Today is March 15. The Ides of March. The day Julius Caesar was warned to beware — and did not. The day that, for many European taxpayers, marks the beginning of the final sprint toward tax filing deadlines across multiple jurisdictions.
I use the Roman connection every year because the underlying lesson is the same: the warnings were given. The preparation was available. The outcome was determined by whether the person receiving the warning took it seriously.
Tax season is when the decisions of the previous year crystallise into numbers. You cannot change last year's structure in March. But you can understand what it produced, and you can use that understanding to make better decisions for this year and next.
What You Should Be Looking At Right Now
Your residency position. If you made a move in 2025 — or plan to make one in 2026 — the tax year that just closed is the year being filed. Your residency status during that year determines which country's rules apply to which income. If there is any ambiguity about where you were genuinely resident — because you spent time in multiple places, because you maintained connections to your home country, because you moved partway through the year — this needs to be clarified now with professional advice, not discovered later in an audit.
Exit tax exposure. If you left Germany, Austria, or Switzerland in 2025, the exit tax on your unrealised gains in corporate shareholdings was triggered at the date of departure. If you have not yet had this calculated and disclosed, you need to act now. German tax authorities are not patient about exit tax declarations and the penalties for late filing are significant.
CRS reporting. If you hold foreign bank accounts, those accounts have been reported to your home country's tax authority under the Common Reporting Standard for the 2025 tax year. If the income or assets in those accounts have not been declared, the information is already with the tax authority. The window to come forward voluntarily — which carries significantly lower penalties than being caught — is open but not permanent.
Your corporate structure. If you moved but your company did not, your company may still be a tax resident of your old jurisdiction by virtue of where its management and control is exercised. This is one of the most common and expensive mistakes in emigration planning.
The Broader Point
The clients who come to me in March with problems that could have been avoided are, almost always, clients who had the information they needed earlier and did not act on it.
The information I am giving you now is the same information I give in client consultations. The difference is that a consultation is specific to your situation, your numbers, and your timeline. This article is general.
General information about tax is useful. Specific advice about your tax position is what actually protects you.
Use the Ides of March as a prompt. Not a deadline — most deadlines are later in the year. A prompt to pick up the phone, or send the email, or book the consultation you have been postponing.
Caesar did not beware. You should.
Work with Sebastian
If tax season has surfaced questions about your residency position, your exit tax exposure, or the treatment of your international structures, this is exactly the right moment to have a proper conversation. Let's make sure you are not discovering problems after the fact. Book a consultation.