Tax Audit after Emigration: What Emigrants Can Expect from a German Field Audit

Published on 13.10.2026

German Tax Audit after Leaving the Country

Many emigrants assume that moving abroad also closes the chapter on the German tax office. A tax audit after emigration is, however, by no means rare: entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals, shareholders and landlords often receive an audit order months or even years after their move. By then, the records are abroad, there are no longer any business premises in Germany, and for foreign matters the law requires an increased level of cooperation. This article explains when the tax office may still carry out an audit, which office is responsible, where the audit takes place, which records you must keep available, how long assessments remain open to amendment and what role mutual assistance plays (legal position as at October 2026).

May the Tax Office Still Audit You after You Have Moved Away?

The field audit (Außenprüfung), colloquially known as a tax audit (Betriebsprüfung), is governed by Sections 193 to 203a of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung, AO). Moving abroad does not end the power to audit. What matters is which taxes and periods are to be audited and whether the requirements of Section 193 AO are met for those periods.

Who May Be Audited

Under Section 193 (1) AO, a field audit is permissible for taxpayers who run a commercial or agricultural and forestry business or who are self-employed in a liberal profession, as well as for taxpayers within the meaning of Section 147a AO. The latter are persons whose positive surplus income (for example from capital assets or letting) exceeds EUR 500,000 in the calendar year; from 1 January 2027, this amount will be raised to EUR 750,000. For all other taxpayers, a field audit under Section 193 (2) AO is only permissible in special cases, in particular where the circumstances relevant for tax purposes need to be clarified and an examination at the tax office is not appropriate given the nature and scope of the facts (no. 2).

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Years in which you ran a business in Germany that has since been discontinued may also be audited. For many emigrants, the focus is precisely on the last business phase, the discontinuation of the business and the year of departure. The trigger is often a high gain on discontinuation, exit taxation (Wegzugsbesteuerung), control notifications from abroad or automatically exchanged account data (see CRS reporting obligations for foreign accounts).

Which Tax Office Audits You after the Move?

Under Section 195 AO, field audits are carried out by the tax authority responsible for the taxation; it may instruct other tax authorities to carry them out. Moving abroad frequently changes responsibility:

• Income tax: Without a residence or habitual abode in Germany, responsibility under Section 19 (2) AO depends on where the assets in Germany are located (where several tax offices are involved, the location of the most valuable part), or alternatively on the place where the activity is or was carried out or exploited. Anyone who does not earn any German-source income within the meaning of Section 49 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG) in the year of departure remains with the tax office last responsible under Section 19 (2) sentence 3 AO.
• VAT: For entrepreneurs whose residence or seat is abroad, a centrally responsible tax office may be designated by statutory order under Section 21 (1) sentence 2 AO; responsibility then depends on the state of residence.
• Change of responsibility: Under Section 26 AO, a change only takes effect once one of the two tax authorities learns of it. The previous tax office may continue ongoing proceedings with the consent of the new tax office.

When you receive the audit order, you should have it checked whether the ordering authority was actually responsible. When unlimited tax liability ends is discussed in the article Gewöhnlicher Aufenthalt im Steuerrecht (in German).

The Audit Order Reaches You Abroad

Under Section 196 AO, the tax authority determines the scope of the audit in a written or electronic audit order (Prüfungsanordnung) with instructions on available legal remedies. Under Section 197 (1) AO, the audit order, the expected start of the audit and the names of the auditors must be notified a reasonable time before the audit begins. Under Section 197 (3) AO, the tax office may already require, together with the order, the submission of records within a reasonable period, and in the case of electronic data in a machine-readable format.

For emigrants, notification is the sensitive point. An order sent abroad by post is deemed to have been notified one month after it was posted under Section 122 (2) no. 2 AO; within the EU, Section 13 (4) of the EU Mutual Assistance Act (EU-Amtshilfegesetz, EUAHiG) allows direct service by registered post or electronically. An objection (Einspruch) against the order may be filed within one month. Details on notification, an authorised recipient under Section 123 AO and powers of attorney are explained in the article Tax representation after moving abroad.

Two consequences of the audit order are often overlooked:

1. Blocking effect for voluntary disclosure: Under Section 371 (2) sentence 1 no. 1 (a) AO, a voluntary disclosure with exemption from punishment (strafbefreiende Selbstanzeige) is excluded as soon as the audit order has been notified, limited to the substantive and temporal scope of the announced audit. Anyone who identifies a need for corrections must act before that point; this requires advice on criminal tax law.
2. Postponement extends time limits: Under Section 197 (2) AO, the start of the audit should be postponed on application if important reasons are credibly shown, for example an imminent move. However, such an application suspends the expiry of the assessment period under Section 171 (4) sentence 1 AO, even if the audit has not yet begun.

Where Does the Audit Take Place after the Move?

Under Section 200 (2) AO, records must be presented at the business premises, alternatively at the residential premises or at the tax office. If neither exists in Germany after the move, the audit is generally carried out at the tax office. The Field Audit Regulations (Betriebsprüfungsordnung, BpO 2000) only permit other audit locations by way of exception; in practice, an audit at the offices of the German tax adviser is sometimes agreed. If the auditor works independently of location using mobile devices, this is deemed to be activity at the tax office under Section 200 (2) sentence 2 AO. With your consent, the final meeting may take place by telephone or video conference under Section 201 (1) sentence 3 AO.

