Service of the Federal Fiscal Court
Plain English

The Federal Fiscal Court

The Federal Fiscal Court is a court of law.
Judges work in a court.
Judges know a lot about the law.
They decide on legal disputes.

The Federal Fiscal Court is a important court of law in Germany.
It is also called a supreme court.

There are five supreme courts.
The supreme courts of law are responsible for the whole of Germany.

• The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.
• The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.
• The Federal Labour Court in Erfurt.
• The Federal Social Court in Kassel.
• The Federal Fiscal Court in Munich.

The Federal Fiscal Court is the highest court
for tax and customs law in Germany.

The Federal Fiscal Court has existed since 29 June 1950.
So for more than 70 years.

There is a law for the Federal Fiscal Court.
The law is called the Code of Procedure of Fiscal Courts.
It tells you how the Federal Fiscal Court works.

What is the Federal Fiscal Court responsible for?

The Federal Fiscal Court also decides on taxes and customs duties.
The parliament makes the laws for taxes.

The tax offices say how much tax must be paid.
The Federal Fiscal Court checks
whether the tax offices have done this correctly.

Such taxes are for example:

• income tax and wage tax,
• corporation tax,
• property tax and property acquisition tax,
• inheritance tax and gift tax,
• value-added tax or turnover tax.

The Federal Fiscal Court also decides on child benefit.

What does the Federal Fiscal Court do?

The Federal Fiscal Court is a court of appeal.
Court of appeal means:
You only go to the Federal Fiscal Court
if you have previously been to a fiscal court.

There are 18 fiscal courts in Germany.
There is a fiscal court for almost every federal state.
Berlin and Brandenburg have a joint fiscal court.
North Rhine-Westphalia has 3 fiscal courts,
Bavaria has 2 fiscal courts.

You always go first to the fiscal court
in your federal state.
If there are several fiscal courts,
then you go to the fiscal court near you.
The fiscal court will then decide.
This is also called: The court passes a judgment.

Sometimes the fiscal court says:
An appeal will be allowed in the judgment.

Appeal means:
If you disagree with the judgment,
you can go to the Federal Fiscal Court.

In most cases, the fiscal court did not allow the appeal.
Then you can still go to the Federal Fiscal Court.
You then have to file a non-admission complaint.

To whom do the judgments of the Federal Fiscal Court apply?

The Federal Fiscal Court decides in a dispute
between a citizen and a tax office.
This is also known as: The Federal Fiscal Court passes a judgment.

The judgment only applies to this dispute.
But the judgment is also important for other citizens
and for all other tax offices.
Because often there is a similar dispute at another tax office.

That is why the judgments of the Federal Fiscal Court are important for the whole of Germany.

When can you file a complaint with the Federal Fiscal Court?

Not all people can simply go
to the Federal Fiscal Court.

It is not enough to say:
The judgment of the fiscal court was wrong.

There are clear rules for this.

For example:

The fiscal court must say:
With this judgment you can go to appeal.

The matter must be important for all of Germany.
Not just for one person.

The judgment of the fiscal court does not match
the decisions of other fiscal courts or the decisions of
the Federal Fiscal Court.

Or the fiscal court made a procedural error.

Then you can go to the Federal Fiscal Court.
The Federal Fiscal Court then reviews the judgment of the fiscal court.

You cannot go to the Federal Fiscal Court by yourself.
You have to let someone help you.
This is also called: Compulsory representation.

Who can help you?
For example:

• A lawyer.
• A tax advisor.

There are clear rules for this.
The rules are in the Tax Consultancy Act.

How much money do you have to pay for a trial in court?

A trial at the Federal Fiscal Court costs money.
The money is called court costs.

What are the court costs?

That depends on
how much money the dispute with the tax office is about.

But people only have to pay court costs
if they lose the case.

But there are also more costs.
For example:
The money for a lawyer.
If you win,
then the state will pay for the lawyer's fees.
Otherwise, everyone has to pay for it themselves.

Legal aid

Those with little money can get help.
This is called: Legal aid.
Then you might not have to pay any money.
Or you have to pay less money.
Or you can pay the money in instalments.

When you apply for legal aid,
you have to write down exactly how much money you have.

How can you contact the Federal Fiscal Court?

The Federal Fiscal Court is located in the north-east of Munich.

Address:
Bundes-Finanz-Hof 
Ismaninger Strasse 109
81675 München

You have questions about the Federal Fiscal Court.
You have tips about our website.
Please write to us.

Important:
If you have a legal question, you need to ask someone else.
For example a lawyer.

You can send us an e-mail.
Click here on the word contact.

Who does your question concern.
Please select:

• The Federal Fiscal Court in general.
• Our visitor service.
• Our press office.

Write your message in the big box.
Write in the fields below:

• Your title
• Your first name
• Your last name
• Your e-mail address.

By clicking on the grey box you agree to our information on data protection.
Click on the red ‘Send enquiry’ field.