Income tax assistance IDL

What Income tax assistance IDL does

Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V. — formally Interessengemeinschaft der Lohnsteuerzahler e.V. — is a Duisburg-headquartered, registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein) recognized under § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG as a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein, a tightly defined German regulatory category authorizing associations to prepare income tax returns for their members. The association was founded on December 16, 1975, and today serves more than 30,000 members across four defined employee-side taxpayer categories: Arbeitnehmer (employees), Rentner (pensioners), Beamte (civil servants), and Auszubildende/Studenten (trainees and students). Its licensed scope explicitly excludes commercial-rental, freelance, and trade-or-business income, which confines its addressable market to straightforward wage and pension filings.

The operating model combines physical Beratungsstellen (consulting branches) with remote document submission through an encrypted online upload portal. Branch numbering has progressed to at least BS/70 (Herne-Eickel) and BS/71 (Bocholt), with more than 30 locations across Germany and between 51 and 100 staff. Tax preparation and consultation are delivered by Beratungsstellenleiter and trained Steuerfachangestellte staff under the supervisory framework of the German tax-advisor law; no proprietary AI or machine-learning capability is disclosed, and the technology footprint consists of the secure upload portal and member-facing web/editorial content. Members are supported through in-person consultation, document intake, and return filing, with members expected to be present at the Beratungsstelle for sign-off.

The revenue model is membership-fee based and statutorily capped: an annual subscription not exceeding €390, plus a one-time €19 registration fee. There are no equity holders and no distributed profits; surpluses are reinvested into operations. The fee ceiling is itself a regulatory feature designed to keep membership affordable relative to fee-based Steuerberater engagements, and the December 2024 decision to retain the €390 cap into 2025 reinforces the pricing discipline. Customer acquisition relies on branch visibility, tax-law editorial content, and an explicit member-referral program (Lohi-Card offering a €10 Amazon voucher to referrers).

Name

Income tax assistance IDL

Legal name

Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V. – Interessengemeinschaft der Lohnsteuerzahler e.V. – Lohnsteuerhilfeverein

Website

https://lohi-idl.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V. is a Duisburg-based, non-profit membership association recognized under § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG that prepares income tax returns for more than 30,000 German employees, pensioners, civil servants, and students across 30+ Beratungsstellen on a capped annual subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Duisburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices24 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees charged to members for access to tax advisory services. Fees are calculated based on gross annual income with a basic fee of €55 plus €3 per €1,000 of assessment basis, capped at €390. New members also pay a one-time registration fee of €19.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V. is a nonprofit tax assistance association (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein) that provides year-round income tax advisory services exclusively to its members under § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG. The core offering includes preparation of income tax returns, review of tax assessments, filing of objections, and correspondence with German tax authorities on behalf of non-self-employed individuals (employees, civil servants, retirees, trainees, and students).

Product overview

Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V. is a non-profit tax assistance association (Lohnsteuerhilfeverein) providing income tax consultation services exclusively for its members. The organization operates on a membership-based model where employees, civil servants, retirees, trainees, and students pay annual contributions (capped at 390 EUR) in exchange for year-round tax advice. The service portfolio centers on core tax consultation (preparing tax returns, examining assessments, filing objections), supported by a digital Upload Portal for secure document submission, an online Membership Contribution Calculator, a Tax Checklist tool, and a Member-Recruit-Member referral program. The company maintains over 30 consulting locations across Germany serving more than 30,000 members. All services operate within the legal framework of § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG, limiting advice to non-self-employed income categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Consultation Services (Steuer-Beratung) Professional income tax consultation services for members, including preparation of tax returns, examination of tax assessments, filing objections, and correspondence with tax authorities. Services are provided in accordance with § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG (Tax Advisory Act).
• Upload Portal Secure online portal allowing members to submit documents and personal information (name, address, phone, email, member number, selected consulting location) for processing their tax matters. Accepts JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, and PDF files up to 5 MB.
• Membership Contribution Calculator Online tool for calculating estimated annual membership fees based on gross annual income. Contribution is capped at 390 EUR per year, with a base fee of 55 EUR plus 3 EUR per full thousand euros of assessment basis.
• Tax Checklist (Steuer-Checkliste) Comprehensive checklist tool helping members identify required documents for tax returns, organized by categories: Income, Family Situation, Professional Expenses, Exceptional Burdens, Special Expenses, Rented Property, and Miscellaneous.
• Member-Recruit-Member Referral Program Referral program where existing members receive a 10 EUR reward for each new member successfully recruited. Recruited members must complete and bring the member-recruit-member form to their first consultation.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DATEV eG: Germany's dominant incumbent in tax-advisor and accountant software, IT services, and cooperative support. Operates broadly across the same end-customers (Steuerberater and Lohnsteuerhilfeverein back-office) but as a software/services infrastructure provider rather than a direct consumer-facing association.

Emerging players

• Taxfix: VC-backed mobile-first German tax-filing app for employees. Targets the same Arbeitnehmer persona as IDL with a lower-friction digital experience; serves as a proxy for the digital substitution threat to traditional Lohnsteuerhilfeverein memberships.
• Smartsteuer (Accona GmbH): Commercial digital income-tax preparation service targeting German employees — the same core persona as IDL — but delivered via a fully online/DIY flow. Significant partial overlap with IDL's simple-Return member segment and a key digital competitor.
• WISO Steuer-Spar-Erklärung (Buhl Data Service): Established German consumer tax-preparation software that competes for the same DIY employee tax-filer persona. Comparable end-customer to IDL but distinct delivery model (desktop software vs. branch-based advisory).

Direct peers

• Lohnsteuerhilfe Bayern e.V. A large state-level Lohnsteuerhilfeverein in Bavaria running the identical German wage-tax-assistance association structure. Directly comparable in service scope (Arbeitnehmer, Rentner, Beamte) and capped-fee membership model.
• ADG Steuerberatung: Operates a national Lohnsteuerhilfeverein network for employees and retirees under the same StBerG framework. Closely comparable on regulatory positioning, membership-fee structure, and multi-branch distribution across Germany.
• Vereinigte Lohnsteuerhilfe e.V. (VLH): Germany's largest Lohnsteuerhilfeverein, operating the same membership-based tax-advisory model as IDL under § 4 Nr. 11 StBerG, with nationwide Beratungsstellen and €55–€390-style capped annual dues. The closest functional and regulatory analog to Lohnsteuerhilfe IDL e.V.

Regional players

• Lohnsteuerhilfe Nord e.V. Northern German Lohnsteuerhilfeverein serving employees and pensioners with Beratungsstellen in Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen. Directly comparable membership association structure with regional rather than nationwide scope.
• Lohnsteuerhilfe Baden-Württemberg e.V. Regional Lohnsteuerhilfeverein focused on Baden-Württemberg, serving the same employee/retiree/civil-servant persona with capped annual dues. Directly comparable business model but geographically narrower than IDL's nationwide footprint.
• Lohnsteuerhilfe Hessen e.V. Hessen-based Lohnsteuerhilfeverein offering member-based income tax advisory under the same StBerG framework. Comparable in service model and target persona but focused on a single Bundesland versus IDL's nationwide coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lohnsteuerhilfe-idl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lohnsteuerhilfe-idl

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Income tax assistance IDL