Opti.Tax Version 18 – The new version of our taxonomy software

Update to the ELSTER submission servers at the end of September 2017

The tax authorities replaced the server certificate on 27 September 2017. ERiC can then communicate using the new server certificate, including the underlying new root CA. However, this does not necessitate any changes, as communication based on the root CA has been possible since version 25.7 at the very least.

Opti.Tax Version 18 with Taxonomy 6.0, ready for submission

The release of the Opti.Tax In view of the circumstances, we are postponing Version 18 until In early October 2017, to enable submission to the tax authorities for e-balance sheet projects using Taxonomy 6.0. With version 18, we will be introducing the ERiC Version 26 to enable the actual submission of e-balance sheet projects based on Taxonomy 6.0.

From ERiC version 25 (11 May 2017) onwards, data records based on Taxonomy 6.0 can be submitted as actual cases. Opti.Tax version 18 already includes the next higher ERiC version 26.2.12.0.

Taxonomy 6.0 was released on 1 April 2016 and may be used for financial years that starting after 31 December 2016 (Text of the BMF letter dated 24 May 2016, available at www.esteuer.de). For financial years that coincide with the calendar year, this is the 2017 financial year. There will be no objection if Taxonomy 6.0 is also used for the previous year (the 2016 financial year, which coincides with the calendar year). Overview of the use of taxonomy versions for the submission of the e-balance sheet to the tax authorities:

Taxonomy 6.0 – also for S+E balance sheets

Taxonomy 6.0 marks the end of the transitional arrangement currently in force, under which the separate and supplementary balance sheets of individual shareholders were to be submitted as free text within the joint ownership structure. Separate and supplementary balance sheets must then be submitted as separate e-balance sheet data records. Our  Module: Special and Supplementary Balance Sheets ensures the convenient creation and management of these numerous, extensive data records, with consistent validity checks.

If you haven’t yet started using the module – now is the time to see the benefits for yourself. With the S+E Balance Sheet Module and the add-on module OfficeFiler for partnerships You can easily meet the requirements of the tax authorities – even with regard to future extensions to the minimum scope, e.g. the fixed assets schedule, which is also required for S+E balance sheets.

The hsp provides the following guidance on the use of Taxonomy 6.0:

Pursuant to the Act Implementing the Accounting Directives (BilRUG) fundamental changes to commercial law have come into force for entities preparing financial statements. In some cases, these changes also lead to a the associated adjustment costs the e-balance sheet taxonomy. This applies in particular to the structure of the profit and loss account. For e-balance sheets used as standalone tax balance sheets, the 2016 submission for tax assessment years up to 2016 may also be made using Taxonomy 5.4, as no format requirements under BilRUG apply to purely tax-related financial statements.

Please note the following when using Taxonomy 6.0 already for e-balance sheets for the years 2016, …that, in addition to adjustments to the balance sheet and profit and loss account structures, new accounts and the associated new posting rules must also be taken into account. Although Version 18 already contains the new allocation templates for Taxonomy 6.0 (core taxonomy only), adjustments to the mapping will still be necessary.

Furthermore, with the introduction of Taxonomy 6.0 in conjunction with the new ERiC version 26, further requirements from the tax authorities regarding the minimum scope and plausibility checking of data records will come into force. As a result, extensive new master data, mandatory fields and consistent data across different report components and concepts must be taken into account. For example, a statement of fixed assets or a plausible statement of changes in equity is expected for partnerships.

Please therefore bear in mind that you will need to put in more effort to resolve the validation messages and ensure a valid data set when using Taxonomy 6.0!

We recommend that you prepare for the changes from a technical perspective and refer to the information provided by the tax authorities. Please also note the publicly available Notes on taxonomy 6.0.