Commercial vs Tax
Handelsbilanz vs Steuerbilanz: the commercial and tax balance sheets, and how they link
A German company effectively keeps its numbers in two views: the commercial balance sheet (Handelsbilanz) filed under HGB, and the tax balance sheet (Steuerbilanz) used to compute taxable profit. This page explains the difference, the Maßgeblichkeitsprinzip that ties them together, and where the E-Bilanz fits.
Two balance sheets, one set of books
The Handelsbilanz is the HGB commercial statement: the one adopted by shareholders, filed at the Unternehmensregister and used to measure distributable profit. The Steuerbilanz is derived for the tax return, applying the tax rules of the EStG.
Both start from the same bookkeeping. They diverge only where commercial and tax law disagree, which is why a company can show one profit for dividends and another for tax.
The Maßgeblichkeitsprinzip (§ 5 EStG)
German tax law does not build a separate ledger from scratch. Under the authoritative (or relevance) principle, Maßgeblichkeit in § 5 Abs. 1 EStG, the HGB commercial balance sheet is the starting point for the tax balance sheet: unless a specific tax rule requires otherwise, tax follows commercial recognition and measurement.
Tax-only rules then override where they apply, for example on certain provisions, depreciation limits or the ban on capitalising HGB development costs for tax. Those overrides are exactly what produce the divergences between the two balance sheets.
Where they diverge
The most common book-to-tax differences.
Provisions
HGB may require provisions, for example for onerous contracts (§ 249), that tax law disallows or caps. So the Steuerbilanz often shows fewer or smaller provisions than the Handelsbilanz.
Depreciation
Tax prescribes its own useful lives and methods through the official AfA tables. HGB uses commercially reasonable planmäßige Abschreibung (§ 253 Abs. 3), so book and tax depreciation on the same asset can differ.
Discounting of provisions
Tax uses fixed statutory rates while HGB discounts long-term provisions at Bundesbank averages (§ 253 Abs. 2). The differing rates create measurement gaps that reverse over time.
Development costs
The HGB option to capitalise development costs (§ 248 Abs. 2) is barred for tax, so an asset capitalised in the Handelsbilanz is expensed in the Steuerbilanz.
Why a company keeps both, and reconciles
Because dividends run off the Handelsbilanz and tax runs off the Steuerbilanz, both must exist. In practice many companies keep one HGB ledger and record the tax differences either in a separate Steuerbilanz or as an off-book reconciliation (Überleitungsrechnung, § 60 Abs. 2 EStDV).
Those book-to-tax differences also drive the deferred tax shown in the HGB accounts (§ 274). Tracking them is what keeps the two views consistent year to year.
The E-Bilanz link
Since 2013 the tax balance sheet is transmitted electronically to the tax office as the E-Bilanz, a standardised XBRL dataset under § 5b EStG. It is derived from the commercial figures plus the tax adjustments described above.
jahresabschluss.io prepares the HGB Handelsbilanz and offers a standalone E-Bilanz product for €20 per fiscal year that builds the XBRL from the same numbers, so the commercial and tax views stay aligned.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Handelsbilanz and Steuerbilanz?
The Handelsbilanz is the HGB commercial balance sheet filed publicly and used for dividends. The Steuerbilanz applies tax rules to compute taxable profit. They share the same bookkeeping but differ where tax law overrides HGB.
What is the Maßgeblichkeitsprinzip?
It is the principle in § 5 Abs. 1 EStG that the HGB commercial balance sheet is authoritative for the tax balance sheet, meaning tax follows commercial accounting unless a specific tax rule says otherwise.
Do I have to prepare two separate balance sheets?
Not necessarily two full sets. Many companies keep the HGB accounts and record tax deviations in a reconciliation (§ 60 Abs. 2 EStDV) rather than a fully separate Steuerbilanz.
Is the E-Bilanz the Handelsbilanz or the Steuerbilanz?
The E-Bilanz transmits the tax balance sheet, or the commercial one plus a tax reconciliation, to the tax office in XBRL under § 5b EStG.
Why do book and tax depreciation differ?
HGB uses commercially reasonable useful lives (§ 253 Abs. 3) while tax follows the official AfA tables and limits, so the same asset can depreciate at different rates in each balance sheet.