§ 154 AO Kontenwahrheit — Germany’s account-truth rule
Most onboarding teams in Germany build around the Geldwäschegesetz. The rule that decides what has to be written on the account, and what the tax authorities can ask you about it, sits in the tax code. § 154 of the Abgabenordnung (AO), “Kontenwahrheit”, bans accounts in false names. It requires whoever keeps an account to verify every person with power of disposal and every beneficial owner, and to record them on the account. It adds tax-identifier collection for credit institutions, with a query route to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) and a year-end notification when customers do not cooperate. Breaches are an administrative offence under § 379 AO. A false-name account can also freeze the balance until the tax office consents to its release.
1. What § 154 AO says, paragraph by paragraph
The current wording dates from the 2017 rewrite by the Steuerumgehungsbekämpfungsgesetz (BGBl. I 2017 S. 1682). It was last amended by Article 9 of the law transposing the amending Fourth AML Directive, in force since 1 January 2020. The structure:
| Paragraph | Addressed to | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Abs. 1 | Everyone | No one may open an account, have bookings made, deposit or pledge valuables, or take a safe-deposit box in a false or fictitious name, for themselves or a third party |
| Abs. 2 S. 1 | Whoever keeps an account, holds valuables in custody or as a pledge, or provides a safe-deposit box (the “Verpflichteter”) | Before doing so, establish certainty about the identity and address of every person with power of disposal (Verfügungsberechtigter) and every beneficial owner within the meaning of the GwG. Record the details in suitable form, and for accounts, on the account |
| Abs. 2 S. 2 | Same | For persons with power of disposal, GwG § 11(4) and (6), § 12(1) and (2) and § 13(1) apply accordingly. For beneficial owners, GwG § 13(1) applies, with the regulations made under both |
| Abs. 2 S. 3–4 | Same | Be able to tell the tax authorities at any time which accounts or boxes a person can dispose of. Monitor the relationship continuously and update the data at reasonable intervals |
| Abs. 2a | Credit institutions | Also collect the tax ID (§ 139b) of every account holder, other person with power of disposal and beneficial owner. For non-natural persons, collect the business ID (§ 139c) or, if none has been issued yet, the income-tax number. Customers must provide these and report changes. Exemption: consumer-credit accounts for private consumer goods with a limit up to €12,000 |
| Abs. 2b | Credit institutions | If a tax ID has not been provided by the start of the relationship, and was not lawfully collected on another occasion, query the BZSt by machine procedure by the end of the third month after the relationship begins |
| Abs. 2c | Credit institutions | If the data still cannot be obtained because the customer did not cooperate, note this on the account. Report the accounts and the Abs. 2 data to the BZSt by the end of February of the following year, for all accounts opened in a calendar year |
| Abs. 2d | Tax authorities | May allow relief for individual cases or groups of cases where compliance would cause disproportionate hardship and taxation is not impaired |
| Abs. 3 | Verpflichteter | If Abs. 1 was breached, balances, valuables and box contents may be released only with the consent of the tax office responsible for the income or corporation tax of the person with power of disposal |
2. Does it reach payment and e-money institutions?
Paragraph 2 is not limited to banks. It applies to whoever keeps an account (wer ein Konto führt). A payment or e-money institution keeping customer accounts in Germany should assume the identification and recording duty applies to it.
Paragraphs 2a to 2c are worded for Kreditinstitute. The route into payment firms runs through the account-retrieval system instead. § 27(2) ZAG applies § 24c KWG and § 93(7) and (8) AO, together with § 93b AO, to institutions under the ZAG. § 93b(1a) AO requires the retrieval file to hold, for every person with power of disposal and every beneficial owner, their address and the data named in § 154(2a). A ZAG institution that runs a § 24c file therefore has to hold the tax identifiers anyway.
Whether the BZSt query route in Abs. 2b and the February notification in Abs. 2c are open to, or required of, a ZAG institution is a point to settle in writing. Take a documented position, and where needed check it with the BZSt, rather than assume it either way.
3. Why the record has to be retrievable: § 93b and § 24c
§ 154(2) sentence 3 is the operational core. You must be able to tell the tax authorities at any time which accounts a person can dispose of. That is what makes the automated account-retrieval procedure work.
§ 24c(1) no. 1 KWG defines the accounts in the retrieval file as those subject to the identity check under § 154(2) sentence 1 AO. § 93b(1) AO requires the same file to serve tax retrieval requests under § 93(7) and (8). The BZSt may then retrieve individual data from it automatically and pass it to the requesting authority. Under § 93b(2), it may pass a tax ID only to tax authorities.
In practice, a gap in the § 154 record shows up as a gap in the retrieval file, which the institution cannot see and the authority can. A missing authorised signatory or beneficial owner is the typical case.
4. Three worked scenarios
Scenario one — a GmbH business account. Facts: a German GmbH opens a payment account. It has two managing directors with sole signing authority and one shareholder holding 60%. Rule: Abs. 2 requires identity and address for both directors, as persons with power of disposal, and for the 60% shareholder, as beneficial owner, before the account is used. Abs. 2a adds the tax ID of each individual and the business ID or tax number of the GmbH. What the team does: it verifies all three under the GwG rules. It records them against the account and captures the identifiers. One director has not given a tax ID by account opening. Outcome: for a credit institution, Abs. 2b gives three months from the start of the relationship to query the BZSt. If the query fails for lack of cooperation, the account is flagged under Abs. 2c and reported by the end of February of the following year.
