Einkommensteuererklärung as expat!

You should engage a tax consultant, because these matters are far too complex to be resolved through an Internet forum like this. Furthermore, giving wrong or incomplete information (even unknowingly!) is a criminal offense and can get you into deep trouble.

Hi,

You may find useful Information on my Website (scheller-international.com)

Best regards

Peter

Hi Peter,

It would be better that you register your business in the business directory in Germany.

Thank you,
Christine
Expat.com

If it is your first time you will definitely need professional help. Since you live in Germany, you will have to declare all income earned world-wide. I strongly suspect you will get some kind of a tax credit for the social security paid so it won't get charged again. Most likely you will need to contact the authorities in Spain or Germany and have them issue you a yearly statement showing your status under that country, to give to the other country's tax authorities. This prevents that you get taxed double for social security. Such an agreement is called a Totalization Agreement. There is one between the USA and Germany and both being part of the EU there must be one between Germany and Spain.

Most likely you will be dealing with the German office to issue what is called a Sozialversicherungsnachweis (proof of social security coverage) which will be given to the Spanish authorities and thus they would stop withholding Spanish Social Security but then you would be paying into the German system instead in the future. I'm not sure which country will be the covering one but I strongly assume it is regulated and that you don't get a choice. The German office in charge is BFA, Ruhrstr. 2, 10704 Berlin.

I had a Steuerberater do my taxes the first 2 years and then copied what they did using a program called Taxman. Much cheaper to do it yourself in this way but the level of German needed is high and I have a degree in Finance/Economics so am familiar with such things. There are also “tax filers clubs” (Vereins) that help people prepare their taxes if they are employees but not if they are self-employed. But like mentioned, you will need an expert to get that first filing or two in and then have the possibility to possibly do it yourself in the future.