelancers
• Small business owners
To choose an appropriate legal form for your business in Germany, you should pay attention to the number of founders, required share capital, start-up process and costs, liability, and accounting requirements. You can also consult experts in this field.
February 23, 2024
An overview of important tax tips for startups in Germany
As the founder of a startup in Germany, you should be fully familiar with the types of taxes that you will be required to pay after starting your business. For this purpose, it is better to get help from a tax advisor in Germany. Here, we briefly mention ten important tax tips for startups in Germany:
1. After registering your business in Germany, complete the tax registration questionnaire and submit it to the tax office. Then, apply for a tax number.
2. Estimate the profit from your business in the first year for the tax office.
3. Read German tax paragraphs and learn about tax saving tricks.
4. Reduce your tax burden by forecasting your business expenses.
5. If you start your business in Germany after a period of unemployment, you can use German tax laws to optimize your business tax.
6. Take advantage of tax benefits for founders in Germany.
7. In the first two years after registering your business in Germany, you must calculate your tax monthly for the pre-registration of the tax return and report it to the tax authorities.
8. According to the amount of profit, the legal form and the size of your business in Germany, use the correct method of determining the profit.
9. Pay attention to corporate performance tax.
10. You can reduce your business tax burden by registering a Gewerbe business in Germany.
February 14, 2024
Part-time self-employment in Germany at a glance
Is it possible to be part-time self-employed while having a blue card residence and an employment contract in Germany?
Yes, the blue card holder can register a company in Germany and hand over its executive management to his spouse or trusted person until obtaining a permanent residence permit. They can also work part-time in this company.
If the blue card holder does not have a trusted person in Germany, they can still be self-employed part-time by registering a side business at the Trade Office. In this case, they should pay attention to the requirements of self-employment in the target city, which is included in the Zusatzblatt sheet. Also, their employment contract should not contain clauses that limit or prohibit them from starting a business.
With part-time self-employment in Germany, you can realize your business idea and have a reliable source of income through your primary job. In such a case, it will be easier to finance the new business, and the time investment and mental pressure to generate income will be less. As a result, you can safely test your business idea and increase your income if it is successful.
Before starting the activity, inform your employer that you intend to be self-employed part-time. In addition, you need to register your business, register with the tax office, and obtain the necessary permits and certificates.
February 3, 2024
A brief overview of due diligence before buying a business in Germany
A thorough evaluation and due diligence of a business before buying it in Germany is mandatory. It will help you understand the various financial, operational, legal, and strategic aspects of the business you want to buy.
To evaluate a business in Germany, you must carefully review various items such as financial statements, compliance with laws and regulations, employment contracts, tax issues, manufacturing and supply chain processes, relationships with customers and suppliers, intellectual property, IT infrastructure, environmental obligations, insurance, the quality of income and key management personnel of the company.
WBG Company Formation Program
Wise Business Group is active for 8 years in establishing different types of legal entities for its international clients. With its very well established relationship with banks and notaries in Germany, the whole process will be smoothly conducted and in the shortest amount of time. Check our 3 main company set-up packages below
Basic - UG/GmbH
1,000€
Company set-up Package 1
- Business Name and Activity inquiry
- License needed inquired
- Article of associations and formation deed issued
- Application for commercial register
- Full consultancy
Standard- UG/GmbH
1,900 €
Company set-up Package 2
- Business Name and Activity inquiry
- License needed inquired
- Article of associations and formation deed issued
- Opening business bank account
- Application for commercial register
- Full consultancy
UG/GmbH Intensive
upon request€
Company set-up Package 3
- Ready-Made UG/GmbH
- Fast company formation
- Bank account inclusive
Our initial business strategy sessions will help you select the best choice of business strategy in Germany
