German Pillar 2 groups must also file Mindeststeuer-Erklärung via ELSTER

Groups with constituent entities in Germany that belong to a multinational group or a large domestic group fall within the MindeststeuerBzst where the group reports annual revenues of EUR 750 million or more in at least two of the four financial years immediately preceding the financial year. The regime secures an effective minimum taxation of 15 percent and applies for financial years beginning after 30 December 2023. The Mindeststeuer operates as a separate tax on income alongside Einkommensteuer and Körperschaftsteuer.

Three electronic duties matter for affected groups. The in-scope German constituent entities form a Mindeststeuergruppe whose Gruppenträger is the debtor of the Mindeststeuer. The Gruppenträgermeldung under section 3 Mindeststeuergesetz tells the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern who acts as Gruppenträger and is filed through the form in the BZSt online.portal. The Mindeststeuer-Bericht under section 75 Mindeststeuergesetz carries the information needed to apply the global minimum tax and is transmitted to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern in XML format.

The Mindeststeuer-Erklärung under section 95 Mindeststeuergesetz is separate from both. It belongs to the assessment procedure and is filed electronically through the form in ELSTERBzst with the competent Landesfinanzbehörde, not with the Bundeszentralamt für SteuernBzst. Groups must therefore plan for an additional return to the state tax office alongside the BZSt filingsBzst.

The report duty to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern is qualifiedBzst. Direct transmission to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern is not required where the report is filed by Central Filing in another state and exchanged with Germany under section 75(2) MindeststeuergesetzBzst. Where the report reaches the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, the office forwards the information in the statutory procedure to the competent Landesfinanzbehörde and, where the conditions are met, to foreign tax authorities.

Deadlines run separately. The Gruppenträgermeldung is due no later than two months after the end of the calendar-year tax period. The Mindeststeuer-Bericht is due grundsätzlich 15 months after the end of the financial year, and 18 months for the first financial year for which a report is prepared for the group. The period for the Mindeststeuer-Erklärung follows the general return rules but does not end before the report period expires.

Safe-harbour and transitional rules can reduce top-up amounts to nil or ease the information in the report, and are claimed through the data elements provided inside the report without a separate informal application. Using such a rule does not remove the duty to transmit the report; whether direct filing is required follows section 75 Mindeststeuergesetz. For the transition within section 84(1) Mindeststeuergesetz, section 101(3) Mindeststeuergesetz provides Transitional Penalty Relief so that section 98(1) Mindeststeuergesetz does not apply to financial years beginning on or before 31 December 2026 and ending before 1 July 2028 where the stated conditions are met.

The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern issued Pillar 2 Newsletter 09/2026 on 21 October 2026, published in German and English alongside the earlier 2026 editions back to 01/2026 of 18 May 2026. The letters cover legal and technical developments and procedural notes on the Gruppenträgermeldung, the Mindeststeuer-Bericht and electronic transmission. Teams with Pillar 2 filing duties should factor the additional ELSTER return into their compliance calendarBzst and check where their report was filed before assuming direct filing to the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern is dueBzst.

Legal basis is the Mindeststeuergesetz (MinStG), notably sections 1, 3, 75, 84, 95, 98, 101, with the Abgabenordnung section 149(2) for the return period and the EU Minimum Tax Directive as the legislative background.