Ask a tax advisor on the topic of Income tax return

Incorrect wage tax statement

September 17, 2009 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Dipl.BW/SB Ulrich Stiller

My former employer filed for bankruptcy in November 2007, so I received insolvency benefit for November to January.

At the same time, I was on parental leave in November and December and only worked on a 10-hour basis. As a result, my income in those months was significantly lower, and the December payroll included a tax adjustment that was factored into the payout amount.

However, the insolvency benefit only covered my actual December earnings without the annual tax adjustment. It was explained that I would need to carry out the tax adjustment through the tax office as usual.

The tax certificate for 2007 contained incorrect figures under both point 3 (gross wages) and point 4 (tax withheld), which were roughly equivalent to my earnings in October 2007.

After inquiring with the employer, I later received a corrected payroll with the correct gross wages, but the tax value under point 4 was too low compared to the tax I had paid with the tax adjustment from the December payroll.

Upon further inquiries, I was initially delayed in responses, then received no response at all. It is complicated by the fact that after the bankruptcy in February 2008, there was a business transfer, and my old employer no longer exists. I also left the company at that time.

The contact persons at the successor company did address the issue with the initial incorrect payroll, but since then, the accounting staff has changed several times, and I have to repeatedly explain my problem; however, with no success. Since the deadline for my 2007 income tax return is approaching, the question now is whether I can still file the return by providing the correct values based on my December payroll and explain the situation to the tax office in writing.

Is this possible, or do I absolutely need the correct certificate from my employer? What can I do if I need it but still receive no response?

Dipl.BW/SB Ulrich Stiller

Dear client,

Thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to answer based on the information you provided and in the context of your situation as follows:

The employer must electronically transmit the wage tax certificate with the corresponding data to a central transmission point of the tax administration by February 28 of the following year. The copy handed to you is for your information and is important for processing your N attachment in the preparation of your income tax return.

There is no legal obligation to submit the wage tax certificate as part of the income tax return, but it is advisable to do so. You have a right against the employer from the employment relationship to the correct and complete preparation and handover of the wage tax certificate. Your former employer is only entitled to amend the wage tax certificate to the extent that they can still change the wage tax deduction. For this, they are only entitled after the end of the calendar year up to the (initial) issuance of the wage tax certificate according to § 41c para. 3 sentence 1 EStG. This deadline is likely to have expired.

However, all is not lost in your case, as the income tax assessment always takes precedence. Any errors will be corrected here. Therefore, present your December payslip with the accumulated amounts to the tax office and explain the error. The tax office should then recognize the incorrectness of the certificate and follow your instructions.

Nevertheless, you should STILL REQUEST YOUR EMPLOYER IN WRITING WITH A DEADLINE to issue a correct certificate again. They may also confirm the inaccuracies of their original certificate to you and refer to the accuracy and completeness of the December payslip.

I hope my explanation has been helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Ulrich Stiller
Tax consultant