SaaS · 🇩🇪 Germany
Payroll tax filed late every month, by one day
A Berlin startup consistently missed the 10th-of-month Lohnsteuer deadline because payroll ran too late in the cycle.
German startup, 22 employees, monthly Lohnsteuer. Client identity withheld — we publish names only with written permission, so this engagement is described by its shape rather than by who it was.
10th
Monthly deadline met
22
Employees
0
Late filings since
The situation
- Payroll was processed at the end of each month, leaving no room before the 10th-of-following-month filing deadline.
- The team treated a one-day delay as immaterial. It is not.
What we found
- The payroll calendar left no buffer before the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung deadline.
- Variable pay elements were being confirmed after payroll had already run, forcing corrections.
- No single owner for the filing itself.
What we did
- Moved the payroll cut-off earlier so variable elements are confirmed before processing.
- Assigned a named owner and a checklist for the monthly filing.
- Aligned the payroll calendar to the filing deadline rather than to the pay date.
The outcome
- Lohnsteuer has been filed on time every month since, and correction runs stopped.
- Moving the cut-off was unpopular for one cycle and uncontroversial thereafter.
Related
Where this applies
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