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Enter the amount of electricity in the tax return and calculate the electricity tax yourself Steuern und Abgaben

If you have to pay electricity tax, you must submit a tax return to the relevant main customs office in which you calculate the tax yourself. This is known as a tax declaration.

  • Basic information

    Electricity tax is a consumption tax levied on electricity. Electricity tax is also a self-assessment tax. This means that anyone who has to pay the tax as a tax debtor must submit a tax return to the relevant main customs office and calculate the electricity tax themselves (tax declaration).

    As a rule, electricity is withdrawn from the supply grid for consumption by an end consumer. The tax is incurred at the time of withdrawal (consumption). The electricity supplier must then pay the electricity tax for this electricity as the tax debtor and passes the costs on to the consumer via the electricity price as part of the bill.

    If the electricity supplier draws electricity from the supply grid for its own consumption, it must also pay electricity tax.

    Self-generators who produce electricity for their own consumption must also pay electricity tax on the electricity they consume themselves. However, this only applies if there is no tax exemption for the self-generated and used electricity (for example, in the case of small photovoltaic (PV) rooftop systems or combined heat and power (CHP) systems).

    You must pay the electricity tax on time and without being asked. Otherwise, you will incur late payment penalties.

    Requirements

    You must register for electricity tax if you are a tax debtor within the meaning of the law. You are liable to pay tax if you

    • as an electricity supplier have supplied electricity to consumers who have taken this electricity from the supply grid in order to consume it, or if you
    • as an electricity supplier, have taken electricity from the supply grid to consume it yourself.
      • The tax debtor is usually the supplier, who then passes on the costs to the consumer via the electricity price in the bill.
    • have generated electricity for their own consumption as self-producers, and
      • have consumed your self-generated electricity and
      • there was no tax exemption for the electricity you consumed yourself.
    • as a final consumer, you purchase electricity from an area outside the German tax territory (Federal Republic of Germany excluding the area of Büsingen and the island of Helgoland) without a contract with a German electricity supplier.
      • In this case, you must pay the electricity tax yourself for the quantities of electricity that you have drawn from the German supply grid.
    • have taken electricity from the supply grid illegally, i.e. without the knowledge of the grid operators and electricity suppliers.

  • Procedure

    To submit the tax return, you must use the officially prescribed form:

    • Go to the German customs website and call up the form "Stromsteueranmeldung und/oder Anmeldung der steuerfreien Strommengen" (Form 1400) from there. You can complete the form directly on your computer.
    • Print out the completed form and attach any necessary documents.
    • Sign the completed form and submit it to your local main customs office. The main customs office will check your tax declaration and send you a notification if your calculations were incorrect or something is unclear. If your calculations are correct, you will not normally be sent a notice.
    • Pay the amount you calculated yourself or the amount stated in the tax assessment notice from the main customs office on time.

    The main customs office in whose district you operate your business or, if you do not operate a business, in whose district you are resident, is responsible. If your company is operated from a location outside Germany or if you do not have a place of residence in Germany, the main customs office in whose district you first appear for tax purposes is responsible.

  • Necessary Documents
    • Form 1400

      Other than Form 1400, no other documentation is generally required. However, the person liable for the tax must keep records of the quantities of electricity and keep the documents proving the withdrawal and present them in the event of an audit.

  • Competent Department

  • Forms

  • Fees / Costs

    gebührenfrei

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    Depending on whether you want to declare the electricity tax annually or monthly, you have to observe different deadlines.
    In case of annual electricity tax declaration: you must submit the tax declaration by 31 May of the year following the year in which the tax was incurred (consumed). The self-calculated amount must be paid by June 25 of that year.
    In case of monthly electricity tax declaration: you must submit the tax declaration by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the tax was incurred (consumed). The self-calculated amount must be paid by the 25th day of that month.
    If the electricity has been taken or passed on without permission, illegally or contrary to its purpose: You must file the tax return immediately, that is, without culpable delay. The self-calculated amount must be paid immediately.

    How long does it take to process

    between 1 day and 6 months

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

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This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.

The official information in German is complete and correct. 18.07.2025

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