Certificate of Exemption (Section 48b)
Full payment of your remuneration – without deductions
Without a valid exemption certificate (§ 48b EStG), your German client will retain 15% of your remuneration—this will be lost directly to the tax office as construction withholding tax. With our support, you can ensure that your money is paid out in full and in a legally compliant manner.
We take care of the entire application process and also handle renewals.
Section 48b is not a form, but a liability provision
The exemption certificate (FSB) determines whether your client can pay the full invoice amount or is liable for construction withholding tax. This is how the tax office ensures that foreign companies pay their taxes correctly in Germany.
The exemption certificate is only valid for the construction work for which it was applied for.
Without a valid FSB, no cash flow without risk of loss.
This is how our FSB service works
1. Power of attorney and onboarding
We will obtain a tax power of attorney (including power of attorney to receive mail) from you and, as part of the onboarding process, we will also collect all the necessary documents for tax processing.
2. Tax registration
If not already done, we will take care of the tax registration of your company. This includes:
■ Applying for a tax number
■ Submission of the tax registration questionnaire (
) to the relevant tax office
3. Application for exemption certificate
We will submit the application for the exemption certificate to the relevant special tax office (e.g., Chemnitz-Süd, Hameln, or Cottbus, depending on your country of origin).
Special feature: If you do not employ your own skilled workers, you will be listed as the "general contractor" in the application (awarding construction work to subcontractors).
Required documents
signed power of attorney (including power of attorney to receive mail)
Work or agency agreement (Proof of contract in German)
Certificate of Residence issued by the tax authority in the country of origin
Commercial register extract
Copy of the owner's ID of the holder
Extension of the exemption certificate
Important: Exemption certificates expire
- no automatic renewal
- Application required 3–4 months before expiration
- Each time gap = 15% deduction from the invoice amount
This is how we handle the extension
We take care of:
Deadline monitoring and resubmission
Informal extension request based on the existing power of attorney
Obtaining a current certificate of residence
Proof of current or planned orders
Result: Always full payout without deductions
Your benefits at a glance
- Payment without 15% withholding
- No liability risks with subcontractors
- central processing for foreign partners
- Deadlines and extensions always in view
- a single point of contact for the entire process
Important information about the construction site
Section 48b is not a risk if you do it right.Dependingon the assignment, additional documents must be kept on hand (e.g., identification documents, A1 certificates, posting notifications, assignment logs, and proof of minimum wage, contract, or insurance).
In practice, missing or incomplete documents quickly lead to queries and considerable additional work—even to the point of interruptions in service, withholding of payments, or fines.
We ensure that all necessary documentation is available in a structured manner and readily accessible at all times.