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The current tax number can be obtained by contacting the person granting the power of attorney and/or the responsible tax office. The power of attorney can then be transmitted stating this tax number.

The transmission of powers of attorney that only specify a Federal Tax Office number (BUFA no.) should generally be reserved for "genuine new cases" (e.g. students who are working for the first time or pensioners who are liable for tax for the first time and do not yet have a tax number). Only one BUFA number is permitted per power of attorney.

Powers of attorney that are only transmitted with a four-digit Federal Tax Office number are generally in "active" status once the power of attorney has been successfully checked. Consequently, the document retrieval is activated for natural persons as authorizers.
Further use depends on whether an active tax account already exists for the authorizing party:

Variant 1: There is no tax number yet (new case):
The power of attorney is entered into the new tax account by a tax office processor as part of the new entry.
In the case of natural persons, the power of attorney can be found by the processor using the personal ID number of the person granting the power of attorney.
Until the introduction of the business identification number (W-Id-No.), BUFA powers of attorney for non-natural persons cannot be found and incorporated by the processor. In this case, a power of attorney update by the person accepting the power of attorney is necessary.

Option 2: There is already an active tax number:
If the existing tax number is not specified, a tax representative will not be entered in this tax account. In this respect, a power of attorney to receive cannot take effect. Likewise, no authorization to query the tax account can be granted.
The person granting the power of attorney has the option of subsequently adding the tax number via a power of attorney update. This also applies to spouses.

Switching from joint assessment to individual assessment:
The existing powers of attorney are also taken into account on the new individual accounts. To do this, the tax office processor must manually link the tax accounts to the existing authorization when the new account is created. The tax office processor is also informed of this by a corresponding note when the case is closed. After successful processing, positive feedback (for incorporation and, if necessary, for the tax account query) is sent to ELSTER.

Change from individual assessment to joint assessment:
The existing powers of attorney are also taken into account on the new joint tax account. To do this, the tax office processor must manually link the tax account with the existing powers of attorney when the new account is opened. However, this is only possible if the spouses/partners have two powers of attorney with the same content. The person processing the case at the tax office is also informed of this by a corresponding note when the case is closed. After successful processing, positive feedback (for incorporation and, if necessary, for tax account queries) is sent to ELSTER.

The official authorization form must be used. Clients / members must sign this form once in advance in the original.

The following adjustments can be transmitted via an Update:

• Changed name information for the authorizing party
• Changed tax number (no BUFA no.)
• Entry / change / deletion of DIVA participation

The material and temporal scope of a power of attorney can no longer be changed at a later date. For this purpose, it is necessary to revoke the respective power of attorney and to submit a new power of attorney after processing the revocation. Clients / members must sign this new power of attorney once in advance in the original.

In the following constellations, the document retrieval is not activated or is withdrawn again:

• The power of attorney specifically excluded income tax.
• The power of attorney specifically excludes the assessment procedure.
• In the power of attorney, a cross has been placed in line 34 (call authorization is not granted).
• There is a more recent dual power of attorney from another representative for the same authorizing party. When transmitting a dual power of attorney (cross in line 28 of the official power of attorney template), existing powers of attorney of other representatives are not revoked. However, the older power of attorney will be revoked. The document retrieval can only be activated for one representative (the one who submitted the more recent power of attorney) at a time.

The tax account query is activated by entering the authorization in the tax account.
The authorization for the tax account query is not activated in the following constellations:

• The power of attorney has not (yet) been entered in the tax account.
• Although the power of attorney has been entered in the tax account, there are reasons that prevent the tax account query from being activated (for example, if insolvency proceedings are pending).
• The power of attorney was only transmitted with a 4-digit Bundesfinanzamts-Nr. (BUFA-Nr.).
• In the power of attorney, a cross has been placed in line 34 (call authorization is not granted).
• The authorization was restricted in terms of time or subject matter (line 15 of the official authorization template; e.g. assessment or collection procedures were excluded) and no cross was placed in line 38.

You should receive detailed information on the reason for the rejection in a separate window when you select the authorization status.
In most cases, the following reasons come into consideration:

1. The ID number does not match the one in the tax account.
2. The tax number is incorrect (transposed numbers, individual account of the spouse instead of the joint tax account was given; old tax number before filing).
3. The date of birth is incorrect (transposed figures; the spouse's individual account was entered instead of the joint tax account).
4. The second power of attorney for the spousal power of attorney was not submitted within 10 days of the first power of attorney (waiting period has expired).
5. The spousal powers of attorney are not identical in content.

For joint accounts with joint assessment, two authorizations with the same content are always required. These should be submitted at the same time if possible. If the (new) joint tax number is already known, this must be added to the existing power of attorney. If the new joint tax number is not yet known, the previous individual tax number should be used for the newly represented spouse.

Reactivation is not possible. Please submit a new power of attorney.

The material and temporal scope of a power of attorney can no longer be changed at a later date. For this purpose, it is necessary to revoke the respective power of attorney and to submit a new power of attorney after processing the revocation. Clients/members must sign this new power of attorney once in advance in the original.

