question on German contracting

[eurojoe]

I was registered as a freelancer in Germany for a few years. This year I have been living outside of Germany and my only income has been from an American company.

My question is: am I entirely clear of the German tax system? I should be I think. The only possible complications are that I have been receiving money into a German bank account, and the Finanzamt has a reputation for watching freelancers and springing weird surprises on them once they have been in their system. Could they start asking me questions about my worldwide income, demanding I prove non-residence, that kind of thing?

Would love to hear especially from people who have contracted in Germany in the past, left that system, and how smooth it was.

[cojak]

Take a look at this thread:
http://forums.contractoruk.com/busin...m-p85-nhs.html

[darmstadt]

Did you de-register (unregister?) from the Einwohnermeldramt and all the other stuff you have to do when leaving Germany? If not you might have a hard time but I suspect that if you can 100% prove that you accrued no income in Germany you might get away with it...Have a look on Toytown, there are some threads about the very same subject there

[eurojoe]

Did you de-register (unregister?) from the Einwohnermeldramt and all the other stuff you have to do when leaving Germany? If not you might have a hard time but I suspect that if you can 100% prove that you accrued no income in Germany you might get away with it...Have a look on Toytown, there are some threads about the very same subject there

Yes, I read some some threads on Toytown, but the situation is still unclear for me.

Yes, I unregistered from the Einwohnermeldramt last year. Not sure how I would "100% prove I accrued no income in Germany"-- it's hard to prove a negative! What are they likely to ask from me?

[BlasterBates]

Yes, I read some some threads on Toytown, but the situation is still unclear for me.

Yes, I unregistered from the Einwohnermeldramt last year. Not sure how I would "100% prove I accrued no income in Germany"-- it's hard to prove a negative! What are they likely to ask from me?

A German bank account has no bearing at all on whether the money is taxable in Germany.

It's not evidence that you're still around in Germany, it's just a bank account. You have absolutely nothing to fear whatsoever from having a bank account.

You deregistered that's it, they will not go round checking the owners of bank accounts of people who moved away; there are millions of Germans who now work abroad and still have a German bank account for convenience.

They won't find any evidence of you being in Germany, because you weren't there, and they can't go around accusing people that they were in Germany, if they don't have any evidence.

[eurojoe]

They won't find any evidence of you being in Germany, because you weren't there, and they can't go around accusing people that they were in Germany, if they don't have any evidence.

Actually I was doing some travelling in Germany during the summer. I couldn't find a good gig there, so I took a remote-working job and left. By the time I received income I was outside of Germany.

Now I'm wondering if I should be keeping careful documentation of my movements to deal with any kind of worst-case of scenario. I would like to remain on good terms with the German authorities, as I still sometimes visit friends there.

Again, I was not registered in Germany this year as a resident, but in previous years I was registered and working with a German tax ID. Might they start asking me lots of questions about my worldwide income?

[SueEllen]

Can you prove where you lived permanently outside Germany?

If so stop worrying

[EXPATTAX]

Actually I was doing some travelling in Germany during the summer. I couldn't find a good gig there, so I took a remote-working job and left. By the time I received income I was outside of Germany.

Now I'm wondering if I should be keeping careful documentation of my movements to deal with any kind of worst-case of scenario. I would like to remain on good terms with the German authorities, as I still sometimes visit friends there.

Again, I was not registered in Germany this year as a resident, but in previous years I was registered and working with a German tax ID. Might they start asking me lots of questions about my worldwide income?

The German tax office would only be interested in you if you were tax resident in Germany (looks like this is not the case) or if you had a source of income in Germany. A bank account could be seen as a souce of income if it actually generates income (interest income). If you have a regular checking account this is most likely not the case anyway. And even if your account was seen as a souce of income, the German tax office could only look at your income from this account - not your worldwide income, provided you are tax resident outside of Germany.

So, very much looks like you can relax.

[BlasterBates]

The German tax office would only be interested in you if you were tax resident in Germany (looks like this is not the case) or if you had a source of income in Germany. A bank account could be seen as a souce of income if it actually generates income (interest income). If you have a regular checking account this is most likely not the case anyway. And even if your account was seen as a souce of income, the German tax office could only look at your income from this account - not your worldwide income, provided you are tax resident outside of Germany.

So, very much looks like you can relax.

Just want to point out that interest on a German bank account is only taxable, if you are resident.