Information about the new business identification number
From November 2024 onwards, the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, BZSt) will, step by step, automatically assign economically active persons a newly introduced business identification number. The BZSt announced this on 12.8.2024.
The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) has begun the phased allocation of business identification numbers (W-IdNr.) to all persons who are economically active, legal persons and associations of persons. This allocation will happen automatically and without the need for an application. The aim of the W-IdNr. is to harmonise electronic data processing between different registers and to make it more efficient. The W-IdNr., as a standardised and permanent identifier, will replace the previous Germany-wide business number.
The W-IdNr. will consist of the letters 'DE' and nine digits. It will be allocated in addition to the pre-existing tax identification numbers in the case of natural persons who are economically active in order to separate the business area from the private sphere. All the other economically active persons who already have a VAT identification number (VATIN) will not be separately notified of a new number since, from now on, the VATIN will also be used as the W-IdNr.
Those who do not yet have a VAT identification number are likely to receive the W-IdNr. electronically, from November 2024 onwards, via the Elster portal. German tax consultants who act on behalf of their clients will be able to call up the new number via their firm’s software, as the fiscal administration has made the appropriate interfaces available.
