Tax accrual and tax debtor

Accrual of the tax

The tax is tied to the legal transaction and, pursuant to § 4 Aviation Tax Act (Luftverkehrsteuergesetz - LuftVStG), accrues on departure (§ 2 No. 3 LuftVStG) of the passenger from a place of departure in Germany (§ 2 No. 1 LuftVStG). The time of accrual of the aviation tax is determined by the actual departure from a place of departure in Germany.

Domestic return flights are taxed twice, as both the outward flight and the return flight involve a departure to a place of destination (§ 2 No. 4 LuftVStG). Transit and feeder flights within one air journey may also involve several departures within Germany. Depending on circumstances, however, these may not be subject to tax.

Transit

German transit flights are flights that have started in another country and only involve an intermediate stop in Germany. Regardless of the ultimate destination, the onward flights from Germany are fundamentally not subject to aviation tax. This follows from the definitions of departure and place of destination in § 2 No. 3 and 4 LuftVStG. The passenger must be in possession of a ticket entitling him/her to connect to another flight in Germany, with the onward flight scheduled to take place within a short period of time (under a "via ticket" = one legal transaction).

On German transit flights, the tax is incurred if, in the case of flights to a place of destination in a country listed in Annex 1 to the LuftVStG, the scheduled break in the flight in Germany lasts more than 12 hours.
In the case of flights to a place of destination in a country not named in Annex 1 to the LuftVStG, the tax is incurred if the scheduled break in the flight in Germany lasts more than 24 hours (§ 2 No. 4 and 5 LuftVStG).

Unwanted, unscheduled breaks in a flight or unplanned operating delays that cause the time limits specified in § 2 No. 5 LuftVStG do not give rise to the accrual of aviation tax.

If, however, the onward flight from Germany following a stop is based on a separate legal transaction, e.g. because the onward flight is taking place on a ticket booked separately, this departure from Germany is normally subject to aviation tax.

Stops during feeder flights

If an air journey begins in Germany and involves an intermediate landing, either with or without the need to change planes, this is deemed a domestic feeder flight.

If both flights are based on a single legal transaction and the onward flight takes place within the time limits specified in § 2 No. 5 LuftVStG, aviation tax is incurred on the first departure only. If, however, each individual flight is based on a separate legal transaction (e.g. a separate ticket for each flight), the subsequent onward flight is also separately taxed.

Stops in the case of stopover flights

In the case of stopover flights (i.e. flights based on an end-to-end contract of carriage and with a plane ticket for the complete itinerary but involving an extended stay either in Germany or abroad), aviation tax is incurred if the scheduled stopover in Germany on flights to destinations in any of the countries listed in Annex 1 to the LuftVStG lasts more than 12 hours.

In the case of flights to destinations in any of the countries not listed in Annex 1 to the LuftVStG, aviation tax is incurred if the scheduled stopover in Germany lasts more than 24 hours (§ 2 Nos. 4 and 5 LuftVStG).

Unscheduled delays in operations that cause the aforesaid periods to be exceeded do not result in the tax being levied.

The duration of intermediate landings or stopovers abroad is of no relevance as far as German aviation tax is concerned; all that matters is where, according to the legal transaction, the passenger's flight is scheduled to end.

Tax debtor

Pursuant to § 6 (1) LuftVStG, liability for the aviation tax lies with the aviation enterprise performing the departure of the passenger from a place of departure in Germany on the strength of a legal transaction that is subject to aviation tax.

Where flights are marketed by several aviation enterprises under a so-called code sharing agreement, the tax debtor is the aviation enterprise actually performing the flight (the "operating carrier"). The operating carrier can be recognised by the "operating flight number". The operating carrier need not be identical to the aviation enterprise with whom the booking was made (the "issuing carrier").

In some cases, the various sections of flights that involve several intermediate stops may be operated by different aviation enterprises. Provided the journey is based on a single legal transaction, liability for the tax lies with the aviation enterprise performing the departure from the place of departure in Germany (the place at which the air journey begins).

Pursuant to § 6 (1) LuftVStG, however, liability for the aviation tax lies not only with the aviation enterprise making the departure from the place of departure in Germany, but also with the representative in tax matters.
The aviation enterprise and the authorised representative in tax matters are joint and several debtors under § 44 of the German Tax Code (Abgabenordnung - AO).

Information on registration of an aviation enterprise