New correction obligations, Section 153 AO

What companies need to consider now

From 2025, even minor discrepancies in the tax audit will be sufficient to trigger far-reaching correction obligations – even for tax years that have not been audited.

With the new regulation in Section 153 (4) of the German Fiscal Code (AO), responsibility for tax corrections will in many cases be shifted to the companies themselves. In future, the following will apply: Anyone who accepts audit findings without lodging an appeal must independently adjust similar circumstances in other assessment periods for tax purposes – even if the original circumstances were not incorrect in terms of content.

New obligations – new processes

The previous provision in Section 153 AO required correction if a taxpayer recognized an obvious inaccuracy after submitting their return. Now, a different legal assessment by the external audit is sufficient to trigger follow-up obligations.

What at first glance sounds like a technical adjustment has significant consequences in practice – especially in the case of recurring issues such as provisions, transfer pricing, or ongoing VAT issues.

The new regulation affects:

• all companies, regardless of industry or size
• all types of taxation, in particular corporate income tax, trade tax, and sales tax
• and all assessment periods if relevant audit findings were implemented after December 31, 2024

Transfer pricing particularly affected

A key risk arises in the area of transfer pricing: if, for example, license payments, functional transfers or other intra-group business relationships are assessed differently in the audit than originally declared, all affected years must be reviewed and corrected if necessary.

Particularly controversial: even a voluntary compromise in an audit, for example to avoid lengthy discussions, can trigger tacit acceptance – with correction obligations for all subsequent years.

Deadlines and formalities for documentation from 2025 onwards

The Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG IV) also tightens the time constraints surrounding tax documentation, especially for transfer pricing:

From January 1, 2025, the following applies:

• Within 30 days of notification of the audit order, the following must be submitted automatically:
• The new transaction matrix
• the master file
• and records of unusual business transactions
• The tax authorities may also request additional documents such as the local file at any time, also with a 30-day deadline

If, in particular, the transaction matrix is not submitted on time, a surcharge of EUR 5,000 is generally imposed.

The content requirements for the transaction matrix are specified in the Profit Allocation Record Regulation (GAufzV). Companies should already start compiling a structured overview of their intra-group transactions.

Tax Shared Service Center: Structured implementation from a single source

Our tax shared services are designed to meet these new requirements: We offer process coordination to ensure that audit findings are recorded in a structured manner, deadlines are reliably met, and tax-relevant information is systematically made available within the company – in close consultation with your tax advisors.

Our contribution:

• Establishment of central monitoring of findings relevant to Section 153 of the German Fiscal Code (AO)
• Implementation path for updating in subsequent declarations
• Structured maintenance of the transaction matrix
• Coordination of deadline compliance in the event of an audit
• Interface management with tax advisors and audit offices
• Documentation notes and recommendation texts for assessment

Conclusion: Central implementation instead of selective response

With the extension of Section 153 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) and the documentation requirements under BEG IV, one thing is clear: only those who strategically coordinate their tax processes will remain on the safe side legally.

Our Tax Shared Service Center helps you to implement these requirements securely and efficiently.

Talk to us. We take care of the coordination – you remain in control.