The self-information on tax residence is sent by a financial institution (e.g. banks or insurance companies).

• Notifiable financial institutions must verify their financial account data in accordance with established criteria for the tax residence of account holders or dominant persons in a reporting State.
• In particular, when an account is reopened, self-disclosure can be obtained.
• In the case of existing accounts, the reporting obligation can also be established on the basis of circumstantial evidence. This can be, for example, a current postal or home address, a telephone number, or a currently valid power of attorney in favour of a person with an address in a reporting state.
• The financial account data determined in accordance with the due diligence requirements must be transmitted annually in electronic form to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
• Before the first transmission, a registration of the data transmitter (financial institution or contracted service provider) in the department CRS of the BZSt is necessary.
• The messages are made via the BZSt-Online Portal (BOP) or the mass data interface (ELMA). This requires a certificate issued by the BZSt (BOP and ELMA) or a certificate issued by the Elster procedure (only possible for BOP). The exact route is described in manuals and videos on the BZSt website.
• For each transmission, the notifying financial institution or service provider receives technical feedback on the status and result of the processing. Insofar as data has been rejected, the errors must be corrected and the data must be retransmitted.