Further Information on Tax

Here you will find information on tax matters, including the latest updates on the Notification Regulation (MA) and the new VAT regulations coming into force on 1 January 2027.

Notification Regulation and Tax Identification Number (Tax ID)

Every year, the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam reports to the tax authorities, in accordance with the“Regulation on the provision of information to the tax authorities by other authorities and public service broadcasters”(MV) from the 7th of September 1993, reports to the tax authorities on all payments it makes to third parties, in particular to private individuals. This applies, for example,

  • payments to payees that are not made in the course of a primary commercial or self-employed activity,
  • payments that are not made to a business account held by the payee,
  • payments that cannot be linked to any specific consideration, e.g. scholarships.

This rule also applies to persons not resident in Germany.

New requirements will apply to notifications from 2025 onwards, namely

  • Date of birth
  • Tax identification number (11-digit number).

Our foreign payment partners may need to apply for a tax identification number first.

Please inform and raise awareness amongst our international partners and complete the form‘Application for the issue of a tax identification number by the tax office for persons not subject to registration’together with them. On the tax authority’s website, please enter 010250 (the form number) in the search field at the top.

Please feel free to use the guidance on completing the application for a tax identification number.

Please send the signed application form, together with a complete copy of the identity documents, to controlling@fh-potsdam.de. We will forward the application documents to the Potsdam Tax Office via Elster. Once we have received a response from the Tax Office, we will forward it to the applicant.

Please use the guidance below to help you complete the application for a tax identification number.

Pursuant to the Regulation on Notifications to the Tax Authorities by Other Authorities and Public Service Broadcasters of 7 September 1993, as amended by the Notice of the 14th of January 2025 (MV), to report certain payments to the tax office.

Accordingly, the following payments must be reported in particular:

  • to private individuals/non-business owners or
  • to business owners, provided they were not acting in the course of their business or did not receive the payment into their business account (e.g. payments into an account not specified in business correspondence, payments made by set-off).

With immediate effect, for such payments made both domestically and abroad, the tax office must be provided not only with the existing details such as name and address, but also with the 11-digit tax identification number and the date of birth of the payee.

In consultation with the Head of Administration and the Finance Department, it has been agreed that, in the event that a tax identification number is still missing for foreign payment partners, a payment may be made subject to the following conditions:

  • An application for the tax identification number has been submitted to the Potsdam Tax Office via the FHP.
  • The invoice documentation for the payments in question must clearly state, in a suitable and clearly visible place, that the tax identification number was applied for at the Potsdam Tax Office on DD/MM/YYYY (for example, on the invoice itself by the issuer, in the procurement request or in the email containing the account allocation stamp for the transaction).

Value Added Tax (Section 2b of the Value Added Tax Act), New statutory provisions with effect from the 1st of January 2027

The new statutory provisions regarding value added tax (Section 2b of the Value Added Tax Act) will come into force for the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam on the 1st of January 2027.

After many years, the transitional arrangement for the taxation of legal entities under public law will come to an end on the 1st of January 2027.

The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam’s status as a business entity will fundamentally change. It will then generally be regarded as a business entity liable for value added tax. The previous link to the corporate tax concept of a ‘commercial enterprise’ will be discontinued.

Note: In the coming weeks,the relevant departments will be informed individually of the changes directly by the University Planning and Development Office (HPE) and will be supported in any necessary coordination with project partners.

Within our university, this will result in changes particularly in the areas of letting and leasing, as well as academic services provided by smaller operational units (for example, restoration). You should therefore inform potential partners of the possibility of taxation when initiating new projects .

As a rule, taxation will result in additional expenditure for the project partner if they are not entitled to claim input tax deduction, for example public bodies, associations and similar organisations.

For several years now, the University Planning and Development Office (HPE) has been regularly assessing and documenting new project proposals in accordance with the future legal framework. Furthermore, HPE is currently cataloguing existing medium- and long-term contracts and identifying any areas where action may be required.

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