Tax declaration
May 24, 2018 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Bernd Thomas
Hello, I have received a letter from the tax office accusing me of engaging in commercial activity. Small parts of my girlfriend's car were sold, and now I am being asked to file a tax return. I receive welfare benefits. How should I behave towards the tax office? Best regards, ahlhaus
Dear inquirer,
I am happy to answer your inquiry based on the information provided during an initial consultation on frag-einen.com. The response is made in accordance with the factual information you have provided. Missing or incorrect information may affect the legal outcome.
Firstly, it would need to be clarified whether you conducted the sales in your own name and for your own account. If the sales were to be attributed to your girlfriend, any potential taxation would also need to be considered for your girlfriend.
You may need to convincingly demonstrate to the tax office that you acted in your own name but on behalf of your girlfriend. This proof may be difficult to establish.
If the sales are attributed to you, the question arises as to whether it is a private sale transaction or a commercial activity.
Whether selling automotive parts commercially depends on various factors. Firstly, it needs to be determined whether it is a purely private sale. However, this may be denied as the automotive parts belong to a third party, not your own. It would then need to be examined whether it constitutes a taxable private sale if less than a year passes between purchase and sale.
If it is not a private sale, it may potentially be a commercial activity. Sustainability is particularly important here.
A one-time action does not constitute sustainability unless it triggers further activities. An activity is considered sustainable if it is designed to be repeated. Since the intention to repeat is an internal fact, the actual circumstances are of special importance. Therefore, sustainability is typically affirmed in the case of a number of similar actions. If there is an apparent intention to repeat, a single action may already establish the beginning of a continued activity. A one-time sale (or multiple sales) of parts from dismantling a vehicle may thus be considered a non-commercial private sale.
If there are repeated sales, commerciality may be affirmed.
The tax office has extensive knowledge of private used part sales, as it monitors internet trading platforms and also has control information from other tax cases.
If it is a private sale, you should explain to the tax office what you sold and when, and what profit was made. If the total profit from private sales in a calendar year remains below €600, these earnings are tax-free.
To avoid being treated as income from a business, you should (if applicable) explain that there is no sustainability.
If there are business profits, you should inform the tax office.
Whether you are required to submit an income tax return depends on § 56 EStDV. If there are no earnings from employment and the total amount of earnings is below the basic tax-free allowance, you may be exempt from filing. However, there is still an obligation to cooperate with the tax office, so they may request this information from you.
Best regards,
Bernd Thomas
Tax consultant
Dipl.-Kaufmann (FH) Bernd Thomas, Tax Advisor, Neustadtswall 85, 28199 Bremen, Email bernd.thomas@yahoo.de, Phone and Fax 0421 70905588, Mobile 0163 9632333, VAT ID No. DE316948369, Member of the Hanseatic Chamber of Tax Advisors Bremen, Registration Number 111705, Professional liability insurance with R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AG, Mittlerer Pfad 24, 70499 Stuttgart, Insurance sum: 250,000 euros for each individual damage; Annual maximum performance: 1,000,000 euros (for all damages in an insurance year)
