Business registration is an essential step for entrepreneurs to officially start their business activities.
When using a virtual office , i.e., an office service from Office Club, you must bear a few special features in mind.
This article tells you how to proceed correctly when registering a virtual office so that you can avoid problems with the tax office.
Why a rented business address?
Many founders and companies opt for a rented business address. Such an address lets you present a prestigious image without paying high rental costs for office space in a prime location
In addition, you do not have to enter your private address in the legal notice of your website, which protects your privacy. You can find all the details in our more in-depth article on the topic.
What the virtual office offers you in addition to a rented business address
For entries in public directories or registers (e.g., the commercial register), we recommend our virtual office/company domicile*.
Our virtual office not only gives you a prestigious business address, but also offers practical services that make everyday office life easier. Our team accepts mail for you and forwards it to you or makes it available to you digitally. You have important information at your fingertips. The optional Infomail service keeps you informed of incoming mail and allows you to respond quickly. In addition, unlike a business address, you can also use our virtual office as your registered office, e.g., to register your company in the commercial register.
You can find an overview and detailed information on our Rent a Business Address and Virtual Office services and their differences here.
Registering your virtual business address with the tax office: What needs to be taken into consideration?
The most important thing when registering your business with the tax office is to enter your work and business addresses correctly.
In the tax registration questionnaire, your business must usually (exception: e.g., freelancers) be registered in a commercial space. The management, however, must be registered where it is located/where work actually takes place, i.e., your home address if you work from home.
And this is how you enter this information correctly in the tax registration questionnaire:
• "Address of the company" in the questionnaire: Here you enter the address of your virtual office, i.e., your rented business address from Office Club.
• "If applicable, different place of management" in the questionnaire: Here you enter your actual place of work where you are based and where you do your work (probably your place of residence/your home address).
Background: There must be a physical office at the actual place of work, i.e. a permanent and regularly used workplace where your business documents are also located.
Finding your local tax office
The tax office responsible for registering your business depends on the location of your management. If you work from home, the tax office of your place of residence is responsible, not that of your company headquarters.
Professional image despite private address
Even if you have to enter your private address as the place of management for the business registration, this does not mean that it will become public. Your professional image remains intact thanks to the virtual address. Only the tax office will be informed of your private address or your actual place of management.
In the commercial register entry (which is publicly accessible), you specify the address of your virtual office/your rented business address as your business address. Here, you are not obliged to state the different registered office for the management (i.e., your private address).
Background: The German Act on the Modernisation of Limited Liability Company Law explicitly allows the business address to be entered in the commercial register to differ from the registered office of the management, i.e., the actual management. Accordingly, there is no obligation to communicate the actual business registration location to the outside world.
You can therefore conduct your actual work and administration from a less attractive location, but still benefit from a prestigious address for a professional image and, of course, work there from time to time.
The solution works for all corporations (limited liability companies, including entrepreneurial companies with limited liability (GmbH and UG (haftungsbeschränkt)) and stock corporations (AG, etc.), commercial partnerships and limited partnerships (OHG, KG) and registered merchants (e.K.), as all of them are obliged to enter a domestic business address in the commercial register.
Conclusion: By registering your virtual business address correctly, you protect yourself from legal difficulties with the tax office. At the same time, your company's professional image remains intact.
Note: This information is non-binding and does not constitute legal advice. If in doubt, you should natually consult with your tax advisor, lawyer or similar in order to find tailored solutions for your company.
* Unless your business address is listed there as a dependent branch office or purely as a postal address with a specification of your company headquarters.