Both powers of attorney with the same content should be submitted together in a timely manner. If the second power of attorney is submitted with a delay, it should be noted that the first power of attorney will be automatically rejected after a period of 10 days without submission of the missing power of attorney from the other spouse.

The change of local tax office responsibility is an organizational measure by the tax authorities. If there is an active power of attorney relationship with the previous tax account, which is transferred as a result of organizational measures, the electronic representative is transferred to the new tax account.

In the following constellations, it is possible that an incorporated power of attorney with DIVA participation will not be taken into account:

1. Use of the one-time notification address (subject area 10) → possible until the 2022 assessment period; the one-time notification address always takes precedence over the (electronic) authorization stored in the tax account. The notification is sent by post to the address specified in the one-time notification address.
2. An attachment should be added to the notice. The notice will be sent by post to the (representative) address stored in the tax account.
3. The assessment was already calculated before the successful incorporation of the power of attorney with DIVA participation. The notice is sent by post to the (representative) address stored in the tax account.
4. The power of attorney was only transmitted with a federal tax office number (without tax number). A prerequisite for DIVA and thus consideration of the power of attorney to receive is the incorporation of the power of attorney in the tax account. If a tax account already exists and only a power of attorney with a federal tax office number (BUFA no.) is nevertheless transmitted, then no incorporation takes place and therefore no (digital) notification is sent to the representative. The notification is sent by post to the address stored in the tax account, usually to the taxable person.
5. In some federal states, powers of attorney with time restrictions cannot yet be considered for notification for technical reasons. The notice is sent by post to the address stored in the tax account, usually to the taxable person.

Please enter via the Contact form with the ELSTER support team.

Please use the tax number of the income tax assistance association for all user accounts used in the association, as this links the various ELSTER user accounts with each other.

If you have any questions about electronic powers of attorney, please contact the Power of attorney database team.

You can find the VN-ID in the excerpts from the directory of income tax assistance associations. If you do not have a current extract, please contact your competent supervisory authority and have the VN-ID sent to you again.

The qualification code is sent by post to the address of the income tax assistance association stored in the ADLER administrative database.

A separate stick is required for each role, i.e. two sticks are needed if one person holds the roles of chairperson and head of the advice center.

Only one advice center manager can be qualified at any one time. This means that there is only one stick for the "advice center manager" function.
However, it is possible to qualify any number of employees for an advice center. With an employee's stick, the authorizations from a power of attorney (document retrieval and tax account query) can be exercised and DIVA data can also be retrieved.
Only the transmission of new powers of attorney can only be carried out via the advisory centre manager stick. The workflow must be organized accordingly within the advice centre so that the powers of attorney are only sent via this stick.

The member's own ELSTER account is independent of the electronic authorization for the income tax assistance association.
The corresponding notifications (for example, the provision of a DIVA assessment) for the respective transactions are sent to the tax advisor.

It is sufficient for the spouse to apply for access without making a change to the existing member. Please note that the existing tax number of the new member must be entered in this power of attorney.
The tax number of the spouse (old member) cannot be used, in which case the power of attorney would be rejected.
The existing power of attorney of the old member can remain unchanged. In the case of spouses/life partners, the joint (new) tax number must be added to both powers of attorney by the tax advisor at the same time if possible.

If the power of attorney was submitted to the responsible processor at the tax office for verification as part of the automated random selection, further automated processing will only take place after verification and approval by the processor. Upon written request, a copy of the signed original power of attorney must be submitted.

(The original power of attorney can be submitted on paper or in PDF format).

The proxy holder is the association. This means that several powers of attorney from different advice centers cannot exist for the same proxy within the association.

Note:
Active powers of attorney can be transferred from one branch / advice center to another.

In the following constellations, the document retrieval or tax account query by the user is not possible:

• The authorization for document retrieval / tax account query has not been activated.
• The power of attorney does not include the option to grant sub-authorizations (cross in line 14).
• The authorization was restricted in terms of time or subject matter (line 15 of the official authorization template; e.g. assessment or collection procedures were excluded) and no cross was placed in line 38.
• A newer power of attorney has been submitted (by another authorized representative). The document retrieval has been transferred to this proxy). The mandate relationship must be clarified.

When the power of attorney is revoked, the representative data is deleted from the tax account. Any assessment issued after the revocation has been processed will no longer be sent to the income tax assistance association. The notice will be sent to the taxpayer accordingly.

The activation of the advice center for DIVA and the retrieval of administrative files can only be carried out via the stick of the advice center manager.
DIVAshould apply to ALL authorizations of an advice center:
In Mein ELSTER under "Forms & services" > "My advice center" there is a button with a pencil symbol in the header area under "General information on the advice center". You can enter your e-mail address here. You will then receive an email from portal@elster.de with a confirmation link to the email address you entered (please check your Spam folder if necessary!).
On the following day, the consent for the advice center is processed and you can transmit the powers of attorney with the addition of digital notification.
DIVAshould apply to INDIVIDUAL powers of attorney of an advice center:
In the respective power of attorney (regardless of whether it is a new or existing power of attorney), a check mark must be placed under "Consent to the electronic provision of notifications and other letters" under the option to enter the tax number.

