Taxfix

What Taxfix does

Taxfix SE is a Berlin-based digital tax filing platform founded in 2016 that has become Germany's leading mobile tax application, with over 8 million tax declarations submitted through its platform and more than €4.5 billion in total refunds processed. The company serves individual consumers — employees, students, retirees, freelancers, expats, and families — across Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy (the latter three via the July 2024 acquisition of TaxScouts). Its core product is a mobile-first guided question-and-answer application that replaces complex German tax forms, integrates directly with the official ELSTER electronic tax declaration system for secure submission to the Finanzamt, and uses computer vision/OCR to capture data from photographed wage tax certificates and receipts.

The platform operates on a hybrid self-service and assisted model. Self-service users pay €39.99–€69.99 per filing (or subscribe via Taxfix+ at €39.99–€59.99 per year), with payment triggered only upon successful submission to the tax authority. A higher-margin Experten-Service routes users to independent certified tax advisors (Steuerberater*innen) at 20% of the refund with a €99.99 minimum. A €19.99/month subscription module serves VAT-liable self-employed users with bookkeeping and VAT pre-registration submission, and a separate flow handles tax number applications for newly self-employed individuals. Taxfix monetizes both as a transaction-fee platform on consumer filings and as a marketplace taking a share of expert-prepared filings.

Taxfix has raised approximately $220 million across five disclosed funding rounds, achieving unicorn status at roughly $1 billion valuation in its April 2022 Series D led by Teachers' Venture Growth. It has pursued an inorganic growth strategy, acquiring Steuerbot in February 2023 and TaxScouts in July 2024 to expand across DACH and into the UK, Spain, and Italy, operating as Taxfix Group. CEO Martin Ott, formerly Managing Director for Northern and Central Europe at Facebook, leads the company alongside co-founders Mathis Ginzbourg and Lino Teuteberg.

Name

Taxfix

Legal name

Taxfix SE

Website

https://taxfix.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Taxfix is a Berlin-based digital tax filing platform that guides individual consumers through German and European tax declarations via a mobile app, integrated ELSTER submission, and an optional certified tax advisor marketplace. It serves employees, freelancers, students, retirees, and families across Germany, the UK, Spain, and Italy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Tax Preparation Software

NAICS

Tax Preparation Services (541213), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (5412)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax Planning & Personal Tax Optimization Tools (FSAGADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tax Advisory & Compliance (BPAHABAB), Indirect Tax (VAT/GST/Sales & Use) Services (BPAHABAJ)

Keywords

• Digital tax filing
• Consumer tax software
• Mobile tax app
• Tax preparation services
• VAT compliance software

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Self-Service Tax Filing (DIY): Users pay a one-time fee or subscription (Taxfix+) when they actually submit their tax return to the tax authority. Free to download, free to calculate potential refund. Fee only charged upon successful submission.
2. Taxfix+ Subscription: Annual subscription model offering discounted rates per tax filing (€10 savings vs one-time payment) plus additional benefits like discounts on retroactive filings
3. Expert Service (Assisted Filing): Independent tax advisors prepare the user's tax return. Taxfix charges 20% of the refund amount with a minimum fee of €99.99, payable after the tax authority issues the decision
4. Self-Employed/VAT Services: Monthly subscription for VAT-registered self-employed users (€19.99 + VAT per month after free first month) for bookkeeping and VAT pre-registration services

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Taxfix is a mobile-first digital tax filing platform that lets individual consumers in Germany prepare and submit their income tax returns via a guided question-and-answer interview, with direct submission to the tax authorities through the official ELSTER interface. The core product is a free-to-download mobile and web app where users pay a one-time fee only when submitting, with an optional annual Taxfix+ subscription for repeat filers and an upsell to expert-assisted filing (Experten-Service) by independent certified tax advisors. Supplementary modules cover VAT pre-registration for self-employed users, tax number application for newly self-employed individuals, and an educational tax guide (Ratgeber).

