Income tax return, submission deadline, deadline extension

Submission deadline:
The application for assessment of income tax can be submitted to the tax office retrospectively (by submitting the tax return) within the general assessment period of four years. The period begins at the end of the calendar year in which the wages were received.

Important: The deadline for taxpayers who are legally obliged to submit an annual income tax return is July 31 of the following calendar year.
Example: Income tax return for 2019, submission deadline July 31, 2020

If tax returns are prepared by a tax advisor or income tax aid association, they must be submitted by the last day of February of the calendar year following the following year at the latest.
Example: Income tax return for 2018, deadline 02/29/2020
This does not apply if the tax return is expressly requested in advance.

Deadline extension:
If the income tax return cannot be submitted on time, an application for an extension of the deadline is possible. This must be sent to the responsible tax office and must contain a reason for the extension of the deadline as well as the expected submission date. It is advisable to apply for a so-called tacit deadline extension. Then the tax office only gives an answer if it should reject this application.