What Elster does

ELSTER is the official electronic tax filing portal of the German tax administration, operated by the Bavarian State Tax Office (Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern) as a bundeseinheitliches IT-Verfahren under § 20 Absatz 3 of the Finanzverwaltungsgesetz. ELSTER® is a registered trademark of the Freistaat Bayern. The platform serves as the mandated electronic channel for income tax, corporate tax, VAT (Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung), wage tax (Lohnsteuer), property tax (Grundsteuer), inheritance tax, and customs-related declarations across all 16 German federal states, addressing private individuals, employers, business owners, tax advisors (Steuerberater), and associations.

The core product is Mein ELSTER, a web portal backed by a public-key infrastructure for cryptographic authentication via certificate files, security sticks (USB tokens), signature cards, the ElsterAuthenticator desktop application, the ElsterSecure mobile app (passkey/biometric), and electronic ID (Personalausweis/nPA) login. Adjacent offerings include the MeinELSTER+ mobile app (document scanning with OCR, receipt categorization, and one-click tax return generation for simple cases), the Mein Unternehmenskonto business account, einfachELSTER/einfachELSTERplus simplified filing interfaces, an E-Rechnungs-Viewer for electronic invoices, and a "Meine Belege" document vault. Pre-filled tax data (vorausgefüllte Steuererklärung) is sourced directly from employers, insurance companies, pension providers, and the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern. The stack is ISO 27001 certified (BSI-IGZ-0725-2025), BITV-tested for accessibility, and operates inside the KONSENS coordinated software framework.

The business model is non-commercial: ELSTER is funded by German federal and state tax revenue as part of the public-sector IT budget and is provided free of charge to all users. Optional hardware tokens (Sicherheitsstick, Signaturkarte) are sold by independent third-party vendors, generating no revenue for ELSTER. GTM is mandate-driven rather than sales-driven — adoption flows from legal obligation, employer onboarding, tax-advisor referral, and tax-authority communications — with no paid marketing, no sales force, and no headcount growth typical of venture-backed companies.

Name

Elster

Legal name

Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern

Website

https://www.elster.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

ELSTER is Germany's official, government-operated electronic tax filing portal, run by the Bavarian State Tax Office, providing free secure e-filing, pre-filled tax data, certificates, and mobile apps to all German taxpayers, employers, businesses, and tax advisors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

E-Government Tax Filing Software

NAICS

Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

akta.pro primary industry

Revenue Systems, E-Filing & Digital Tax Administration (BPAIADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tax Return Filing, Processing & Assessment (BPAIADAC), Interagency/International Information Exchange & Cooperation (BPAIADAN)

Keywords

• Electronic tax filing
• E-government services
• Tax administration software
• Digital tax declaration
• Government online portal

Headquarters

HQ city

München

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Revenue model

1. Government-funded public service: ELSTER is operated by the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern as a bundeseinheitliches IT-Verfahren (unified federal IT procedure) on behalf of the German federal and state governments. The service is provided free of charge to all citizens as part of government digitalization efforts, funded through tax revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Elster is Germany's official electronic tax filing platform, providing individuals, businesses, tax advisors, employers, and associations with a free, web-based portal and companion mobile applications to submit tax returns and other tax-related declarations electronically to the German tax authorities. The platform is operated by the Bavarian State Tax Office (Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern) on behalf of all German state tax administrations and supports authentication, secure transmission, and processing of tax documents.

Product overview

ELSTER is Germany's unified online tax administration platform operated by the Bavarian Landesamt für Steuern. The core offering is Mein ELSTER, a web portal for electronic tax declarations and tax account management. Supporting this are the MeinELSTER+ mobile app (document scanning and automatic tax filing) and ElsterSecure mobile app (secure login). Additional offerings include ElsterAuthenticator (desktop authentication helper), einfachELSTER/einfachELSTERplus (simplified tax return interfaces), Mein Unternehmenskonto (business account), chatbot assistance, and E-Rechnungs-Viewer (electronic invoice viewer). Authentication options include certificate files, security sticks, signature cards, and Personalausweis electronic ID. The platform is free, browser-based, and requires no software installation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MeinELSTER+: Mobile app for Android and iOS that allows users to photograph and upload tax-relevant documents, use text recognition to mark values, and prepare tax returns. Also includes the 'Steuererklärung mit einem Klick' (one-click tax return) feature for simple tax situations.
• ElsterSecure
• einfachELSTER
• einfachELSTERplus
• Mein Unternehmenskonto
• ElsterAuthenticator

Products and services

• Mein ELSTER
• MeinELSTER+ App
• ElsterSecure App
• ElsterAuthenticator

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminates paper forms and postal mail for tax submissions
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• IT-PlanungsratcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIT-Planungsrat is the German federal-body responsible for IT planning and standardization across government agencies. ELSTER's Mein Unternehmenskonto (My Business Account) is provided by the Bayerisches Landesamt für Steuern together with the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Digitales on behalf of the IT-Planungsrat, serving as a centralized identity and authentication hub for eGovernment services.
• Zoll-Portal (German Customs Portal)coreTechnology or IntegrationELSTER certificates are used for authentication in the Zoll-Portal, enabling electronic export declarations (IAA-Plus/Internet-Ausfuhranmeldung-Plus). The integration allows businesses to file customs declarations without separate authentication systems.
• Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Federal Central Tax Office provides the tax identification number (Identifikationsnummer), electronic wage tax classification features (ELStAM), and operates the BZStOnline-Portal (BOP) for various electronic tax forms. ELSTER integrates with BZSt for identity verification and data exchange.
• KONSENS (Koordinierte Softwareentwicklung der Steuerverwaltung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKONSENS is the coordinated software development initiative for German tax administration. The ELSTER system operates as part of the broader KONSENS framework for unified federal-state tax IT infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Elster