---
title: "Form Processing Procedures"
description: "The form processing workflow structures the configuration, validation, review, and dispatch of tax forms through to transmission to the tax authority."
source_url: https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures
language: en
last_updated: 2026-05-01
---
# Form Processing Procedures in Tax Services

## Overview

In Tax Services, the **processing procedure** structures the configuration, validation, review, and dispatch of tax forms.

The process bar shows the current status and controls the available actions. 

The structured workflow ensures data quality, prevents faulty transmissions, and creates transparency about the status of all tax reports.

> **Note:** Forms are automatically locked during editing, so that only one person can make changes at a time.
>
> Authorized persons can reset the processing step if necessary in order to make corrections. 

## Process Steps at a Glance in Tax Services

Each form in Tax Services goes through a defined processing procedure. The process bar at the top of the detail view shows the current processing step.

![Shows the process bar of a form in Tax Services with the processing steps 'Not started', 'In progress', 'Review', 'Dispatch', and 'Transmitted'. The current step is 'In progress'. Above the process bar are the 'Save' and 'Validate' buttons, below it is the 'Set status "Review"' button.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/process-bar.png)
Process bar

The processing procedure in Tax Services comprises the following steps:

| Step | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Not Started | The form has been created but not yet edited. |
| In progress | The form is actively being filled with data and edited. |
| Review | The form is being reviewed. In this step, you can no longer make changes. |
| Dispatch | The form has been reviewed and is ready for transmission. |
| Transmitted | The form has been transmitted to the tax authority. |

The following commands are available in the detail view of a form in Tax Services:

| Button | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Set status "*status*" | Moves the form to the next specified status within the process.  If validation errors are displayed, the system may refuse the status change until the errors have been resolved. |
| Save | Saves the current entries in the form. Changes are applied without a full validation being performed or the process being moved forward to the next workflow stage. Useful for saving the current state (which may be faulty or incomplete) and continuing later. |
| Validate | Starts the validation of the entered form data.  If errors occur, they are displayed under **Overview**. Only without validation errors can the process move to the next workflow step. |

## Configuring a Form in Tax Services

To configure a **form** in Tax Services:

1. Open the desired form under **My forms**.

2. In the process bar, click **Set status "In progress"**.

3. In the **Overview**, select the responsible local tax office.

    ![Shows the 'General data' section of the form overview in Tax Services with the 'Local tax office' drop-down list set to 'Aachen-Stadt (5201)'.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/select-local-tax-office.png)
    Selecting the local tax office

4. Use the tree structure on the left to navigate between the individual form sections.

    ![Shows the tree structure of the form sections of a 'Belegnachreichung zur Steuererklärung' form in Tax Services, with 'Overview', the 'Main form' and 'Belegnachreichung' sections, and their subsections such as 'Startpage', 'Ordnungsbegriff', and 'Belege'. 'Main form' carries a check mark, 'Übersicht der Anhänge' a circled check mark.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/tree-structure.png)
    Form sections

5. Fill in the required fields in each form section. 

    > **Note:** - Mandatory fields are marked accordingly.
    > - Which fields you need to fill in depends on the selected form type.

    ![Shows the 'Belege' form section in Tax Services with the fields 'Belege zu Steuererklärungen für den Veranlagungszeitraum:', 'Zeitraum', and 'Text', followed by the 'Steuerart' section.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/form-instance-receipts.png)
    Filling in fields, example 'Belege (supporting documents)'

6. Click **Save**.

> **Note:** The software automatically locks the form while you are editing it.
>
> If the form is already locked by another person, you receive a notification with the name of the person editing it.
>
> See also [Locking Forms and Editing Locked Forms](https://support.lucanet.com/en/documentation/income-taxes/tax-services/lock-form-and-edit-locked-forms.md).

### Additional Functions for Form Sections

The **three-dot icon** at the top right of each form section in Tax Services provides the following additional functions:

![Shows the open three-dot menu next to the 'Save' button in Tax Services with the options 'Reset', 'Delete draft', 'Copy draft', 'Mark as finished', 'Mark as incomplete', and 'Unmark'.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/three-points-icon.png)
Additional functions in the form section

| Function | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Reset | Discards all unsaved changes in the current form section. The form section then shows the last saved state again. |
| Delete draft | Irreversibly deletes the entire draft. |
| Copy draft | Creates a copy of the current draft as a new draft and sets the status of the new draft to **Not started**. |
| Mark as finished | Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a check mark as finished, in order to track the processing progress. |
| Mark as incomplete | Marks the current form section in the tree structure with a cone icon as incomplete. |
| Unmark | Removes an existing marking ("Done" or "Incomplete") from the current form section. |

## Validating the Form in Tax Services

After you have entered and saved all the required data, you can validate the form in Tax Services for completeness and correctness. To do this, click **Validate** at the top right.

