For Polish and foreign construction companies

German construction projects without administrative chaos

Posting employees to German construction sites means dealing with customs, SOKA-BAU, BG BAU, the tax office, social insurance and clients at the same time. A key point is reviewing whether the contract, construction site or project duration creates German tax liability. Optima coordinates the ongoing administration so the project does not fail because of forms and deadlines.

SOKA-BAURegistration and monthly reports
BG BAURegistration and wage reporting
Customs/FKSNotifications and site documents
Tax liabilityReview and § 48b

The Problem

Foreign construction companies often underestimate that a German project is more than a construction site. Even before work starts, posting notifications, A1 certificates, minimum-wage documentation, SOKA-BAU classification, BG BAU registration, tax liability review and tax evidence may become relevant.

If documents are missing during an inspection by Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit or a client requests a tax exemption certificate, pressure builds quickly. It becomes particularly difficult when management is based abroad and German official mail is not read every day.

What Optima Takes Over

Posting and A1

We structure the data on employees, site, client, period and social insurance, and keep track of the supporting evidence.

SOKA-BAU

Registration, monthly reports, handling of queries and allocation of working hours, gross wage totals and holiday entitlements.

BG BAU

Registration with the Berufsgenossenschaft, wage reports and coordination of correspondence relating to statutory accident insurance.

Customs and Site Documents

Preparation of documents relevant during inspections: wage records, working-time records, posting data and contact persons.

Tax Liability, Tax Office and §48b EStG

Preparation of documents for tax classification, coordination of the review with licensed tax advisors and support for the construction-service exemption certificate.

Payroll

Connection between posting, German obligations, social insurance, wage tax and monthly reports to relevant authorities.

Process

01

Review project, posting and tax exposure

We record client, site, period, activity, employees, existing company structure and first indicators of possible German tax liability.

02

Create obligations matrix

The data becomes a concrete list of notifications, registrations, tax questions, evidence and deadlines for the assignment.

03

Prepare registrations and applications

We prepare SOKA-BAU, BG BAU, customs/FKS, A1 documents, tax liability review, tax office and client evidence.

04

Monthly support

After the site starts, working hours, wages, reports, queries and deadlines are handled on an ongoing basis.

Typical Documents

  • Commercial register extract or proof of trade registration for the foreign company
  • Project contract, work contract or subcontractor agreement
  • Construction-site address, client data and assignment period
  • Employee lists, ID data and social-insurance evidence
  • Working-time records, payroll documents and payment evidence
  • Tax registrations, VAT ID and existing tax notices

Who This Is For

This support is especially relevant for Polish construction companies, subcontractors, installation companies, finishing trades, technical service providers and employers who post employees to Germany temporarily or regularly.

Legal and tax advice in the strict sense is provided through licensed partners. Optima handles commercial preparation, ongoing coordination, document logic and authority communication.