Ger­many is one of the most attrac­tive coun­tries in Europe for start­ing a busi­ness — known for its strong econ­o­my, legal sta­bil­i­ty, and skilled work­force. But if you’re an expat plan­ning to start a busi­ness here, you’ll need to nav­i­gate a few extra steps.

Doing busi­ness in Ger­many for Expats is absolute­ly pos­si­ble — and often reward­ing — but requires some upfront work. With the right res­i­dence per­mit, the right legal struc­ture, and clear sup­port (tools, advi­sors, or com­mu­ni­ty), you can focus on what real­ly mat­ters: build­ing your idea.

This short guide walks you through the essen­tials: from choos­ing a legal form to reg­is­ter­ing your busi­ness and under­stand­ing tax­es — all from an expat’s perspective.

Step 1: Res­i­den­cy & Work Permission

Before you can start Doing busi­ness in Ger­many for Expats, you need the legal right to work in Ger­many.

✅ EU/EEA cit­i­zens can start a busi­ness with­out restric­tions.
✅ Non-EU nation­als must have a res­i­dence per­mit that explic­it­ly allows self-employ­ment (“Selb­ständigkeit”).

Apply via your local Aus­län­der­be­hörde (for­eign­ers’ office) with:

• A detailed busi­ness plan
• Proof of eco­nom­ic inter­est or benefit
• Finan­cial forecasts
• Suf­fi­cient funds and health insurance

Step 2: Choose a Legal Form

Your busi­ness struc­ture deter­mines your tax­es, lia­bil­i­ty, and admin­is­tra­tive obligations.

Here are com­mon options to start Doing busi­ness in Ger­many for Expats:

Legal Form	Ger­man Term	Suit­able for
Sole pro­pri­etor	Einzelun­ternehmen	Free­lancers, consultants
Civ­il-law partnership	GbR	Small part­ner­ships
Lim­it­ed lia­bil­i­ty company	GmbH, AG	Busi­ness­es with more risk or capital
Entre­pre­neur company	UG (haf­tungs­beschränkt)	“Mini-GmbH” – low cap­i­tal required (starts with €1)

Free­lancers in spe­cif­ic pro­fes­sions (design­ers, IT, lan­guage teach­ers, etc.) can also reg­is­ter as Freiberu­fler, which has sim­pler rules and tax benefits.

Step 3: Reg­is­ter Your Business

Once your struc­ture is cho­sen, you need to register:

• Free­lancers: Reg­is­ter direct­ly at your local Finan­zamt (tax office)
• Trades (Gewerbe): Reg­is­ter at your local Gewer­beamt

You will receive:

Be pre­pared to fill out the Frage­bo­gen zur steuer­lichen Erfas­sung — a tax reg­is­tra­tion ques­tion­naire. You can do this through ELSTER.

• A Steuer­num­mer (tax number)
• A Gewer­bean­mel­dung cer­tifi­cate (for trades)
• In some cas­es, a VAT num­ber (Umsatzs­teuer-ID)

Step 4: Under­stand Your Tax Obligations

Busi­ness tax­es in Ger­many include:

• Income tax: Based on net prof­it (up to 45%)
• Trade tax (Gewerbesteuer): For most com­mer­cial busi­ness­es (exempt for freelancers)
• VAT (Umsatzs­teuer): 19% or 7%, unless you opt for the Klei­n­un­ternehmer­regelung (small busi­ness scheme)
• Sol­i­dar­i­ty sur­charge: Small per­cent­age added to income tax
• Church tax: Only if you’re reg­is­tered with a church

You will have to file:

• Quar­ter­ly VAT returns
• Annu­al income tax return
• Pos­si­bly: annu­al trade tax return and bal­ance sheets (for GmbH/UG)

Con­sid­er using a Steuer­ber­ater (tax advi­sor) to stay compliant.

Step 5: Busi­ness Bank­ing & Invoicing

You should open a sep­a­rate busi­ness account. While not always manda­to­ry, it helps keep finances clean.

Rec­om­mend­ed online banks for expats:

• N26 Busi­ness
• Kon­tist (with built-in tax estimation)
• Qon­to (for GmbH or UG founders)

Use invoic­ing tools like Deb­itoor, Buch­hal­tungs­But­ler, or Lex­of­fice — many offer Eng­lish-lan­guage interfaces.

Busi­ness Cul­ture & Communication

Ger­man busi­ness cul­ture val­ues struc­ture, punc­tu­al­i­ty, and direct com­mu­ni­ca­tion. Be clear, con­cise, and respect­ful in all inter­ac­tions — whether in emails, meet­ings, or nego­ti­a­tions. Titles (like “Herr” or “Frau”) are still com­mon­ly used in for­mal set­tings, and being well-pre­pared leaves a strong impres­sion. Small talk is min­i­mal, and pro­fes­sion­al­ism is key.

Use­ful Resources for Expats

Start­ing a busi­ness in a new coun­try can feel over­whelm­ing, but you’re not alone. Help­ful plat­forms include:

• Make-it-in-Germany.com – gov­ern­ment por­tal for inter­na­tion­al professionals
• IHK (Cham­ber of Com­merce) – offers local start­up support
• Exis­ten­z­grün­der­por­tal – fed­er­al start­up guide (some info in English)
• ELSTER — used to reg­is­ter the busi­ness at the finan­cial author­i­ties, receive a tax num­ber and file tax declarations

Join­ing expat busi­ness net­works on LinkedIn or Meet­up can also help you get real-life advice from those who’ve done it before.

Tips from Expats Who’ve Done It

Keep copies of every invoice and receipt.

Always sub­mit VAT on time — penal­ties add up fast.

Join Face­book or Meet­up groups like “Expats in Busi­ness – Germany”.

Use cowork­ing spaces to net­work and get local advice.

How to con­tin­ue / con­tact to us

We as eng­lish speak­ing tax advi­sors who can advise you about Doing Busi­ness in Ger­many for Expats and com­mu­ni­cate with the finan­cial author­i­ty on your behalf.

You can con­tact us by using one of these phone num­bers or the mail address.