Going self-employed as a bookkeeper in Germany: what you may do, what you need and how to start

Not a profession of its own, but an exception

The Steuerberatungsgesetz (StBerG, Tax Advisers Act) only allows certain professional groups to provide help in tax matters on a business basis, above all tax advisers, lawyers and auditors. Bookkeeping counts as part of help in tax matters. That you may still work independently as a bookkeeper is down to a single provision: § 6 para. 1 no. 1 StBerG.

This provision was rewritten in the latest reform of tax advisory law and has applied in its new form since 1 September 2026. Many older guides still refer to „§ 6 Nr. 3“ (mechanical operations) and „§ 6 Nr. 4“ (booking current transactions, ongoing payroll). The exceptions for bookkeepers are now grouped together in paragraph 1 number 1. Newly and expressly added is setting up charts of accounts, which was previously not allowed. Demands from professional associations to open up advance VAT returns or annual accounts to Geprüfte Bilanzbuchhalter:innen were not taken up by the legislator.

What you may offer and what you may not

The line does not run between „simple“ and „difficult“, but between ongoing recording and everything that leads to a tax return or year-end accounts. The following overview is based on the wording of the law, the information sheet of the Lower Saxony tax administration on working as a self-employed bookkeeper and the case law of the Bundesfinanzhof (Federal Fiscal Court).

Coding (Kontieren), i.e. assigning a receipt to the right account, is regarded by the tax administration as part of booking current transactions and is allowed for qualified bookkeepers. As early as 1980 the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) ruled that a general ban on coding for this group was disproportionate. The Lower Saxony information sheet dates from October 2025, i.e. before the reform, but its main points remain informative.

The qualification: training plus three years of practice

The exception only applies if the work is carried out under the responsibility of a person who, after passing the final exam in a commercial training occupation (or after equivalent prior education), has worked in bookkeeping for at least three years, at a minimum of 16 hours a week. The tax administration names the Bilanzbuchhalter exam or a degree in economics or business, for example, as equivalent. Important: practice only counts from the date of qualification.

No authority checks this in advance. In a dispute, the burden of proof lies with you. So keep a file with your final certificate and employer references showing the type of work, period and weekly hours.

Geprüfte:r Bilanzbuchhalter:in (IHK)

The qualification „Geprüfte:r Bilanzbuchhalter:in – Bachelor Professional in Bilanzbuchhaltung“ is a public-law further training exam under the Berufsbildungsgesetz (Vocational Training Act), governed by its own regulation and held by the IHK. Admission requires completed three-year commercial or administrative vocational training or, alternatively, a Fachwirt or Fachkaufmann qualification, the title Staatlich geprüfte:r Betriebswirt:in, a degree in economics or business with one year of practice, or five years of practice mainly in finance and accounting (§ 3 BibuBAProFPrV). Each IHK sets its own exam fees. The course and exam can be funded through Aufstiegs-BAföG (upgrading training assistance).

The qualification does not extend your powers beyond § 6 para. 1 no. 1 StBerG. It is, however, a strong quality signal, and § 8 para. 4 StBerG expressly allows you to advertise under this designation. „Bachelor Professional“ is not an academic degree.

Registration in five steps

Trade, legal form and taxes

Bookkeepers are not liberal professionals. The occupation is not listed in § 18 EStG, and the Bundesfinanzhof has denied liberal profession status to self-employed bookkeepers (BFH, judgment of 28 June 2001, IV R 10/00). This has three consequences: liability to trade tax, IHK membership and no partnership company (Partnerschaftsgesellschaft), because that form is only open to liberal professions.

• Trade tax: sole proprietorships and partnerships have an allowance of €24,500 of trade income (§ 11 GewStG). Many small offices therefore pay little or nothing at first, and trade tax is partly credited against income tax.
• IHK contribution: unregistered sole traders with trade income of up to €5,200 pay no contribution. Business founders who were not self-employed in the previous five years are exempt from contributions in their founding year and the following year if their profit is up to €25,000, and exempt from the levy in the third and fourth years (§ 3 para. 3 IHKG).
• VAT: the small business scheme applies if turnover was no more than €25,000 in the previous year and does not exceed €100,000 in the current year (§ 19 UStG). Your clients are mostly businesses entitled to deduct input tax, so waiving the scheme often makes more sense.
• Legal forms: sole proprietorship, GbR, UG (haftungsbeschränkt) or GmbH. In a company, the responsible person must meet the qualification under § 6 StBerG.

What happens if you cross the line

In Germany, enforcement does not run through a supervisory authority but in two ways. First, in cases of persistently improper activity, the tax office can prohibit you from providing help in tax matters for up to five years (§ 7 StBerG); the prohibition is published by the Bundesamt für Justiz (Federal Office of Justice), and breaching an enforceable prohibition risks a fine of up to €50,000 (§ 160 StBerG). Second, Steuerberaterkammern watch the market and send formal warnings for misleading advertising under competition law. Most conflicts arise not from the work but from how you present yourself: a website promising „complete financial accounting“, or a quote that throws in the advance VAT return „while we are at it“.

First clients and working with tax advisers

The most sustainable model for small bookkeeping offices is a division of labour: you take care of organising receipts, ongoing bookkeeping and payroll, and a tax advisory firm handles the advance VAT return, the year-end accounts and the returns. What matters is that clients instruct the tax adviser themselves. You may neither sell these services nor pass them on as a subcontractor.

Good starting points for winning clients are trades businesses, hospitality, online retailers and associations, but also tax advisory firms themselves that outsource payroll. Because § 8 para. 2 StBerG expressly does not prohibit advertising for individual bookkeeping engagements, you may approach businesses directly. Phone calls and emails remain subject to the rules of competition law; details are in the post on advertising as a bookkeeper. Since 2025, businesses in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices. Helping clients switch to digital receipts gives you a good conversation opener.

Your website: show your scope, build trust

Clients search online for „Buchhaltung“, „Lohnabrechnung“ or „bookkeeper“ in their town. Your website is therefore your most important sales channel and, at the same time, the first place Steuerberaterkammern look. So phrase your services in a way that nobody thinks of tax advice, and make your scope visible, not just as a section number in the small print. What belongs in the imprint is covered in the post on the imprint for bookkeepers, and general content for a firm website in the post Website content. Your business card and email signature should also name your scope correctly; create both for free with the business card generator and the email signature generator.

A finished website from Meine-Kanzlei-Website costs €1,800 net one-off, or €3,600 net with a content management system you can edit yourself, plus hosting at around €30 a month. If you would first like to see what your office could look like online, we will create a free preview. General set-up questions are answered in the post Setting up a firm in Germany.