The bank has now reacted: last week it sent a letter to affected customers to help them get an extension of the deadline from the tax office. “You have the option of applying to your tax office for an extension of the deadline. In this case, you are welcome to attach this letter to your application for an extension of the deadline,” says the letter that is available to the Handelsblatt.
In principle, a timely tax return is also possible without the KAP annex for capital gains. “We recommend that you inform your tax office in advance if you intend to submit a KAP system later,” Commerzbank writes to these customers.
Banks usually send out the tax certificates in the spring. The sometimes significant delays in issuing the certificates have been causing massive trouble at Commerzbank and Comdirect for months. Customers who have been overpaid withholding tax on their capital gains will need the document in order for the overpaid amounts to be refunded to them.
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The stubborn technical problems of the institute have meanwhile also called the bank supervisors of the European Central Bank (ECB) onto the scene: the bank supervisors are “in close contact with the institute”, two people familiar with the matter told the Handelsblatt. Commerzbank and the ECB declined to comment.
The bank speaks of “necessary adjustments”
According to the bank, the reason for the enormous delay is “necessary adjustments to our tax accounting system”. Until recently, Commerzbank’s software was not able to issue a bundled income statement for customers with multiple accounts and securities accounts.
Banks have actually been obliged to do this for a long time. Commerzbank originally wanted to outsource its securities processing to HSBC. Then the major British bank would have been responsible for the overall overview.
Because this outsourcing had failed last year, the responsibility for the overall certificate remained with Commerzbank – which was not set up for it. However, it is not just customers with multiple accounts that are affected by the delays. A double-digit number of customers with only one depot had also reported to the Handelsblatt.
The institute writes to its affected customers as an explanation: “These adjustments require additional quality assurance, which in your case has not yet been fully completed. It is a prerequisite for us to provide you with your documents in the required quality.”
Many customers are upset, despite Commerzbank’s tax advice. Because whether a tax office takes the delays at Commerzbank into account is entirely at the discretion of the authority. “My tax office has refused an extension of the deadline without a valid reason and is at least demanding an appointment from the Comdirect by when they will have solved the problem! (understandable for me)”, writes a person concerned to the Handelsblatt.
Not everyone involved is happy
In this case, those affected can still delay a legally binding decision from the tax office, as Commerzbank suggests. “Anyone who is still waiting for their certificate and would like to apply for a check on the tax withheld could initially submit their tax return without the KAP annex and lodge an objection to the decision of the tax office and submit the KAP annex later,” says Daniela Karbe-Gessler, Head of Tax Law and Tax Policy of the taxpayers’ association.
First of all, this goes without justification, explains the tax expert. You have one month to do this after the notification of the decision. “The tax office will request the justification and set a deadline for this. How much time can be gained with this varies from tax office to tax office,” she adds.
Not all of those affected are satisfied with these tips: “Yes, you can get time out of it, but I would like my tax refund (about 3,000 euros)”, writes a reader. “The tax office would like to have the annual tax certificate presented and has little understanding for the delay,” writes another, who expects a refund of around 7,000 euros. Five free trading orders for securities, for example, were booked as “compensation”, “which I find absolutely ridiculous given the annoyance and effort”.
In the Comdirect forum, many customers also complained that they had not received the Commerzbank letter even though they were affected. It is unclear how many customers are still waiting for the certificate. In August, the bank spoke of a four-digit number of those affected. Commerzbank does not name new figures. When asked by the Handelsblatt, a spokesman emphasized that the vast majority of our customers have now received an annual tax certificate.
But that doesn’t apply to everyone: only some of the almost 20 cases known to the Handelsblatt have now been resolved. And more customers have come forward. There are also still customers who complain in the Comdirect customer forums. “We really regret the delay. Our teams are still working flat out to provide the annual tax certificates that are still outstanding,” said the Commerzbank spokesman.
More: Commerzbank and Comdirect: where is the tax certificate?