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Tax · Germany

Schätzungsbescheid — a tax bill built on an estimate, not your numbers

A Schätzungsbescheid is a tax assessment in which the Finanzamt estimated your income or turnover — usually because no return was filed. Estimates are routinely higher than reality, and the duty to file remains.

How serious: enforcement closeAlso called: Schätzung nach §162 AO, Bescheid über geschätzte Besteuerungsgrundlagen

When a required tax return does not arrive, or the records are unusable, AO §162 obliges the Finanzamt to estimate what it cannot determine. The result is a Schätzungsbescheid: a tax assessment built on the office's estimate instead of your actual figures.

Estimates are routinely higher than reality. The Bescheid usually also carries a Verspätungszuschlag line and a payment demand.

Crucially, the estimate does not free you from filing. AO §149 Abs. 1 says it plainly: the duty to submit the return remains even after the tax bases were estimated under §162.

Who sends it

Your local Finanzamt (tax office).

It looks like a normal Steuerbescheid from the Finanzamt but contains wording like 'Die Besteuerungsgrundlagen wurden gemäß §162 AO geschätzt' or 'wegen Nichtabgabe der Steuererklärung geschätzt' — usually combined with a Verspätungszuschlag line and a payment demand.

The deadline

Einspruch within 1 month of notification (AO §355), notification deemed on the 4th day after domestic posting (AO §122).

An Einspruch can be filed within 1 month of notification (AO §355). Notification is deemed to occur on the 4th day after domestic posting (AO §122 Abs. 2).

If you do nothing

The estimated — typically inflated — tax becomes final and collectible like any other assessment once the one-month period of AO §355 expires. The duty to file the return still remains (AO §149 Abs. 1 Satz 4). Non-payment then adds Säumniszuschläge of 1% per started month (AO §240) and leads to enforcement.

How it escalates

  1. 01The estimated assessment becomes final after one month (AO §355).
  2. 02A Verspätungszuschlag applies for the missing return: 0.25% of the assessed tax per started month, at least €25 per month for annual returns, capped at €25,000 (AO §152).
  3. 03Säumniszuschläge of 1% per started month accrue on unpaid amounts (AO §240), followed by a Mahnung and enforcement by the Finanzamt itself — attachment of wages, bank accounts, property (AO §259).
  4. 04The filing obligation continues (AO §149) — the Finanzamt can additionally use Zwangsgeld to force the return (AO §§328, 329).

Your options, procedurally

  • The actual tax return and an Einspruch can both be filed within the one-month period (AO §355, §357) — the real figures then replace the estimate in the Einspruch procedure.
  • Aussetzung der Vollziehung of the disputed amount can be applied for (AO §361), since the Einspruch alone does not stop collection.
  • After the deadline, filing the return no longer guarantees correction — remaining correction possibilities are a question for the Finanzamt.
  • The Stundungs- und Erlass-Stelle can be asked for deferral if payment is due.

Common questions

Does the estimate replace my tax return?

No. The duty to file the return remains even after the estimate (AO §149 Abs. 1 Satz 4). The Finanzamt can also use Zwangsgeld to force the return (AO §§328, 329).

Can the estimated figures still be corrected?

Within the one-month Einspruch period (AO §355), yes: filing the actual return together with an Einspruch lets the real figures replace the estimate. After the deadline, correction is no longer guaranteed.

Why is the estimated amount so high?

Estimates are routinely higher than reality — the Finanzamt estimates what it cannot determine (AO §162), and a Verspätungszuschlag is usually added on top (AO §152).

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.