The assessment arrived — do not set it aside: compare the tax office calculation with your return. Office errors are common, and you have only a month from receipt to object.
✓ Verified: 18/07/2026
WHAT TO DO
AUTHORITY
Finanzamt
Federal agency
The BZSt is the federal body; your personal tax matters go to the Finanzamt for your registered address.
A tax assessment is not a verdict but an offer from the tax office you can dispute. The key is not to let the envelope sit: the month runs from receipt. Spend the first 10 minutes on the explanations and the comparison: that is usually where the difference in your favour lies.
The Einspruch itself is free and goes as a plain letter — there is nobody to pay for it. Costs struck out “without evidence”, though, are a verdict on next year’s return rather than this one: Taxfix↗ and Wundertax↗ walk you through the deductions by question and file the receipts as you go, leaving nothing to dispute next time.
I read every assessment with my return beside it: in year two I found 600 € of cut work costs. The explanations blamed missing receipts — I had them, the objection recovered the money.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
Note the receipt date on the envelope/calendar at once: the month runs from it. A forgotten date is the most common reason a justified objection is rejected as formally late.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where to start checking?▾
With the explanations section at the end: there the office explains what it changed versus your return. Compare these points with your figures — that is where cut costs and rejected deductions hide.
How often are assessments wrong?▾
Statistically a notable share contain errors or disputable items, mostly not in your favour. Ten minutes of checking with your return beside you almost always pays off.
What if I do not understand the calculation?▾
Go through it line by line: final tax, income used, deductions. An unclear point from the explanations is grounds for an objection asking for clarification. Not understanding does not mean agreeing.