Wise Business Group
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.
