Tax Contribution Account: Obvious inaccuracy despite lack of recognizability of the correct value

January 20, 2025

In its ruling of 22.10.2024 (VIII R 33/21), the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof - BFH) has clarified the application of § 129 AO (obvious inaccuracy):

In the case at hand, the shareholder made a contribution to a GmbH in 2010. This was also evident from the annual financial statements, which were also available to the tax office. However, the GmbH continued to show the tax contribution account without this addition. The tax office accepted this mistake.

After the GmbH requested an amendment of the tax assessment due to an obvious error, the tax office rejected the amendment. It was not a manifest error because the value of the contribution to the tax contribution account required further investigation and was therefore not “obvious”.

However, the BFH ruled that the notice of assessment could be amended in accordance with § 129 AO. It does not depend on the obvious recognizability of the correct value; it must only be obvious that the declared value of EUR 0.00 cannot be correct. On the basis of the available annual financial statements for 2010, the tax office should have recognized that the declared value of EUR 0.00 could not be correct. The correction according to § 129 AO was therefore possible.