A German auditor may not, as a rule, carry out sovereign investigations abroad. Within the EU, German officials may be sent abroad under Section 11 EUAHiG as part of a request for assistance; simultaneous and joint audits with other Member States are also possible (Sections 12, 12a EUAHiG). In practice, this means that the records come to the auditor, not the auditor to you.

Duties to Cooperate: What You Must Provide

Under Section 200 (1) AO, you must provide information, present books, records and documents, give explanations and support data access. For foreign matters, Section 90 (2) AO considerably tightens these duties: you must clarify the facts yourself, obtain the necessary evidence and exhaust all legal and factual possibilities in doing so. You cannot rely on a lack of possibilities if you could have secured them when arranging your affairs. After the move, this typically concerns:

• evidence of giving up your home and of the date of departure,
• the certificate of tax residence (Ansässigkeitsbescheinigung) of the new state of residence,
• contracts, bank statements and accounting records of foreign companies and accounts,
• valuation documents for shares or assets as at the time of departure.

Under Section 87 AO, the official language is German; the tax office may require translations of documents in foreign languages. Anyone who has business relationships with related parties abroad must also submit the transfer pricing documentation under Section 90 (3) AO, in part within 30 days of notification of the audit order (Section 90 (4) sentence 3 AO).

Delay Penalty for Failure to Cooperate

If the audit order was notified after 31 December 2024, the tax office may issue a qualified request for cooperation (qualifiziertes Mitwirkungsverlangen) once six months have passed since the audit order was notified (Section 200a (1) AO). If it is not complied with within one month, a delay penalty for failure to cooperate (Mitwirkungsverzögerungsgeld) of EUR 75 for each full calendar day must be set, for a maximum of 150 days (Section 200a (2) AO). In addition, a surcharge of up to EUR 25,000 per day may be imposed, for example on companies with revenues of at least EUR 12 million (Section 200a (3) AO). Fault on the part of a representative is attributed to you. For taxes arising after 31 December 2024, the suspension of expiry is also extended (Section 200a (4) AO); under Article 97 Section 37 (2) and (3) of the Introductory Act to the Fiscal Code (EGAO), this extension does not apply to earlier years even if the audit order is only issued after 2024. If a requested act of cooperation is impossible, you must point this out without delay.

Records Abroad: Retention and Data Access

Retention obligations do not end with the move. Under Section 147 (3) AO, the following periods apply:

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Section 147 (3) sentence 5 AO is important: the retention period does not expire as long as the records are relevant for taxes whose assessment period has not yet expired. If a field audit is in progress, you may therefore not destroy the records concerned even after the regular period has expired.

Where the Accounts May Be Kept

Under Section 146 (2) sentence 1 AO, books and other required records must, as a rule, be kept and retained in Germany. There are two exceptions for electronic books:

• EU state (Section 146 (2a) AO): Electronic books and records may be kept and retained in one or more EU Member States without authorisation. You must, however, ensure that full data access under Section 147 (6) AO is possible.
• Third country (Section 146 (2b) AO): Relocation to a third country, for example to Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates or the USA, requires an application to and authorisation by the tax office. The conditions include that you notify the location of the data processing system and that you have duly complied with your obligations so far.

Anyone who relocates electronic accounting to a third country without authorisation or who does not grant data access risks a delay penalty (Verzögerungsgeld) of EUR 2,500 to EUR 250,000 under Section 146 (2c) AO. With cloud services, the location of the servers is what counts. If the data is held by a third party, for example an accounting service provider, that party must grant access under Section 147 (6) AO.

Assessment Period and Suspension of Expiry

How far back an audit can reach depends on the assessment period (Festsetzungsfrist). For income tax it is four years under Section 169 (2) AO, five years in the case of reckless understatement and ten years in the case of tax evasion. Under Section 170 (2) no. 1 AO, it begins at the end of the year in which the return was filed, at the latest at the end of the third year after the tax arose.

If a field audit begins before the assessment period expires, or if its start is postponed at your request, the period for the audited taxes does not expire under Section 171 (4) sentence 1 AO before the assessments issued on the basis of the audit have become final. For taxes arising after 31 December 2024, a new upper limit applies: the suspension of expiry ends no later than five years after the end of the year in which the audit order was notified (Section 171 (4) sentence 3 AO, Article 97 Section 37 (2) EGAO). This period is extended by the duration of any postponement you applied for and, if the tax office makes use of international mutual assistance and informed you of this before the period expired, by the duration of the mutual assistance, by at least one year (Section 171 (4) sentences 4 to 6 AO). For earlier years, Section 171 (4) AO continues to apply in the version in force until the end of 2022.

One special case particularly affects emigrants: if a field audit cannot be carried out in Germany, other investigative acts also suspend the expiry of the period under Section 171 (6) AO, provided you were informed of the start of the investigations before the assessment period expired.

