German deadlines abroad — sorted.
Your home country stops taxing you when you genuinely cease residence — if you can show it. Here's what that takes, and what it costs to get wrong.
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Where's your passport from?
The rules for an American and a German are near-opposites. Pick a passport and the whole page follows.
The deadline dashboard
§ 149(2) AO gives seven months after the end of the calendar year — 31 July 2027 is a Saturday, and § 108 AO moves a weekend deadline to the next working day. Leaving Germany does not by itself end the obligation: German-source income, rental income above all, generally keeps it alive. § 149 AO
§ 149(3) AO runs the deadline to the last day of February of the second year after the tax year. Transitional extensions have applied in recent years — confirm the year's actual date before relying on it. § 149 AO
Not a tax deadline, and the one people skip. § 17(2) BMG requires deregistration within two weeks of moving out where no new German address follows. The Abmeldebescheinigung is what banks, insurers and the Finanzamt ask for as proof you actually went. § 17 BMG
Informational only — not tax, legal, or immigration advice.
Go deeper: leaving Germany — residency, the ten-year rule, exit tax · the Schengen 90/180 rule
The toolkit
Everything you need to get your taxes sorted on time. We don't file anything for you. We make sure you know what's due, and when.
The NomadSorted membership
One-time purchases. Instant download, yours to keep. Informational only — not tax, legal, or immigration advice.
Outpost — the NomadSorted app.
Your deadlines, guides and documents in your pocket, wherever you land — plus a safety check-in built for solo travel. In development — join the list and be first to know.
Read about Outpost →One email when a deadline is close, one when a new guide ships. Nothing else.
Where you're going
Nine destinations, fourteen pages each. Unlike the tax material, guides are about where you're going — they apply whatever passport you hold. Every changeable figure carries a numbered source and the date it was checked, and anything we could not verify says so on the page.
"I am an American expat. Every tool here exists because I needed it myself and could not find it — just a forum thread from 2014 and a CPA quote I could not justify. NomadSorted is the folder of answers I wish someone had handed me at the airport."
— Robb, founder of NomadSorted
Fair questions
Does my home country stop taxing me when I leave?
Generally, income tax stops once residence is properly ceased — and “properly” is the whole game. Residence tests and day counts decide it, they vary by country, and the burden of showing you left tends to sit with you. The guides cover what counts.
What's an exit tax?
Several countries tax unrealised gains when you cease residence — a bill that arrives because you left, not because you sold anything. Worth knowing whether your country is one of them before you book the flight.
Can't I just leave quietly?
Banks report account information across borders automatically under the Common Reporting Standard, so “they won't notice” is not a plan. Leaving cleanly and on the record is — and it's mostly paperwork, done once, kept.
Will these tools do my taxes?
No. They're templates, trackers and reference guides — day counts and residence evidence documented as you go, not reconstructed years later. Nothing here computes tax or files for you.
Is any of this tax advice?
No. All content is for informational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or immigration advice. For advice specific to your situation, a qualified professional is the right call — our material makes that conversation shorter and cheaper.