**Validation errors** are displayed directly at the affected field and in a summary overview.

Possible causes of validation errors in Tax Services include:

- Mandatory fields are not filled in
- Entered values do not match the expected format
- Plausibility checks were not passed (e.g. total checks)

![Shows the overview of a form in Tax Services with the message 'The following errors occurred during the validation of the form:' and the error 'Local tax office: Please enter the responsible tax office in the overview page.' The process bar shows a warning icon at the 'In progress' step. Highlighted in red is the 'Validate' button.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/validation-errors.png)
Error identification during validation

Resolve any displayed errors and validate the form again before proceeding to the next processing step.

## Submitting the Form for Review in Tax Services

After successful validation, you can release the form in Tax Services for review by another person. 

To do this, click **Set status "Review"** in the process bar and inform the reviewer that they can begin the review.

![Shows the process bar of a form in Tax Services in the 'In progress' processing step. Highlighted in red is the 'Set status "Review"' button.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/set_status_review.png)
Process bar with the 'Review' status

> **Note:** In the **Review** status, data changes can no longer be made. If corrections are necessary, you must first reset the form to the **In progress** status.

## Releasing the Form for Dispatch in Tax Services

After the review, the reviewer releases the form for dispatch in Tax Services by clicking **Set status "Dispatch"** in the process bar and entering a reason for accepting the form data in the dialog that then appears:

![Shows the dialog in Tax Services with the text 'Please enter a reason for accepting the form data:', an empty text field, and the 'Confirm' and 'Cancel' buttons.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/review_reason.png)
Dialog for entering a reason

## Transmitting the Form in Tax Services

After the form has been released for dispatch in Tax Services, you can proceed with transmitting the form to the German tax authority.

To do this, click **Send form** in the process bar.

![Shows the process bar of a form in Tax Services in the 'Dispatch' processing step. Highlighted in red is the 'Send form' button.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/submit_form.png)
Sending form

Tax Services then transmits the form electronically to the responsible tax authority. You can view the progress of the transmission steps and the transmission results in the form overview.

### Transmission Steps

The transmission process in Tax Services comprises the following transmission steps, which are run through automatically one after another:

| Step | Description |
|---------|---------|
| Upload | The form data is prepared for transmission. |
| Enrichment | The data is automatically supplemented with required additional information (e.g. local tax office data, tax identifiers). |
| Validation | The data is checked against the requirements of the tax authority. |
| Approval | The data is approved for transmission. |
| Review | A final review is performed. |
| Signature | The data is signed electronically. |
| Transmission | The data is sent to the tax authority. |
| Confirmation | The tax authority confirms receipt. |
| Completion | The process is completed and logged. |

### Transmission Status

During transmission in Tax Services, the form can have the following statuses:

| Status | Description |
|---------|---------|
| In processing | The transmission is currently in progress. |
| Failed | The transmission has failed due to an error. A warning icon is displayed. Check the error and restart the transmission if necessary. |
| Successful | The transmission was completed successfully. |

After a successful transmission, the form changes to the **Transmitted** status.

![Shows the end of the process bar of a form in Tax Services with the 'Dispatch' step and the completed 'Transmitted' step.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/transmitted.png)
Process bar with the 'Transmitted' status

### Viewing the Transmission Results

After the transmission is complete, you can view the results in Tax Services:

To do this, open the **transmitted** form under **My forms**.

The transmission results are displayed in the form overview.

![Shows the form overview of a transmitted form in Tax Services with the sections 'General data', 'Review overview', and 'Transfer data'. The 'Transfer data' section contains the fields 'Transfer identifier', 'Transfer protocol' with two PDF protocol files, and 'Transfer date'.](https://support.lucanet.com/assets/docs-images/income-taxes/tax-services/form-processing-procedures/_images/en/transmission-results-in-form-overview.png)
Transmission results in the form overview

> **Note:** In the case of a successful transmission, the result contains the confirmation from the tax authority. If the transmission fails, the error messages are listed in detail.