Notes on Taxonomies
Last updated on 2026-05-20
Overview
If the profit is determined in accordance with section 4 (1), section 5, or section 5a of the Income Tax Act, the content of the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement must be transmitted by electronic data transmission in accordance with the officially prescribed record (section 5b (1.1) of the Income Tax Act).
The officially prescribed record is based on the HGB (German Commercial Code) taxonomy developed and continuously updated by XBRL Deutschland e.V. In addition to legislative changes, what are referred to as sub-legislative requirements are also taken into account in the taxonomy (e.g. the DRS - German Accounting Standards).
The tax authorities currently publish the updated data schema of the taxonomies annually in a letter from the German Federal Ministry of Finance as the officially prescribed record in accordance with section 5b of the Income Tax Act (referred to as electronic reporting to German tax authority).
Since the officially prescribed record in accordance with section 5b of the Income Tax Act is based on the HGB (German Commercial Code) taxonomy, the taxonomy defines the technical framework of the Tax Balance module.
This article contains the following sections:
Taxonomy Types
Different taxonomy types are provided in the taxonomy package of Tax Balance, depending on the industry:
Core taxonomy for enterprises subject to the accounting regulations of the HGB (German Commercial Code) (the level of detail for the balance sheet is based on section 266 of the HGB (German Commercial Code) and for the income statement on section 275 of the HGB (German Commercial Code))
Supplementary taxonomies for entities that have to comply with special accounting regulations (KHBV, PBV, EigBVO, etc., JAbschlVUV, JAbschlWUV), or (in the case of agriculture and forestry) voluntarily follow the model financial statements of the BMEL (German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture).
Banking taxonomy for entities preparing financial statements in accordance with the Regulation on the Accounting of Credit Institutions (RechKredV) (special taxonomy for credit institutions)
Taxonomy for payment institutions for entities preparing financial statements in accordance with the Payment Institution Accounting Regulation (RechZahlV) (special taxonomy for payment institutions)
Insurance taxonomy for entities preparing financial statements in accordance with the Regulation on the Accounting of Insurance Companies (RechVersV) and the Pension Funds Accounting Regulation (RechPensV) (special taxonomy for insurance companies)
Taxonomy Versions
The following taxonomy versions are available:
