Germany: Federal Fiscal Court mandates email retention for tax audits

The 11th Senate of the German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) has confirmed that tax-relevant emails must be retained and presented during external tax audits. According to a ruling dated April 30, 2025, emails that function as business letters, commercial correspondence, or contain accounting vouchers are subject to mandatory retention.

Specific requirements include:

- Business correspondence, such as offers, orders, and delivery confirmations, must be kept for 6 years. - Emails serving as accounting vouchers, including those with attached invoices, must be kept for 10 years. - Emails must be archived in an electronic, unalterable, and audit-proof format.

Exemptions apply to purely private communications, spam, and advertising. Additionally, if an email serves merely as a digital cover for an attachment, such as a PDF invoice, only the attachment may be required for retention if it contains all necessary tax data.