Tax audit at my business — what must I show?
Inspector has broad access rights (AWR art. 47-53). But: notice duty, reasonableness, no fishing. Your rights explained.
Business audit rules: (1) Notice duty — at least 14 days written (exception: urgency on fraud suspicion); (2) Access right to admin, bookkeeping, statements (AWR 47); (3) 7-year retention (admin + invoices) — failure: reversal of burden of proof (you must prove assessment wrong); (4) Right to support by own tax advisor/accountant; (5) Object to disproportionate audit request (proportionality). Your rights: (a) right to privacy under GDPR — non-business data (DGA personal account, personal docs) not voluntarily shared unless relevance shown; (b) right to copy of audit report; (c) right to hearing before final report; (d) object to premature conclusions. Practical: maintain organised admin (digital bookkeeping like Twinfield, Yuki), keep correspondence. Audit proposal: ALWAYS via tax advisor — free Juridisch Loket advice on low income.