Steuernummer
The German domestic tax number used by the Finanzamt for income tax purposes, distinct from the EU-facing USt-IdNr. used for intra-EU VAT.
What it is
The Steuernummer is a 10-to-13-digit number issued by a German regional Finanzamt to identify a taxpayer for domestic income tax and other inland revenue purposes. The length varies by Bundesland because the first digits encode the regional tax office code. It is not prefixed with a country code.
Where you meet it
The Steuernummer appears on domestic German tax correspondence, income tax returns, and wage tax assessments. It does not appear on cross-border B2B invoices and is not registered in VIES.
Why it is not a VAT number
The Steuernummer serves the inland tax system. It is not a valid identifier for EU VAT purposes. A German business making intra-EU supplies uses a separate USt-IdNr. (Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer), which is always 11 characters: DE followed by 9 digits. Submitting a Steuernummer to VIES or to vatverify will return an invalid_format error because the format does not match the DE pattern.
This is one of the most common sources of confusion for new users: a German customer provides their Steuernummer when asked for their VAT number for an invoice. The two numbers are issued by different authorities, have different formats, and serve entirely different purposes.
How to get from one to the other
A German taxpayer who has both numbers should know which is which from their original tax registration paperwork. If a customer hands you only their Steuernummer when you need their USt-IdNr., the right next step is to ask them to look up their USt-IdNr. directly. The numbers cannot be derived from each other; both are issued by the German tax administration but through different processes.
A German business that has not registered for intra-EU trade may not have a USt-IdNr. at all. The USt-IdNr. is requested separately from the standard Finanzamt registration through the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt). Without one, the business cannot zero-rate intra-Community supplies under EU rules.
Three German tax identifiers, three purposes
Germany operates three distinct tax identifiers in parallel:
- Steuernummer: domestic tax-office identifier (income tax, payroll tax, domestic correspondence).
- USt-IdNr.: EU-facing VAT identifier (intra-Community trade, VIES).
- Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer (Steuer-ID, IdNr.): lifetime personal tax number for individuals, 11 digits, issued by BZSt.
The three coexist and serve different administrative functions. For VAT validation purposes, only the USt-IdNr. is relevant; the other two never reach VIES.