The so-called 183-day regulation determines the tax liability of certain groups of people in countries with which Germany has concluded a double taxation agreement. It is therefore particularly important in international tax law and here primarily for employees, but is also used as an auxiliary criterion under national law. As far as German law is concerned, the 183-day rule is found in § 9 AO.
1st basic rule: tax liability according to the 183-day regulation
For a closer look at the 183 day rule, let’s first look at the regulation we are talking about. It can be found in Article 15 of the OECD Model Convention, OECD-MA for short. The model serves as a template for numerous DTAs that Germany has concluded with other countries, which is why many regulations have entered into the final and valid double taxation agreements from the OECD-MA.
Article 15(1) and (2) OECD-MA states:
Income from employed work
(1) Subject to Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and similar allowances received by a resident of a Contracting State from employed work may be taxed only in that State, unless the work is carried out in the other Contracting State. If the work is carried out there, the other state has the right to tax.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph 1, allowances received by a resident of a Contracting State for an employed work carried out in another Contracting State may be taxed in the first State only if:
This article does not replace tax or legal advice in an individual case. Facts, current law, jurisdiction, documentation and implementation remain decisive.