Marone

@almafreya, thanks for sharing! Looks like the "landlord lives out of the country" red flags are all shady reasons for requesting a deposit. In Berlin at least this type of arrangement isn't all that unusual, but you'd pay cash when you get the keys and maybe use an insurance vs actual deposit. There's so much new money in Berlin, some landlords seem sketchy and unprofessional. But yeah, don't do anything that doesn't feel right.

Oh interesting @zee! Thanks for sharing.

If he doesn't live there it's not legal for him to register as his residence. But that's between him and the city and wouldn't really concern you.   But I could see that most renters would find it weird to collect someone's mail. Would you even get your name on the mailbox and doorbell?   Renters have a lot of rights in Germany. Just do the contract first, and if possible, wait with the cash until you get to move in.

If your wife lives outside the EU your tax class is 1, like unmarried tax payers.   In contrast to childcare expenses made inside Germany, sending money abroad to family is not tax deductible. Neither is paying rent while not employed (no home office deduction, not that it's all that much anyway).   Bottomline, I agree with @almafreya that it's unlikely you'll get much of a refund, if any.

That's crazy! But gosh, you're right! Can't believe the Germans. No wonder everyone is starting a bloated GmbH just to trade some shares. (Or a trust.) Are you sure you traded these for yourself and not a friend's side business...?   Also, just curious, does your US broker withhold any capital gains tax? According to the tax treaty, you would pay 15% in the US and 11.375% in Germany (well, if you pay US taxes on whatever the Germans say your capital gains are).   There are a few Steuerberater that seem to know about capital gains taxes on trading options (here, here). Sometimes the Finanzämter are also very helpful on the phone. Please keep us updated. Good luck!  

Capital gains are not considered for calculating how much you'll get. Generally, they consider income that's subject to income tax in Germany.

@BeatriceRSmith To make the financial hardship argument, your gross (Brutto) family income must be less than the fee. (But enough to make you ineligible for Bürgergeld.)    

As soon as you have to pay income taxes in Uruguay (like due to moving there and residing there for >183 days), whatever the tax treaty says, yes.   There's mixed advice out there regarding freelancing from Uruguay, so I'm not sure if the income tax rates there are better or worse than in Germany. But if you live there and work there, Uruguay gets to tax you.

If you'd rather be an employee (e.g. you're not planning to get other customers), the company would likely either have to either employ you in Uruguay (so Uruguayan employment law, Uruguayan social welfare contributions) or get an A1 certificate for a limited posting abroad (German employment law, German social welfare contributions).    You'd always pay income taxes in Uruguay (by yourself, even as an employee) if you spend the majority of the year there and it's your primary residence.   This might be a decent summary of what kind of tax rates and social welfare contributions to expect to expect.

You could check out the tax treaty Germany has with Uruguay. Uruguay is a bit of a "tax haven" compared to Germany, so it might work out in your favor if you don't plan to leave much behind and not spend much time in Germany, in which case your tax residence would more likely be Uruguay.   For multi-currency business banking, I personally like Wise. You get an IBAN and can accept Euros and can convert that stream of income and do taxes in the country where you or your business is located. If you'll be a freelancer and your customer just pays your invoices, it's not for them to worry that you pay taxes wherever you owe them.

I don't see it (yet) in the Federal Register; not sure if a comment period would apply to this.    Guess so far it's just an "intention" and they're still deliberating in court.

Thanks for sharing that! I think what I understood was: 'They'll work on it for the better part of 2023. In case it doesn't materialize by the time the CDU is back in 2025, it never will.' (Personally, I don't see the right-wing crowd having as much government representation as they think. But I do see a few practical issues.)

Any chance you can sell the company to anyone for like -1€? That would be the least paperwork.   Did they ask you about prior insolvencies when you started the UG? I think if you ever go through it, it kind of follows you around as a business person. German bureaucrats don't seem to like failed startups.   If you do liquidation, you have to go through the Ruhejahr in which most fixed costs still apply - bank account, IHK fee, accounting, tax returns, publishing the books, etc., and whoever you name as the liquidator (may be you) has to sign something about personal liability.   Let us know how it's going. Winding down a company in Germany is always a bit of a hassle.

Okay, given the option, I'd rather have a big event with fanfare and congratulations than a casual piece of paper. I heard in Stuttgart they had a chamber orchestra play at a naturalization ceremony. I'd like that.

@Dembo They can only process applications of candidates that are eligible.