(mostly, but not only, for native English speakers, teaching adults)
If you're new to this sort of thing, practise posting and replying to messages in the supportive, non-threatening environment of the "Practice board" below.
Advertising in posts: you may mention products, sites etc. that are of interest to teachers of English, or foreigners living in Germany. Administrators will delete other ads.
hosted by Target English, Munich
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
CHB |
Bank accounts |
Lead | |
|
I've recently moved to Germany and about to set up work as a free lance English teacher. Should I open a normal current account here or do I need a special
'Geschaeftskonto' as some banks have suggested? I'm not anticipating working for more than 3 langauge schools at most. Also how important is it to
employ a 'Steuerberater' to help with the tax form (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung) for the Finanzamt? Thanks.
|
|||
john |
|||
|
You don't have to open a 'Geschäftskonto', i.e. there is no legal requirement to do so, but if you just use one bank account for both business and
personal use, you may find that the tax authorities won't let you set off the bank charges as a business expense.
I'd recommend having two accounts, for the simple reason that it makes life much easier for you (because you know all the movements on the business account are connected with your teaching work) and for an accountant (because they won't need to worry whether something is a business expense or a personal expense)... and you can set any bank charges off as an expense which will help to reduce the tax you have to pay. Btw, it is also a good idea to get two phone numbers - one for business and one for personal use. I think you can probably fill in the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung yourself if you understand enough German (or know someone who does). The most important thing there though is to be realistic and (rather than optimistic) about how much you will earn, the more you think you will earn, the more tax you'll have to pay - and if you put down a sum that is unrealistically low, you will get a demand for a lot of tax later. I would employ a Steuerberater if you don't understand German tax laws and/or your German isn't too hot - and given that German tax laws are probably amongst the most complicated in the world, it will probably save you a lot of time and will probably end up paying less tax than you would have done if you'd tried to put in your tax return yourself. If your German is pretty good, you could look into buying some software which will help to guide you through all the steps needed to put in a tax return.
Last Edited By: john
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 19:10.
Edited 2 times.
|
|||
CHB |
bank accounts | ||
|
Thanks for the advice on bank accounts and Steuerberater, John, really useful.
|
|||
Habeas Corpus Paradigm |
|||
|
Regarding the questionnaire you mentioned ("Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung"), it might help to take a look at the thread "quick
question".
Wrong entries can cost you a lot: advance payments, VAT problems, etc. - things any language trainer should try to avoid since the income prospects aren't that great. If you like, you can also send me a message via the mail system here. |
|||