Key points at a glance
- Three routes lead to the Steuerberaterprüfung: a degree with two to three years of practice, commercial vocational training with six to eight years of practice, or the tax administration (§ 36 StBerG).
- The exam costs €1,000 and the application for admission €200, unless the chamber has its own fee regulations (§ 39 StBerG). A reform of the exam is going through the legislative process.
- You are appointed by the Steuerberaterkammer at the place of your future business (§ 40 StBerG); for this you need proof of professional indemnity insurance.
- The insurance must cover at least €250,000 per claim and €1 million a year (§ 52 DVStB); higher sums apply to professional practice companies.
- Fees follow the StBVV (Tax Advisers' Fee Regulation). Since 1 July 2025, flat fees can be set more freely; fee agreements require text form.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice for your individual case. Laws, professional guidelines and chamber fees change: check the details with your chamber, the relevant authority or your professional association before you make a decision.
Three routes to the tax adviser exam
The professional titles „Steuerberater“ and „Steuerberaterin“ are protected by law (§ 43 StBerG), and misusing them is even a criminal offence (§ 132a StGB). Access is via the Steuerberaterprüfung, and there are several routes to it. Which applies to you depends on your education and practical experience.
| Prior education | Required practice | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Degree in economics, business or law, standard duration under four years | At least three years | § 36 para. 1 |
| Equivalent degree with a standard duration of at least four years | At least two years | § 36 para. 1 |
| Commercial vocational training, for example as a Steuerfachangestellte:r (tax clerk) | Eight years, or six years after the Steuerfachwirt or Bilanzbuchhalter exam | § 36 para. 2 |
| Higher intermediate service of the tax administration | At least six years as a case officer | § 36 para. 2 |
Only work in the field of taxes administered by federal or state tax authorities for at least 16 hours a week counts as practice (§ 36 para. 3 StBerG). If you work part-time, do the calculation early.
The exam: format, fees and planned reform
The Steuerberaterprüfung consists of a written part with three supervised papers and an oral exam (§ 37 StBerG). Subjects include procedural law with tax criminal and administrative offences law, income taxes, valuation, inheritance and property tax, excise and transaction taxes, commercial and company law, business administration and accounting, economics and professional law. The written exam may also be taken electronically; your chamber can tell you whether it offers this.
The fees are set by § 39 StBerG: €200 for the application for admission and €1,000 for the exam, unless the chamber has issued its own fee regulations. On top of that there are usually preparation courses, which for many candidates are the bigger item.
Start from scratch or take over a practice?
One feature of the profession is its age structure: many firm owners are looking for successors. For newcomers, this is a real alternative to starting from nothing. Both routes have their own logic.
| New firm | Taking over a practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Client base | Grows slowly, but to your own profile | Revenue straight away, but established structures |
| Investment | Low at first, start-up losses possible | Purchase price, usually financed |
| Team | Build it yourself | Take over experienced staff |
| Software and processes | Digital from the start | A changeover is often needed |
| Risk | Winning clients and capacity utilisation | Client loyalty after the handover |
In between are models such as joining gradually as a partner or leasing a practice, both expressly recognised by the professional code of the Bundessteuerberaterkammer (BOStB). In a takeover, have the purchase price valued independently and clarify early how clients will be told about the change; because of the duty of confidentiality, client files may not simply be passed on without their consent.
Appointment by the Steuerberaterkammer
Passing the exam does not yet make you a tax adviser. Only appointment by the chamber confers the professional title. The competent chamber is the one in whose district you want to establish your place of business (§ 40 para. 1 StBerG). Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia have several chambers, so the exact district matters.
Submit the application
Application for appointment on your chamber's official form, with your exam certificate and personal documents.
Prove your insurance
Proof of professional indemnity insurance or a provisional cover note from the insurer.
Pay the fee
The appointment fee follows the fee regulations of the chamber concerned and varies from chamber to chamber.
Receive the certificate
Appointment takes place when the certificate is handed over; you are then entered in the professional register.
Visible in the directory
The Bundessteuerberaterkammer (Federal Chamber of Tax Advisers) keeps the official directory of tax advisers, where anyone can check your appointment (§ 86b StBerG).
Professional indemnity: the minimum sums
No insurance, no appointment: § 67 StBerG obliges self-employed tax advisers to hold professional indemnity insurance. The chamber is the competent body within the meaning of the Versicherungsvertragsgesetz (Insurance Contract Act) and on request gives third parties details of the insurer and policy number.
| Who | Per claim | Annual maximum | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax adviser in sole practice | €250,000 | €1 million | § 52 DVStB |
| Professional practice company with a personally liable natural person, without limited liability | €500,000 | Four times the sum | § 55f StBerG |
| Professional practice company with limited liability, such as a PartGmbB or GmbH | €1 million | Four times the sum | § 55f StBerG |
The minimum sum is a floor. If you advise companies with high turnover or structure reorganisations and successions, higher cover is worthwhile. Get several quotes and watch out for exclusions, for example for certain secondary activities.
