Generate German E-Bilanz (XBRL)

Skill: Convert the tax balance sheet & P&L into an E-Bilanz XBRL filing

Region: Germany (Deutschland) Category: Financial statements — E-Bilanz Does: Takes a company's tax balance sheet and income statement and tags them as E-Bilanz XBRL against the German HGB / E-Bilanz Kerntaxonomie, transmitted to the tax administration via ELSTER/ERiC. Spec: Finanzverwaltung E-Bilanz — XBRL (HGB Kerntaxonomie, annual release) via ERiC

Under § 5b EStG, businesses must transmit the content of the balance sheet and income statement electronically as XBRL (E-Bilanz). The Kerntaxonomie is updated annually and includes many Mussfelder (mandatory fields) that must be present (even if reported empty/NIL) for the filing to be accepted. This is distinct from the Offenlegung (Bundesanzeiger disclosure) and from the tax returns. Element names below follow the taxonomy structure.

When this applies

• Companies and other businesses determining profit by Betriebsvermögensvergleich transmit the E-Bilanz for each financial year alongside their tax filings.
• The data is the tax balance sheet/P&L (Steuerbilanz), or the commercial balance sheet plus an Überleitungsrechnung (reconciliation to tax values).

Structure (E-Bilanz → XBRL)

GCD module (Global Common Data)   company identification, fiscal year, legal form, balance-sheet type
GAAP module:
   Bilanz                          assets (Aktiva) and equity & liabilities (Passiva)
   Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung     income statement (Gesamtkosten- or Umsatzkostenverfahren)
   Überleitungsrechnung            reconciliation commercial → tax values (if a Handelsbilanz is filed)
   Steuerliche Modifikationen      tax-specific adjustments
   Contexts / units                period + entity; iso4217:EUR

Tagging rules

• Use the current-year Kerntaxonomie; populate all Mussfelder (mandatory fields) — if a mandatory position has no value, transmit it as NIL/empty with the required technical marker rather than omitting it (omission causes rejection).
• Davon-Positionen (of-which) and depth: report at the taxonomy's required granularity; don't collapse mandatory sub-positions.
• Balance check: Aktiva total = Passiva total; the P&L result ties into equity; the Überleitungsrechnung reconciles commercial to tax values where a Handelsbilanz is the basis.
• GCD identification (tax number/ID, fiscal year, legal form, balance-sheet type) must be correct and consistent with the tax account.
• Contexts/units: every fact has a period + entity context; monetary facts use EUR.
• Validate via ERiC before transmission — ERiC enforces taxonomy conformance and the Mussfeld rules.

Worked example (outline)

GCD: company ABC GmbH, fiscal year 2025, legal form GmbH, Steuerbilanz
Bilanz:
   Aktiva: Anlagevermögen 3,000,000 + Umlaufvermögen 2,000,000 = 5,000,000
   Passiva: Eigenkapital 1,800,000 + Rückstellungen 700,000 + Verbindlichkeiten 2,500,000 = 5,000,000  ✓
GuV (Gesamtkostenverfahren): Umsatzerlöse 9,000,000 − Aufwendungen 8,400,000 → Jahresüberschuss 600,000
Mussfelder populated (NIL where no value); contexts FY2025; unit EUR

Emitted as the E-Bilanz XBRL and transmitted via ERiC to the Finanzverwaltung.

Validation checklist

• Current-year HGB Kerntaxonomie used; GCD identification (tax number, fiscal year, legal form, balance-sheet type) correct
• All Mussfelder (mandatory fields) present — empty ones sent as NIL, not omitted
• Required granularity / Davon-Positionen reported; mandatory sub-positions not collapsed
• Bilanz balances (Aktiva = Passiva); P&L result ties to equity
• Überleitungsrechnung included where a Handelsbilanz (not a Steuerbilanz) is the basis
• Contexts (period + entity) and EUR units on all facts
• ERiC validation passes before transmission

Last updated: 2026-05-31 — the E-Bilanz Kerntaxonomie and Mussfeld set update annually; confirm the current taxonomy version, mandatory-field rules, and transmission requirements against current Finanzverwaltung / ELSTER (esteuer.de, elster.de) guidance before use.