Scenario two — a synthetic identity found after onboarding. Facts: transaction monitoring shows that an individual account was opened with a fabricated identity. It holds a balance of about €14,000. Rule: this breaches Abs. 1. Abs. 3 means the balance may be released only with the consent of the tax office responsible for the income tax of the person with power of disposal. Under § 72 AO, whoever breaches Abs. 3 intentionally or with gross negligence is liable, to the extent that tax claims are impaired. What the team does: it blocks outgoing payments and does not pay out on request. It assesses a suspicious activity report under § 43 GwG as a separate duty, and contacts the tax office before any release. Outcome: the release decision leaves operations and depends on documented tax-office consent. The file shows that the institution did not return funds on its own authority.
Scenario three — a consumer credit line and a new authorised user. Facts: a firm offers a revolving line of €8,000 to finance consumer goods. Later, a customer on a separate current account adds a family member as an authorised user. Rule: under Abs. 2a sentence 3, the tax-ID collection does not apply to credit accounts used only for private consumer goods with a limit up to €12,000. Abs. 2 identification still applies. The new authorised user is a new person with power of disposal. What the team does: it skips tax-ID collection on the credit line but keeps the identity record. It identifies the authorised user before they can dispose of the current account, and updates the record under the continuous-monitoring duty in Abs. 2 sentence 4. Outcome: the credit line stays outside Abs. 2a. The current account’s retrieval record now carries a second person with power of disposal.
5. What a breach costs
Three consequences follow from a breach. They stack rather than replace one another:
- Administrative fine. Under § 379(2) no. 2 AO, breaching § 154(1) to (2c) intentionally or recklessly (leichtfertig) is an administrative offence. § 379(4) allows a fine of up to €5,000 for it, where the act is not punishable under § 378.
- Blocked balance. Where Abs. 1 was breached, Abs. 3 makes release of the funds conditional on the tax office’s consent.
- Liability. § 72 AO makes whoever breaches Abs. 3 intentionally or with gross negligence liable, to the extent that tax claims are impaired.
A per-offence maximum of €5,000 looks small. The larger exposure is the Abs. 3 liability and the supervisory reading of a weak record. BaFin examines the § 24c file and GwG compliance, and a § 154 gap usually shows up in both.
6. Mapping § 154 into the onboarding data model
Most defects come from treating § 154 as a flag rather than a data structure. Build it as follows:
- A person-to-account role table. Store each role separately: holder, other person with power of disposal, beneficial owner. Give each role a start and end date, so you can answer “at any time” questions for past dates.
- Address as a required attribute of each role. Abs. 2 requires address as well as identity, and § 93b(1a) requires addresses in the retrieval file.
- Tax-ID status per person. Record whether the ID was provided, obtained from the BZSt, or missing for lack of cooperation. For credit institutions, the three-month clock in Abs. 2b runs from the start of the relationship.
- A year-end notification job. Where Abs. 2c applies, list the accounts opened in the calendar year that are still missing data, for the February notification.
- A hold state tied to Abs. 3. Keep it separate from ordinary AML blocks, so that release requires recorded tax-office consent.
FAQ
Is § 154 AO the same as GwG identification?
No. It borrows the GwG verification rules for persons with power of disposal and beneficial owners. Its own duties are to hold a retrievable record per account, collect tax identifiers (for credit institutions), and follow the release rule for false-name accounts.
What is the deadline to query a missing tax ID?
For credit institutions, by the end of the third month after the business relationship begins, using the BZSt machine procedure under § 154(2b).
When is the non-cooperation notification due?
By the end of February of the following year, for all accounts opened in the calendar year where the Abs. 2a data could not be obtained.
Are small consumer credit accounts exempt?
Only from the tax-ID collection in Abs. 2a, and only for credit accounts used solely to finance private consumer goods with a limit up to €12,000. The identification duty in Abs. 2 still applies.
What is the fine for a breach?
Up to €5,000 per offence under § 379(2) no. 2 and (4) AO, for intentional or reckless breaches of § 154(1) to (2c), unless § 378 applies.
Can we return funds from a false-name account to the customer?
Not without the consent of the competent tax office. Releasing without it exposes the institution to liability under § 72 AO where tax claims are impaired.
7. What to do, today
- Test your “at any time” answer. Pick a customer and a past date. Produce every account they could dispose of on that date, with their address.
- Reconcile the § 154 record to the § 24c file. Every person with power of disposal and every beneficial owner should appear in both.
- Write down your position on Abs. 2a to 2c. ZAG institutions reach these duties through § 27(2) ZAG and § 93b(1a) AO, not through the wording of § 154 itself.
- Separate the Abs. 3 hold from AML blocks. Release should need recorded tax-office consent.
- Schedule the February run. If Abs. 2c applies to you, the notification covers accounts opened in the previous calendar year.
Related: Germany’s account-retrieval procedure under § 24c KWG · Transparenzregister — Germany’s beneficial-owner register · § 43 GwG suspicious activity reports
