German tax administrations face staff shortages and audit delays

Staff shortages within German tax administrations are leading to a decrease in tax audits, particularly affecting small businesses. Due to a lack of qualified officials, tax offices are facing growing backlogs and significant delays in processing tax returns.

In Lower Saxony, specific offices have reported notable operational burdens. The Sulingen tax office, for example, experienced processing times for employee tax returns of 43.3 days, exceeding the state average of 38.9 days. Processing times for corporations in Sulingen reached 60.4 days, compared to a state average of 38.4 days. As of October 1, 2026, the Sulingen office had 4,923 open cases.

The Syke tax office showed mixed results, with employee returns processed faster than the state average, but other natural person assessments taking 62.4 days. The Association of Taxpayers (Bund der Steuerzahler) aims for processing times of under 40 days for employees and under 50 days for the self-employed.