Finanzamt simply means tax office – Germany's local tax authority. Here's what its letters mean, what you need to do, and by when. Free Einspruch template ↓
The Finanzamt is Germany's local tax office. Every resident who earns income in Germany will receive letters from them — tax assessments (Steuerbescheid), payment reminders, tax ID notifications, and more. These letters are always in German, full of legal jargon, and often come with deadlines you can't afford to miss.
Your annual tax assessment. Shows what you owe or what's being refunded. Has a 1-month objection deadline (Einspruchsfrist) — miss it and you accept the result.
Your tax ID number. You'll need this for your employer, bank, and tax returns. No action needed — just save it.
Advance tax payment notice. The Finanzamt wants you to prepay estimated taxes quarterly. Comes with specific payment dates.
You missed a payment. This is a formal reminder with a new deadline. Ignore it and you'll face late fees and enforcement.
You open your mailbox. There's an official-looking envelope from "Finanzamt Berlin" or "Finanzamt München". You open it. It's three pages of dense German legal text with numbers, paragraphs, and a deadline. Your heart rate goes up. Google Translate gives you word salad. You don't know if you owe €3,000 or if you're getting €3,000 back.
Think your tax assessment is wrong? You can object in writing — in German, by letter, fax or via ELSTER. Here is a short sample you can adapt.
What to fill in:
A sample, not legal advice. For large amounts or court deadlines, talk to a tax advisor, lawyer or advice centre.
No experience needed. Works with any official letter from any country.
Take a photo, upload a PDF, or paste the text. Works with tax notices, health insurance, government letters, fines — anything official.
Claude AI extracts the sender, status, amounts, deadlines, and action items — then explains everything in plain language.
Reply with Magic Reply, set a deadline reminder, export to calendar, or ask the AI anything — all in one place.
Official letters contain sensitive information. We take that seriously.
Your saved letters are encrypted on your device before they reach our EU servers (Frankfurt). The key stays with you — we can’t read your stored letters.
Analyzed on EU servers in Frankfurt, Germany. Your document content never leaves the EU.
Your letters are never used to train AI — by us or by Anthropic, Claude's creator.
Delete everything in one tap. Set auto-deletion after 1 week, 1 month, 1 year — or keep forever.
Your first letter is free. After that, you buy letters — no subscription.
One-time payment · no subscription · a failed scan costs no credit
Scan your letter with xPlainly. Clear explanation in your language — in seconds.