Example (fictitious): Markus ran an engineering firm in Germany until mid-2025 and has lived in Portugal since then. He filed his income tax return for 2022 in 2023. The assessment period begins at the end of 2023 and regularly ends on 31 December 2027. If Markus receives an audit order for 2022 to 2024 in autumn 2026 and the audit begins before the end of 2027, the period for these years remains open until the assessments following the audit have become final. The five-year upper limit does not apply to these years because the taxes arose before 2025. For the year of departure, 2025, it would apply, however.

Mutual Assistance and Exchange of Information

Under Section 117 (1) AO, the tax office may make use of international legal and administrative assistance. Within the EU, the EU Mutual Assistance Act governs requests for information, spontaneous and automatic exchange of information and joint audits; vis-à-vis third countries, the exchange of information clauses in double taxation agreements (in German) are the main basis. This allows the tax office, for example, to cross-check your residence or account balances, and a request for assistance extends the suspension of expiry under the conditions described above. Your own obligation under Section 90 (2) AO to obtain evidence remains unaffected.

Estimation Where Cooperation Is Lacking

If the tax office cannot determine the basis of taxation, it must estimate it under Section 162 (1) AO, in particular if you breach your duty to cooperate under Section 90 (2) AO or cannot present books (Section 162 (2) AO). This typically happens when vouchers were lost during the move or a foreign bookkeeper does not deliver. For business relationships with related parties abroad, the presumption of higher income (Section 162 (3) AO) and surcharges (Section 162 (4) AO) are added. An estimate can only be corrected in objection proceedings if you then do provide the missing evidence.

Typical Focal Points of an Audit after Emigration

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Disputes frequently arise over the value of shares for exit taxation; a valuation report prepared close to the time of departure makes the defence easier. The details are covered in the article Wegzugsteuer bei GmbH-Gesellschafteranteilen (in German). If a fixed place of business remains in Germany, for example an office or an employee’s regularly used home office, the tax office will also examine whether a permanent establishment (Betriebsstätte, article in German) exists.

Common Mistakes and Checklist

Typical mistakes are: vouchers are discarded during the move even though the assessment period is still running; the accounts are moved to a cloud in a third country without authorisation; the tax office only has an outdated address; an application for postponement is made without regard to the assessment period; foreign documents are submitted incompletely or without translation. Before and after the move, you should therefore:

1. Digitise all records of recent years in an orderly and complete manner and keep the originals after consulting your adviser.
2. Clarify the server location of the accounts and, for third countries, apply for authorisation in good time.
3. Appoint an authorised representative in Germany with power to receive documents and notify the tax office of your new address.
4. Collect evidence of the move: termination of the lease or sale of the home, handover of keys, deregistration, certificate of tax residence.
5. Have up-to-date evidence of value prepared for shares and business assets.
6. Where the legal position is unclear, apply for a binding ruling (verbindliche Auskunft) under Section 89 (2) AO from the competent tax office before the move and, where there is a foreign element, also have a corresponding ruling obtained in the new state of residence if appropriate.

Conclusion

Moving abroad ends neither the tax office’s power to audit nor your obligations to retain records and cooperate. The audit typically covers the last years before the move and the year of departure, usually at the tax office or at the tax adviser’s offices. Increased duties to cooperate, the delay penalty for failure to cooperate and estimation shift the risk onto the taxpayer. Anyone who puts their records in order before the move, relocates the accounts in a permissible way and appoints an authorised representative can, as a rule, deal with a field audit from abroad in an orderly fashion; where the legal position is unclear, a binding ruling should be obtained in advance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still be audited after I have moved away?

Yes. The tax office can audit the years in which you ran a business or practice in Germany, as well as periods in which you continue to earn German-source income. The limit is the assessment period, whose expiry is suspended when the audit begins.

Do I have to travel to Germany for the audit?

Not necessarily. The audit usually takes place at the tax office or at your tax adviser’s offices, and with your consent the final meeting can be held by telephone or video. You can cooperate through an authorised representative; however, information that only you can provide remains your obligation.

May I keep my accounts abroad?

Under Section 146 (2a) AO, you may keep electronic books in an EU state if full data access is possible. For a third country, you need authorisation under Section 146 (2b) AO. Otherwise, a delay penalty may be imposed.

How long do I have to keep records after moving away?

Books and financial statements for ten years, accounting vouchers for eight years, business letters and other documents for six years. As long as the assessment period for the taxes concerned is running, the retention obligation does not end.

What happens if I cannot obtain records from abroad?

For foreign matters, you must exhaust all possibilities of obtaining them under Section 90 (2) AO. If this fails, the tax office may estimate under Section 162 AO, and if a qualified request for cooperation has been issued, a delay penalty for failure to cooperate may be set. You should inform the tax office of any impossibility without delay.

Attorney Dr. Johannes Fiala and the Munich-based firm, which focuses on international succession law, tax law and asset protection, advise emigrants on field audits after their move, from reviewing the audit order and organising records from abroad to defending against estimates. Dr. Fiala has published extensively on questions of emigration and asset protection. Please get in touch with the firm without obligation to discuss your individual situation in an initial consultation.