ELStAM, employer, hardship regulation

The tax authorities offer employers who are unable and for whom it is unreasonable to electronically access the wage tax deduction features of their employees a substitute procedure (so-called 'hardship rule').

• For this purpose, the employer must submit an application using the officially prescribed form. In this he must state his name, his tax number, the identification number and the date of birth of the employed employee as well as the information whether he is the main or secondary employer.
• The competent permanent establishment tax office decides on the application.
• If the application is approved, the wage tax office will arrange for an employer-related certificate to be sent to the employer. This certificate contains the wage tax deduction features of his employees. It is only valid for the current calendar year for which it was issued.
• The application for the granting of the hardship rule must be made anew for each calendar year.
• On the basis of the information in the application, the permanent establishment tax office registers the affected employee (s) in the database for the wage tax deduction features.
• The processing in the database for the wage tax deduction features takes place as in the regular procedure. Only the wage tax deduction features and their changes are made available to the employer in writing.
• If the employer's request is not complied with, the employer must electronically access the wage tax deduction criteria.

Employers who only employ temporary workers or part-time workers whose wages are taxed at a flat rate do not need to file a hardship application because the electronic wage tax deduction criteria are not applicable in these cases. The same applies to employers without automatic payroll accounting who only employ employees in the context of marginal employment in a private household within the meaning of Section 8a SGB IV.