Product overview

Taxfix is a digital tax filing platform operating as a mobile app and web application. The core product is the Taxfix App for self-service tax declaration, which uses a guided question-and-answer interview process. The platform offers two tiers: (1) DIY filing with Taxfix+ subscription option for repeat users, and (2) the Experten-Service add-on connecting users with independent certified tax advisors. Additional specialized modules include Taxfix für Umsatzsteuerpflichtige for VAT-liable self-employed, and a Steuerummer Beantragung service for business registration. The product portfolio is supplemented by educational content (Taxfix Ratgeber). Following the July 2024 acquisition of TaxScouts, the company expanded to the UK, Spain, and Italy markets under the Taxfix Group umbrella, operating in four major European markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Taxfix App (Self-Service Tax Filing) Mobile and web-based tax filing application that guides users through their tax declaration via an intuitive question-and-answer interview process. Users photograph documents, answer plain-language questions, see an estimated tax refund, and submit directly to the German tax authorities via ELSTER. Priced from €39.99–€69.99 per submission.
• Taxfix+ Subscription Annual subscription service offering discounted tax filing at €39.99/year (single) or €59.99/year (joint), a €10 discount on additional retroactive filings within the same year, and additional member benefits for repeat users.
• Experten-Service (Expert Service) Assisted-filing service where independent state-certified tax advisors (Steuerberater*innen) prepare the user's tax declaration. Includes extended deadline to 01 March of the following year, personalized checklist, document upload, chat support, and tax-authority correspondence handling. Priced at 20% of refund with a minimum fee of €99.99.
• Taxfix für Umsatzsteuerpflichtige (VAT-Liable Self-Employed) Specialized Taxfix module for self-employed users subject to VAT. Features include income and expense tracking, automatic invoice and receipt data capture via OCR, VAT pre-calculations, and direct VAT advance declaration (Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung) submission via ELSTER. Priced at €19.99 + VAT per month after the first free month.
• Taxfix Steuernummer Beantragung (Tax Number Application) Online service that guides newly self-employed individuals through applying for a tax number (Steuernummer) by completing the official Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung (Questionnaire for Tax Registration of Newly Founded Businesses) and transmitting the data directly to tax offices via the ELSTER API.
• Taxfix Ratgeber (Tax Guide) Comprehensive tax knowledge base with articles, calculators, checklists, and educational guides covering tax topics for various demographics (students, employees, retirees, parents, expats, multi-jobbers, investors), including a tax deadline tracker and refund calculator.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average tax refund of €1,172 for users
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• TaxScoutscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 July 2024Taxfix Group acquired TaxScouts, a UK-based digital tax declaration company, marking Taxfix's entry into the UK market. This acquisition enabled expansion into four major European financial markets: Germany, UK, Spain, and Italy. TaxScouts was the UK market leader for accountant-prepared digital tax declarations, complementing Taxfix's existing self-service model with assisted filing capabilities.
• ELSTER (German Tax Authority System)coreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial integration with ELSTER, the electronic tax declaration system of the German tax authorities (Finanzamt). Enables secure and direct submission of tax declarations through Taxfix's platform.
• Independent Certified Tax Advisors (Steuerberater*innen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of independent, state-certified tax advisors (Steuerberater*innen) who prepare tax returns for users through the Expert Service. These are self-employed professionals with long-standing experience, not Taxfix employees, connected through the platform.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wundertax: Berlin-based direct competitor offering mobile-first German tax filing via app, with similar DIY positioning and pricing tier. Taxfix acquired its sibling competitor Steuerbot in 2023, indicating Wundertax is the next-most-comparable app-based peer in the German market.
• Smartsteuer: German online tax-filing service (now part of the H&R Block family) targeting individuals with a web-based DIY model, comparable to Taxfix's self-service offering and pricing band.
• Taxman: Long-standing German tax-software product with both DIY and expert-assisted offerings, directly comparable to Taxfix's hybrid self-service/expert model in the German market.
• WISO Steuer-Spar-Erklärung: One of Germany's most established desktop tax-filing products from Buhl Data Service, with millions of users annually. Competes head-on with Taxfix in the DIY individual-filing category.
• GoSimpleTax: UK-based digital tax-filing platform that connects users with accountants on a hybrid model, directly comparable to the TaxScouts offering Taxfix acquired in 2024.

Regional players

• TaxSlayer: US-headquartered digital tax-filing software with a similar DIY-plus-assisted model and price points; useful proxy for US market dynamics even though geography differs from Taxfix's European footprint.
• Wealthsimple Tax: Canada-based digital-first tax-filing product (formerly SimpleTax) owned by a fintech platform. Comparable business model and target customer, but operates in a different geography.

Broad incumbents

• TurboTax (Intuit): The dominant US digital tax-filing product from Intuit, with a hybrid DIY/expert model and tiered pricing that closely mirrors Taxfix's structure. Different geography, but the closest analog for a mature digital tax-filing franchise at scale.
• H&R Block: Global tax-preparation incumbent (now also owner of Smartsteuer) offering DIY software plus a vast assisted-filing retail network. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping hybrid offerings in Taxfix's geographies.

Emerging players

• Holvi: European fintech serving freelancers and self-employed with banking plus bookkeeping. Comparable in its self-employed/VAT module target segment and overlap with Taxfix's €19.99/month VAT offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/taxfix

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Taxfix