Retrofitting of taxi meters and odometers: What to consider for tax purposes
The Federal Ministry of Finance informs in the letter dated August 30, 2023, how the costs arising from the implementation of the certified technical security system (TSS) and the standardized digital interface (DSFinV-TW) are to be treated for tax purposes.
The Cash Register Security Regulation also includes EU taxi meters and odometers. These electronic recording systems and the digital records to be maintained with them must be protected by a TSS, and the data must be provided to the tax authorities via DSFinV-TW exports in the event of a cash inspection or external audit.
Here are the details on the tax treatment of the implementation costs:
TSS
The regulations for the TSS as an economic asset and the depreciation correspond to the regulations of the BMF letter dated August 21, 2020. This means that for cloud solutions, the ongoing fees are "usually immediately deductible as business expenses". More information on retrofitting cash registers can be found in our blog.
Unified digital interface:
The standardized digital interface includes the interface for connecting the TSS to the electronic recording system and the digital interface of the financial administration for EU taxi meters and odometers (DSFinV-TW). The costs for implementing this interface are treated as ancillary acquisition costs of the "TSS" economic asset.
Simplification rule:
Just as in the original regulation for cash registers, there is a simplification rule: For simplification purposes, the responsible authorities accept that the costs incurred by the initial retrofitting of existing EU taxi meters or odometers with a TSS and the expenses for the initial implementation of the standardized digital interface in an already established electronic recording system can be booked directly and in full as business expenses (see letter dated 30.08.2023).
With this adjustment, EU taxi meters and odometers are now also included in the tax regulations concerning the implementation of a TSS. It is essential for companies that have implemented a TSS to be aware of these changes and act accordingly.
The letter is available for download on the Federal Ministry of Finance website.
