How to Call the Finanzamt (German Tax Office) From Abroad

8/5/2026

How to Call the Finanzamt From Abroad

Quick answer: There is no single "Finanzamt" phone number, Germany has around 600 local tax offices, and yours is determined by your registered address, not a national line. The fastest way to find your specific office's number is the phone number printed on your Steuerbescheid (tax notice) or any letter your Finanzamt has sent you. If you don't have one, call Germany's central government hotline, +49 115, and ask to be directed. For federal-level matters like your Steuer-ID, the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) handles those, but even BZSt doesn't publish a general phone line, it works through online contact forms.

Why "the Finanzamt phone number" isn't a real thing

If you've searched for this, you've probably noticed every result points somewhere different. That's because the Finanzamt isn't one organization with a call center, it's a network of roughly 600 local offices, each run by the state (Bundesland) your address falls under. Munich's Finanzamt has nothing to do with Berlin's, and neither can help you if your tax matter belongs to a different office.

This is by design, the same way Germany's Sparkasse banks work: one brand, hundreds of independently-run local offices.

How to actually find your Finanzamt's number

In order of reliability:

  1. Your Steuerbescheid or any Finanzamt letter, the phone number for your specific caseworker or office is printed directly on it. This is the most reliable source, since it's your actual office.
  2. The official Finanzamt-Finder, most German states publish an online tool (search "[your state] Finanzamt Finder" or check www.finanzamt.de) where you enter your postal code and get your responsible office's contact details.
  3. Germany's central government hotline, +49 115, covers "administrative questions of all kinds," including tax matters, and can point you to the right Finanzamt if you don't know which one applies to you. It's been reachable from abroad since 2018 using the +49 country code. Available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm German time. Note this is an information and routing service, not your Finanzamt itself, so it can't access your specific case file.

What about federal tax matters (Steuer-ID, cross-border issues)?

Some things aren't handled by your local Finanzamt at all, they go through the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) in Bonn: your Steuer-ID (tax identification number), withholding tax refunds for non-residents, and other cross-border matters.

Here's the catch: BZSt doesn't publish a general customer service phone number either. It handles private-individual inquiries through online contact forms on its official site, organized by topic. For a lost or forgotten Steuer-ID specifically, German data protection rules mean it can only be sent to you by post, not given out over the phone or email, even if you do reach someone.

If you need to call your local Finanzamt from abroad

Once you have your specific office's direct number (from your tax notice or the Finanzamt-Finder), it's a standard German landline, add +49 and drop the leading 0. Roaming rates make bank and tax-office calls expensive fast, since you're often on hold or navigating a menu. With DialVia, you call the real number over Wi-Fi from your browser instead:

  1. Open DialVia and sign up (about 30 seconds)
  2. Select Germany as the destination
  3. Enter your Finanzamt's direct number
  4. Hit call

Frequently asked questions

What is the Finanzamt's phone number? There isn't one central number. Germany has around 600 local tax offices, each with its own contact details based on your registered address. Check your Steuerbescheid or a Finanzamt-Finder tool for yours.

Is there a general German tax office hotline? Not one operated by the Finanzamt itself. Germany's general government hotline, +49 115, can help route tax-related questions if you don't know which office to contact, but it can't access your case file.

How do I contact BZSt about my Steuer-ID? Through BZSt's official online contact forms. There's no general phone line, and for data protection reasons a lost Steuer-ID can only be resent to you by post.

Can I call +49 115 from outside Germany? Yes, it's been reachable from abroad since September 2018. Dial +49 115, available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm German time. Your provider may charge international rates for the call itself.

Need to reach another German institution from abroad? See the full guide to calling German government offices from abroad, or check our guides for German banks.

👉 Try DialVia to call from your browser in 30 seconds. Didn't connect? You don't pay. Or return to the DialVia homepage to learn more.

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