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Enter the amount of electricity in the tax return and calculate the electricity tax yourself

  • Steuern und Abgaben

If you are required to pay electricity tax, you must file a tax return with the appropriate main customs office, in which you calculate the tax yourself. This is referred to as a tax declaration.

  • Basic information

    The electricity tax is an excise tax levied on electricity. The electricity tax is also a self-assessment tax. This means that if you are liable for the tax, you must file a tax return with the responsible main customs office and calculate the electricity tax yourself (tax return).

    As a rule, electricity is drawn from the utility grid by an end user for consumption. The tax becomes due at the time of withdrawal or consumption. The electricity supplier, as the taxpayer, must then pay the electricity tax for this electricity and passes the cost on to consumers through the electricity price as part of the bill.

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

    If you generate electricity for your own use as a self-generator, you must also pay electricity tax on the electricity you consume yourself. However, this applies only if there is no tax exemption for the electricity you generate and use yourself. Such tax exemptions are available, for example, to self-generators with small rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems or combined heat and power (CHP) systems.

    You must pay the electricity tax on your own initiative and by the due date. Otherwise, you may be subject to late payment penalties.

    Requirements

    You must file an electricity tax return if you are a taxpayer as defined by law. You are a taxpayer if you:

    • as an electricity supplier, have supplied electricity to consumers who have drawn this electricity from the utility grid for their own consumption,
    • as an electricity supplier, have drawn electricity from the utility grid for your own consumption
    • or
    • as a utility, regularly pass on the costs to consumers through the electricity price as part of the bill,
    • as a self-generator, have generated electricity for your own consumption, have consumed the electricity you generated yourself, and were not eligible for a tax exemption for the electricity you consumed yourself
    • have unlawfully drawn electricity from the utility grid—that is, without the knowledge of the grid operators and electricity suppliers.
    • As an end consumer, you obtain electricity from an area outside the German tax jurisdiction (the Federal Republic of Germany excluding the territory of Büsingen and the island of Heligoland) without a contract with a German electricity supplier.
    • In this case, you must pay the electricity tax yourself for the amounts of electricity you have drawn from the German power grid.

  • Procedure

    You can file your “Electricity Tax Return and/or Declaration of Tax-Exempt Electricity Quantities” (Form 1400) online using the “Energy and Electricity Tax (IVVA)” service on the Customs Portal. Alternatively, you can also submit the required documents in writing.

    Online filing:

    • Go to the website www.zoll-portal.de.
    • Register for the “Energy and Electricity Tax (IVVA)” service once using a user or business account.
    • Verify your identity using an ELSTER account or a digital ID card.
    • Fill out the form and submit it directly.
    • Your local main customs office will review the information you provided.
    • If no discrepancies are found, you must pay the tax calculated in the tax return by the due date (usually June 25 of the calendar year in which the tax return was filed) without further notice.
    • If any issues are identified, you will generally receive a tax assessment notice specifying a payment deadline.

    Written Declaration:

    • Go to the website www.formulare-bfinv.de/ffw/content.do and enter the number “1400” in the search field. Alternatively, you can go to the page www.zoll.de and enter the number “1400” in the search field there.
    • Fill out Form 1400, “Electricity Tax Registration and/or Registration of Tax-Exempt Electricity Quantities,” digitally, print it out, and mail it to your local main customs office.
    • The remaining steps are the same as for the online registration.

    More information

    Appeal

    • Objection
    • Lawsuit before the Tax Court

  • Necessary Documents
    • Form 1400: "Electricity Tax Return and/or Declaration of Tax-Exempt Electricity Quantities"
    • any records kept of the amounts of electricity and the documentation evidencing the withdrawal

  • Competent Department

  • Online Services

    • Energy and Electricity Tax (IVVA)
      Using the Internet Consumption and Transit Tax Application (IVVA), you can submit key applications related to energy and electricity taxes electronically and in a legally binding manner to the customs administration.

  • Fees / Costs

    free of charge

  • Deadlines & processing time

    What deadlines must be paid attention to?

    Depending on whether you wish to file your electricity tax return annually or monthly, you must observe different deadlines:

    For annual electricity tax filing: You must submit the tax return by May 31 of the year following the year in which the tax liability arose (the year of consumption). The amount you calculated yourself must be paid by June 25 of that year. For monthly electricity tax reporting: You must file the tax return by the 15th day of the month following the month in which the tax liability arose (consumption). The amount you have calculated yourself must be paid by the 25th day of that month.

    If the electricity was consumed or transferred without permission, unlawfully, or for an unauthorized purpose: You must file the tax return immediately, that is, without culpable delay. The amount you have calculated yourself must be paid immediately.

    How long does it take to process

    1 month to 182 months

  • Legal Bases

  • More Information

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.

Updated on 10.09.2026

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