German taxation of foreign interest bearing account

[JcaWLz]

Hey all, glad I found the new forum

I remember a post from someone about how the German tax authorities will handle interest bearing accounts in a foreign currency in 2024, and that I should make sure I close any I have.

Does anyone have any links to further information or can anyone give me a quick summary?

Thanks a bunch!

[Auntie Helen]

This is also something I need to do.

[runandnap]

While I wasn't involved in the discussion and can't really be of any help with the topic itself, it seems at least the first page of that thread has been archived at the location here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20231207012 ... nightmare/?

(Unless I'm doing something wrong I can't see the remaining pages of the discussion anywhere. Still, at least Panda's very helpful summary is there.)

[JcaWLz]

Awesome, thank you!

[Mbell_inD]

Could someone please help me:
1) I (resident in Germany) am still working on my 2022 German tax return. I have a UK bank account with interest payments. I pay British tax on this interest. The German tax authority tells me that I need to declare this interest income in KAP. I thought that it should be listed on AUS because of the DBA between UK and Germany (ie/ only used in the Progressionsvorbehalt)?
2) I am confused by the apparent changes in German fiscal law. This UK bank account is a deposit account dating from 2003, which pays a variable interest rate. I pay tax in UK on the interest income. As of 01.01.2024 has the way this will be fiscally handled in Germany changed?
Thankyou!

[Nixon]

Just came from Finanzamt, had a question about 2022 tax.
If I am doing it now on my own (Elster), I would be charged 0.25% per month of being late on the value of whole tax amount that would be calculated. Minimum 10 EUR per month.
Way to avoid this fee is using Steuerberater/in or Hilfer/in.
I know my German is not good but we understood that much, they even printed out our example calculation.

[PandaMunich]

1) I (resident in Germany) am still working on my 2022 German tax return. I have a UK bank account with interest payments. I pay British tax on this interest. The German tax authority tells me that I need to declare this interest income in KAP. I thought that it should be listed on AUS because of the DBA between UK and Germany (ie/ only used in the Progressionsvorbehalt)?

Nope, capital income has always been taxable in your country of residence, i.e. in Germany.
See here: https://expertise.tax/en/faq-german-tax ... /#resident

2) I am confused by the apparent changes in German fiscal law. This UK bank account is a deposit account dating from 2003, which pays a variable interest rate. I pay tax in UK on the interest income. As of 01.01.2024 has the way this will be fiscally handled in Germany changed?

That is not what changed, what changed is that additionally to the worldwide interest that you were always supposed to declare in your German tax return, you now have to also declare currency gains, even though you never exchanged your GPB into €.

Congrats, you have been evading German taxes since 2003 on your UK interest (and on any other worldwide capital income you may have had).
--> you need to do a Selbstanzeige.

You could ask Stefanie Neshyba-Kaiser, she is a Steuerberaterin specialised in capital income (her day job is being Head of Taxation at a bank) and she may still have time for another Selbstanzeige: https://steuerberatung--neshyba-de.tran ... r_pto=wapp

[PandaMunich]

Just came from Finanzamt, had a question about 2022 tax.
If I am doing it now on my own (Elster), I would be charged 0.25% per month of being late on the value of whole tax amount that would be calculated. Minimum 10 EUR per month.

You misunderstood.
There is no minimum interest per month.

What they were probably trying to tell you is that if the interest amount they calculate is less than 10€, they will not ask you to pay it.
This is laid down in § 239 (2) Satz 2 AO (in English): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/engl ... html#p2044

• (2) Interest shall be rounded to the full euro in the taxpayer’s favour. It shall be assessed only where it amounts to at least 10 euros.

**********************************************************************

What there is a minimum 25€ per month late filing penalty (Verspätungszuschlag), this is laid down in § 152 (5) Satz 2 AO (in English): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/engl ... html#p1498

• ²For tax returns relating to a calendar year or to a legally specified period of time, the late-filing penalty shall be 0.25 percent of the assessed tax, less the sum of assessed prepayments and withheld taxes to be credited, for each month or part of a month that a return is late, and no less than 25 euros for each month or part of a month that a return is late.

However, if you get a tax reimbursement (which most employees do - yes, I'm aware that in your case probably not), then no late filing penalty is charged, see § 152 (3) Nr. 2 AO: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/engl ... html#p1498

• 2. if the assessed tax equals zero or a negative amount,