Consumer protection from tax consultants

My family and I have settled down in Germany. I work for a major company in Munich and have engaged an independent tax consultant to manage my tax returns. We ensured that the tax consultant that we took on could speak English and was able to support us with our tax matters.

We beleive he has mislead us by telling us that we would receive a tax return for nearly 2,000 euros based on my earnings and my wifes small business, and had presented us with an invoice of over 1,000 euros. The tax authorities only paid a fraction of what my tax advisor had informed us and he is now demanding his payment.

Does anybody know of any consumer protection or advice council or body that can help us. Am I obliged to pay our tax consultant even if has not done his job properly?

I understand that the tax autorities have not reimbursed the full amount becuase our tax consultant had not provided all the necessay information.

Our tax consultant is now threatening us with legal action if we don't pay. Where do we stand. Can anyone help.

1) Tax advisors dont get paid for the result; that should be obvious, as they cant change the legal situation. If you agreed that he/she should do your tax return then you have to pay the price.

2) If the tax advisor did make mistakes that actually cost you money, you can demand compensation. They do have insurance, it shouldnt be a problem. I have my doubts that having to pay the correct amount of tax could be seen as damage, though.


You say he did it on purpose? Why would he?


The supervising organisation for tax advisors is the "Steuerberaterkammer". Contact them. Of course you can also talk to another tax advisor or a lawyer...

Thank you for the information

Being mislead doesn't necessarily mean that it was intentional, it may be a simple mistake or outright incompetence!

Can you recommend any English speaking tax consultants in the Munich area?

You have tried entering tax consultants into the little SEARCH box?

Im afraid not. But I think there are topics about tax advisors on this forum. Besides that you could use the regional search function at the Steuerberaterkammer website. I could also imagine, that if you called the "Kammer" and told them about your problems, they could direct you to someone capable of helping you.

If you recieved your "Steuerbescheid" recently, you might want to hurry. If your tax advisor did make a mistake, there might still be time for an appeal (to the "Finanzamt").

If you don't get a satisfactory outcome, you can take advice on how to destroy your accountant's reputation:

Tax accounting is not an exact science. Have you actually asked him why there is the difference between his estimate and the tax refund? Although he will have professional liability insurance to cover him for loss if he made a mistake or was negligent, it's highly unlikely he did or was. He completed your return to the best of his ability with the information available. He may have even been creative in claiming benefits for you, and the tax authorities have not accepted some of his creative ideas. If you have recently moved to Germany there are many more opportunities to be creative, and equally many to be caught out. I'm sure his estimate was based "on the information you gave him" and the assumption that "the authorities accept the claim", either of which has turned out not to be the case. If he felt you have a strong case to justify some of his claims for you then he can (and should appeal). You can even ask him to do that, then he might tell you why your case is weak or why he attempted to claim benefits that might not be accepted. My accountant is so creative that I'd be happy if he was only a couple of thousand euros out with his estimate. Fifty thousand and I might get angry. I'm also happy to pay his exorbitant bills, because I know he is on my side come the crunch...

Bear in mind if you go to another accountant you may end up paying the same again to have the findings of the tax authority confirmed. If you are really unhappy with the guy you have, then move elsewhere (PM me for some names) but only for future years. Put this one down to experience...