🤝 Wegweiser Associations & NGOs

Founding, non-profit status, board liability, donations, taxes and flat-rate allowances: explained clearly for board members, founders and volunteers in associations, non-profit limited companies (gGmbH), foundations and initiatives, as of the legal position in September 2026.

Legal position: September 2026. This takes into account the Steueränderungsgesetz 2025 (Tax Amendment Act 2025) (BGBl. 2025 I, promulgated on 23 December 2025, in force since 1 January 2026). Announced reforms that have not been passed are not presented as applicable law. Some points are expressly marked as uncertain. Sources and limits: Sources and notes. These pages are information, not legal or tax advice.

Frequently searched

🏷️ Non-profit status (§§ 51 ff. AO) and exemption notice (Freistellungsbescheid) 🛡️ Board, liability and insurance 🤲 Volunteer and trainer's allowances 2026 🎁 Donations and donation receipts (Zuwendungsbestätigung) 💼 Taxes in the association: thresholds, commercial activity, tax return 🏗️ Founding an association and registration in the register of associations

All topic areas

🧭OverviewLegal forms, basic concepts and where the most important rules are found.1 topic 📝Founding & articles of associationFrom the founding meeting to registration in the register of associations and suitable articles of association.2 topics 🏛️Board & membersBoard liability, insurance, general meetings and resolutions.2 topics 🧾Non-profit status & taxesTax privileges, donations, thresholds and tax returns, as of the Steueränderungsgesetz 2025 (Tax Amendment Act 2025).3 topics 💶Money, funding & staffFlat-rate allowances, grants, mini-jobs and freelance staff.3 topics ⚖️Duties & limitsData protection, transparency register, bookkeeping, dissolution and political activity.3 topics 🆘Advice & contact pointsWhere board members and volunteers find documented support.1 topic

🧭 Overview

Legal forms, basic concepts and where the most important rules are found.

🧭Overview: association and NGO lawAssociation law (BGB) and non-profit law (Abgabenordnung) are two separate sets of rules. This page shows what is regulated where and what is new in 2026.

📝 Founding & articles of association

From the founding meeting to registration in the register of associations and suitable articles of association.

🏗️Founding an association and registration in the register of associationsAn association with legal capacity only comes into being on registration in the register of associations. Who files, what must be included and how many members are needed. 📜Articles of association: mandatory content and tax requirementsUnder civil law the articles of association must regulate certain points, and for non-profit status they must meet the requirements of the model articles.

🏛️ Board & members

Board liability, insurance, general meetings and resolutions.

🛡️Board, liability and insuranceWhen board members and members are personally liable, how this changed in 2026 and which insurance covers what. 🗳️General meeting and resolutionsHow resolutions are passed, whether meetings may be digital or hybrid and when dissolution is possible.

🧾 Non-profit status & taxes

Tax privileges, donations, thresholds and tax returns, as of the Steueränderungsgesetz 2025 (Tax Amendment Act 2025).

🏷️Non-profit status (§§ 51 ff. AO) and exemption notice (Freistellungsbescheid)What non-profit status requires, how the tax office checks it and what changed in 2026 on use of funds and sport. 🎁Donations and donation receipts (Zuwendungsbestätigung)When you may issue a donation receipt, when the bank statement is enough and what issuers are liable for. 💼Taxes in the association: thresholds, commercial activity, tax return€50,000 threshold, corporation tax allowance, small business rule and what you state in the tax return.

💶 Money, funding & staff

Flat-rate allowances, grants, mini-jobs and freelance staff.

🤲Volunteer and trainer's allowances 2026€3,300 for trainers and €960 for volunteers per year, tax-free. What this means and what it does not cover. 🏦Grants and fundingWhat a grant notice (Zuwendungsbescheid) requires: ancillary provisions, proof of use, retention, procurement law in brief. 👥Employees, mini-jobs and freelancers in the associationMinimum wage €13.90, mini-job limit €603, false self-employment: what associations must observe as employers.

⚖️ Duties & limits

Data protection, transparency register, bookkeeping, dissolution and political activity.

🔐Data protection in the associationThe GDPR also applies to associations: register of processing activities, data protection officer from 20 people and supervision by the state authorities. 📚Transparency register, bookkeeping, accounting, dissolutionWhat an e.V. must report to the transparency register, when bookkeeping obligations apply and how dissolution works. 📢Political activity and non-profit statusWhere the line runs between political education and exerting influence, what the Bundesfinanzhof decided in 2019 and what remains open.

🆘 Advice & contact points

Where board members and volunteers find documented support.

🆘Advice and contact pointsDocumented nationwide and official bodies for associations, with no invented addresses.

For reference

📕Keyword indexAll terms from A to Z, with links to the matching topic pages. 📜Sources and methodWhere the information comes from and what is expressly uncertain. 🏠Other target groupsTo the overview of all Wegweiser portals.

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.