Introduction of the business identification number starting in November 2024
Introduction of the business identification number starting in November 2024
The business identification number (W-IdNr.) will be issued in steps by the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) from November 2024 without the need for an application. This measure affects all economically active persons in Germany. We have therefore compiled the essential information.
Objective
The purpose of the W-IdNr. is to clearly identify economic activities in taxation and administrative procedures. At the same time, it serves as a uniform federal economic number according to the company base data register.
Structure of the W-IdNr.
The W-IdNr. consists of the letters “DE” and nine digits, for example DE123456789. It remains unchanged throughout the entire economic activity, even in the event of a change of name or address.
Each economically active person receives only one W-IdNr., which is supplemented by additional distinguishing features in the case of several economic activities. Each distinguishing feature assigned is linked to a tax number, which is used to manage the company or permanent establishment at the relevant tax office. For example, a W-IdNr. with the distinguishing feature 00001 could specifically look like the following: DE123456789-00001.
Validity of other tax and identification numbers
Tax returns should be submitted to the tax office as usual with the tax number. This also applies to forms and reports to be submitted to the BZSt. However, the electronic tax return forms will gradually be expanded to include the W-IdNr. Since the W-IdNr. is assigned in steps, the specification of the W-IdNr. and the distinguishing feature in the electronic forms is not mandatory for the time being until December 31, 2026.
The VAT identification number (USt-IdNr.) is to be used as usual for companies that operate across borders within the EU and will not be replaced by the W-IdNr.
The personal identification number (IdNr.) will continue to be used as a unique identification feature for natural persons in taxation and administrative procedures even after the W-IdNr. has been introduced. In contrast to the IdNr., the W-IdNr. is only issued in the case of an economic activity, whereas the IdNr. is assigned to every natural person in Germany.
Notification of the W-IdNr.
The following methods are provided for the notification of the W-IdNr.:
- For economically active persons who were already issued a USt-IdNr. before the introduction of the W-IdNr., there will be no separate notification of the W-IdNr. In these cases, a public announcement will be made in the Federal Tax Gazette that the USt-IdNr. is to be used as the W-IdNr. at the same time. If, in individual cases, the USt-IdNr. is no longer available, it will be possible from November 2024 to request an electronic notification of the W-IdNr. from the BZSt.
- For economically active persons who do not have a USt-IdNr. or who are starting a new business, the W-IdNr. is provided via the ELSTER portal. An ELSTER user account is required for this. To receive notifications more quickly, we recommend registering to accept electronic notifications.
- If an authorized recipient has been named, the W-IdNr. of this person is provided via the ELSTER portal or the law firm software used by them.
For data protection reasons, it is not possible to provide the W-IdNr. by email or telephone.
Further information
The BZSt provides information on current developments regarding the W-IdNr. on its website.