The New Charity Register

There are currently all kinds of registers in Germany such as the Commercial Register, the Register of Associations, and the Transparency Register. As of early 2024, a new register was planned to be launched: the so-called Charity Register (in full “Register of Charity Organizations, Parties, Voters Associations and Public Bodies”). However, due to technical problems this register was not available until the end of January 2024. But what exactly is this register, and what are the key points to be considered?

The Charity Register is a register managed by the Federal Central Tax Office that lists all organizations authorized to issue donation receipts. These include organizations pursuing charitable, benevolent, or religious purposes, as well as recognized political parties and independent voter associations.

The aim of the new register is to provide donors and other supporters with a quick and legally secure overview of tax-privileged organizations. This is intended to enhance transparency while simultaneously preventing misuse within the non-profit sector. In addition, the Charity Register represents a further step in digitization, as it is intended to replace paper donation receipts with electronic donation receipts in the long term.

Data Submission to the Charity Register

The legal framework for the register is established in Section 60b of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung), which mandates the publication of an organization’s name, address, tax-privileged purpose, the relevant tax office, and the date of the latest corporate tax or exemption certificate (or, alternatively, the confirmation of compliance with the statutory requirements as per Section 60a of the German Fiscal Code). In addition, the corporation’s bank details should also be published, but this has not yet been implemented.

German organizations are not required to take any action themselves as the relevant data is reported directly by the responsible tax offices to the Federal Central Tax Office. Any subsequent changes to this information are also reported directly by the tax office.

Verification by Tax-Privileged Organizations

Tax-privileged organizations should now check the correctness of the registration. If any changes are needed, they can be submitted to the relevant tax office or requested electronically from the Federal Central Tax Office.

During the initial phase of the register’s implementation, individual organizations may not yet be entered or individual data may be missing. This is due to the gradual transmission of data from tax offices. However, in its statement dated 29. November 2023, the Federal Central Tax Office confirmed that, during this phase, any missing data will have no impact on an organization’s tax-privileged status.

Special Features for Foreign Organizations

Foreign organizations based in the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA) can also be listed in the register. However, unlike domestic organizations, foreign organizations must submit their own electronic application to the Federal Central Tax Office. The fulfillment of the German tax-privileged status requirements will then be reviewed, allowing registered foreign organizations to issue donation receipts. The application process must be repeated annually.

Conclusion and Outlook

The Charity Register is a new register in which all domestic tax-privileged organizations as well as recognized political parties and independent voter associations are recorded. In addition, foreign organizations from the EU and the EEA can also apply for registration if they meet the requirements for German tax relief. Donors can use this register to verify an organization’s tax-privileged status. This is particularly beneficial for grant-making bodies (especially funding associations), which donate to other tax-privileged organizations and need to verify their tax-privileged status for legal protection. However, for the time being, the requirement to provide a copy of the exemption certificate remains in place.

It is recommended that tax-privileged organizations check the accuracy of their data in the Charity Register. In future development phases of the register, organizations may voluntarily include a website or donation account details. This gives donors the option of using the Charity Register to search for organizations (e.g. using a filter according to the location of the organization or the purpose) and gain more detailed information about them through linked websites.

Philipp Link from Auren Germany