Sole practice, PartGmbB or GmbH
Since the 2022 reform of company law for the professions, tax advisers can work together in any legal form under German law, including as a commercial partnership (§ 49 StBerG). Typical are the PartGmbB (partnership with limited professional liability), the GmbH and the GmbH & Co. KG. Professional practice companies generally need recognition by the chamber where they are based (§ 53 StBerG). Exceptions include partnerships without limited liability whose partners are exclusively tax advisers or members of certain other professions.
Only a company in which tax advisers hold the majority of voting rights and management may use the designation „Steuerberatungsgesellschaft“ (tax advisory company, § 55g StBerG). Working with lawyers or auditors in a joint company is possible under § 50 StBerG. From 1 January 2027, additional advisory offices will also no longer need separate management by a second tax adviser, which makes branch offices easier.
Checklist for the first months
- Versorgungswerk: depending on the federal state, you become a compulsory member of a tax advisers' pension scheme, for example in Brandenburg, Saxony or North Rhine-Westphalia; exemption from the statutory pension insurance is then possible.
- Chamber fee: it follows the contribution regulations of your chamber (§ 79 StBerG).
- Set up beSt: the special electronic tax advisers' mailbox is your secure channel to courts and authorities (§ 86d StBerG).
- Tax office: the tax registration questionnaire via ELSTER, and an application for a VAT identification number.
- Powers of attorney: organise client authorisations digitally through the Vollmachtsdatenbank (power of attorney database).
- Geldwäschegesetz (Anti-Money Laundering Act): document the identification of new clients and your risk analysis.
- Software: practice software and document exchange with clients, in Germany mostly DATEV, alternatively Agenda or Addison, for example.
- Engagement documents: templates for the engagement letter, power of attorney and fee agreement.
- Document lists: put together what new clients should send for their first tax return with the document checklist.
Calculating fees under the StBVV
Unlike many liberal professions, tax advisers are bound by a fee scale: the Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung (StBVV, § 64 StBerG). With the change on 1 July 2025, value-based fees rose by 6 per cent on average and time-based fees by 9 per cent. The time-based fee is now €16.50 to €41 per quarter-hour or part thereof (§ 13 StBVV). For consumers, a first consultation costs no more than €190 (§ 21 StBVV).
Important for your pricing: the former restrictions on flat fees have been removed. If you want to deviate from the statutory fee, you need a fee agreement in text form that is labelled as such and kept separate from other agreements (§ 4 StBVV). Contingency fees are only allowed exceptionally in individual cases (§ 9a StBerG), and commissions for referring clients not at all (§ 9 StBerG).
If an invoice remains unpaid, first send a friendly reminder and then a dunning letter with a clear deadline. The free template for a payment reminder and dunning letter provides wording for both.
Becoming visible: website, Google profile, referrals
New firms win clients mainly through referrals and search: „Steuerberater Freiberufler Köln“, „Steuerberaterin Gründung Leipzig“ or „English-speaking tax adviser Munich“. If you want to appear in these searches, you need a website with clearly named target groups and services and a well-maintained Google Business Profile. How to get found locally is described in the post Local SEO for firms.
Advertising is permitted for tax advisers as long as it informs factually about their professional work (§ 57a StBerG). What that means in practice for websites, reviews and social media is set out in the post Advertising for tax advisers in Germany. Besides the details under § 5 DDG (Digital Services Act), your imprint needs the chamber, the professional title and the indemnity insurance: see Imprint for tax advisers in Germany. Basic set-up questions that apply to all firms are covered in the post Setting up a firm in Germany.
For the website itself, the range runs from a website builder at around €15 – €45 a month to a custom agency website at around €3,000 – €20,000 (as of November 2026). At Meine-Kanzlei-Website you get a finished firm website for €1,800 net, or €3,600 with a content management system, with hosting at around €30 a month. Because your firm is entitled to deduct input tax, it is usually the net amount that counts.
Free preview of your firm website
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Sources
- Steuerberatungsgesetz (StBerG), gesetze-im-internet.de
- § 36 StBerG: admission to the exam
- § 39 StBerG: fees
- § 40 StBerG: appointment
- § 52 DVStB: minimum insurance
- § 55f StBerG: professional indemnity of professional practice companies
- Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung (StBVV)
- Bundessteuerberaterkammer: the tax adviser exam
- Bundessteuerberaterkammer: list of Steuerberaterkammern
- Bundesrat: draft reform of the tax adviser exam (BR-Drs. 586/26)