A postal notification to the member despite DIVA dialing can have various causes:

1. The decision was already calculated before the successful incorporation of the power of attorney with DIVA participation.
2. The power of attorney was transmitted without a tax number. A prerequisite for DIVA and thus consideration of the power of attorney to receive is the incorporation of the power of attorney in the tax account. If there is already a tax account and only a power of attorney with a Federal Tax Office number (BUFA for short) is transmitted, there is no incorporation and therefore no (digital) notification to the representative.
   The notification is sent by post to the address stored in the tax account, usually to the taxable person.

A postal notification despite DIVA dialing can have various causes:

1. Only a BUFA power of attorney (power of attorney without tax number) was transmitted electronically. There is also a paper power of attorney.
2. A one-time notification address was provided in the tax return form (up to and including FY 2022).
3. The person responsible at the tax office has attached an annex to the tax assessment notice.
4. The assessment was already calculated before the successful incorporation of the power of attorney with DIVA participation. The notice is sent by post to the (representative) address stored in the tax account.

Please contact the board of your association. They must pass on the relocation of the advice center to the supervisory authority in your federal state. The address of the advice center is used for the notification, which is stored in the official directory of income tax assistance associations (ADLER).

You will probably see the following error message:
"An error has occurred.
371015456: You have already declared your DIVA participation for the advice center. This declaration is currently being checked."

There is a technical error here. Please contact the Power of attorney database team.

Once the power of attorney has been recorded, a power of attorney code is sent to the client/relative by post. The client must pass the Code on to the tax advisor. (This is a further safeguard which authenticates the advisor).

In ELSTER, go to the "Forms & services" > "Manage powers of attorney" menu. On the "Inactive powers of attorney" tab, you will see the corresponding power of attorney with the status "In activation". The power of attorney can be transmitted via the 3-dot menu by selecting "Activate power of attorney" after entering the code. A power of attorney ID is then assigned.

This power of attorney enables the mere retrieval of electronic certificates and tax account queries. Representation/receiving authorization is not possible here.

It is also possible to transmit call-off powers of attorneyfor your own tax case. In the case of spouses / life partners, two call-off authorizationswith the same content are required. These should also be submitted as soon as possible.

A 1:1 relationship always applies to call-off authorizations. This means that a separate retrieval authorization must be transmitted for each tax number.

1. Power of attorney for relatives:
   In addition to the document retrieval and the authorization to query tax accounts, you will be deposited as an authorized recipient. This means that you will receive all correspondence for the person you represent.
2. Retrieval authorization for relatives:
   You only receive the document retrieval and the authorization to query tax accounts. Authorization to represent/receive is not possible here.

A 1:1 relationship always applies to powers of attorney for relatives. This means that a separate power of attorney must be submitted for each tax number.

With a "Power of attorney for a relative" you always receive the correspondence as the representative.

With a pure retrieval authorization for relatives, you only receive the document retrieval and the tax account query. The correspondence is sent to the person represented.

In general, a distinction must be made between confirmations at proxy level and confirmations at tax number level.
In ELSTER, confirmations from proxy processing can always be called up by clicking on the blue text in the proxy overview. This opens a window with a confirmation history.

For feedback at the level of the power of attorney, the status "rejected" can be clicked, for example. An example of a typical negative response at proxy level would be:

"The date of birth stored for the personal IdNr. does not match the date of birth in the proxy. Please check your IdNr./date of birth details."

For feedback at tax number level , the status "active" or "inactive" can be clicked.
Examples of typical negative feedback at proxy level:

"A tax number has been transmitted whose tax account is no longer active. The account for tax number xxx is in status K - file submission."

or

"The power of attorney cannot be used on the aforementioned tax number xxx, as the authorizer could not be clearly identified as the owner of this tax account. The reason for this is a discrepancy when checking the company names. Please compare the data you have entered with the master data in the relevant tax office and, if necessary, send the tax number for the power of attorney again."

For a registered proxy holder, there is an option in ELSTER under "Forms & services" > "Manage proxies" > "Change proxy holder address data". All address data entered when registering as a proxy holder can be changed there.
ElSTER then sends a confirmation to the e-mail inbox there.

In addition, the new address must be communicated to the tax office responsible for your tax account (e.g. by post or via ELSTER > "Forms & services" > "All forms" > "Applications and notifications").

Via ELSTER > "Customize my profile" under "General information" you can enter or change an e-mail address for the first time.
or:
ELSTER > "My user account" > "E-mail settings" > "Change e-mail address".

If you have any questions about electronic powers of attorney, please contact the Power of attorney database team.

You can find more detailed information on electronic powers of attorney at www.vollmachten.hessen.de.

If you have any questions about electronic powers of attorney, please contact the Power of attorney database team.