Taxes
Germany — Tax: Corporate Tax
German corporate tax has three layers: a flat 15% Körperschaftsteuer (corporate income tax) on net profit, a 5.5% solidarity surcharge on that corporate tax (adding ~0.825% effectively), and Gewerbesteuer (municipal trade tax), which varies by location — a 3.5% base rate multiplied by a local municipal factor (typically 200-900%), producing an effective trade tax of roughly 7-17.5%. Combined effective corporate tax rates land around 29-33% depending on municipality (e.g. Berlin ~28.2%, Munich ~32.2%). Following a 2025 reform, the corporate income tax rate is scheduled to decrease by 1 percentage point annually starting 2028, targeting a combined rate of ~25% by 2032.
VerifiedProfessional tax guide — not a government sourcePwC Worldwide Tax Summaries / GTAI (Germany Trade & Invest)Last reviewed: 2026-07-20
Key facts
- Körperschaftsteuer (corporate income tax): flat 15%, unchanged in 2026.
- Solidarity surcharge: 5.5% of the corporate tax liability, adding ~0.825 percentage points effectively.
- Gewerbesteuer (trade tax): municipality-dependent, roughly 7-17.5% effective (3.5% base rate × local multiplier of 200-900%).
- Combined effective corporate tax rate: ~29-33% depending on location (Berlin ~28.2%, Munich ~32.2%).
- A 2025 reform schedules a 1-point annual reduction in corporate income tax starting 2028, targeting ~25% combined by 2032.
Required documents
- Certificate of incorporation
- Tax registration with local Finanzamt
- Annual financial statements
Common mistakes
- Quoting only the 15% Körperschaftsteuer rate without accounting for the municipality-dependent Gewerbesteuer, which materially changes the true effective rate.
- Assuming the same effective rate applies everywhere in Germany — trade tax multipliers vary significantly by municipality (Berlin vs. Munich can differ by 4+ percentage points).