# Get your FinanzOnline Databox and tax account by API > Read new Databox documents, the Steuerkonto (tax account) and open Ergänzungsersuchen (information requests) from FinanzOnline, one API call each. A workflow can check the Databox each weekday morning and email you every new document with its Betreff. Page: https://fous.com/automate/finanzonline Updated: 2026-11-12 Works with your own FinanzOnline account. Fous is an independent product. ## What you can build on FinanzOnline ### Get new Databox documents Reads the incoming documents in the Databox under Nachrichten (messages): what was delivered, when, for which Steuernummer and period. - Takes: Delivered since (optional), Erledigungstyp (optional) - Returns: Delivery date, Steuernummer, name, Anbringen, period, Erledigungstyp, Betreff, read or unread ### Read the Steuerkonto balance and bookings Reads the Steuerkonto: the balance, whether it is a Rückstand (amount owed) or a Guthaben (credit), and the bookings with their Abgabenart (type of tax) and period. - Takes: Steuernummer, bookings since (optional) - Returns: Balance, Rückstand or Guthaben, booking date, Buchungstext, Abgabenart and period, due date, amount ### List unanswered Ergänzungsersuchen Reads Unbeantwortete Ergänzungsersuchen (unanswered requests for more information) in the Steuerakt, with the date each was last worked on. - Takes: Nothing - Returns: Letztes Bearbeitungsdatum, Steuernummer, Anbringen ### Prepare a Rückzahlung request Opens Anträge und Abfragen, starts a Rückzahlung (refund) of a Guthaben, fills it in and saves it as an Entwurf or sends it. - Takes: Steuernummer, amount, save as draft or send - Returns: Request type, Steuernummer, amount, status (Entwurf or Abgesendet) ## Automate FinanzOnline with a workflow A [workflow](/product/workflows) runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use. ### New Databox documents, every morning Starts: Every weekday at 7:00 1. Get the Databox documents delivered since the last run. 2. Keep the ones that were not there on the last run. 3. Email you the list with Steuernummer, Anbringen, Erledigungstyp and Betreff. ### Steuerkonto balance, handed to accounting Starts: Every Monday at 8:00 1. For each Steuernummer you name, read the Steuerkonto balance and the bookings of the last 7 days. 2. Keep the accounts whose balance changed since the last run. 3. Post balance, Rückstand or Guthaben and the new bookings to your accounting system's webhook. ### Unanswered Ergänzungsersuchen, daily reminder Starts: Every weekday at 9:00 1. List the Unbeantwortete Ergänzungsersuchen in the Steuerakt. 2. Stop when the list is empty. 3. Email you each open request with its Steuernummer, Anbringen and Letztes Bearbeitungsdatum. You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month. ## Once built, one call from your code Once you have built a [method](/product/methods), it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get new Databox documents” would look like. Example request: ``` curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "method": "finanzonline.bmf.gv.at/get_databox_documents", "input": { "delivered_since": "2026-11-05", "erledigungstyp": "B" } }' ``` Example response: ``` { "status": "completed", "data": { "documents": [ { "delivered_at": "2026-11-10T09:14:00", "steuernummer": "12 345/6789", "name": "Acme Handels GmbH", "anbringen": "Umsatzsteuer 2025", "period_from": "2025-01-01", "period_to": "2025-12-31", "erledigungstyp": "B", "betreff": "Umsatzsteuerbescheid 2025", "read": false } ], "count": 1 } } ``` An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request. ## FinanzOnline’s own options The BMF publishes SOAP web services for FinanzOnline: a Session web service to sign in, then DataBox download, file upload of returns as XML, UID number checks and several others. They run under a separate web service user that a FinanzOnline participant creates in Benutzerverwaltung. The BMF and the FinanzOnline hotline are not available for technical problems in setting them up. | Option | What it covers | What it takes | | --- | --- | --- | | DataBox-Download-Webservice | Lists unread Databox documents, or read and unread ones for a span of at most 7 days going back at most 31 days, and fetches each document. | FinanzOnline participation, a web service user, a session from the Session web service and the software maker's UID number. | | File-Upload-Webservice | Sends returns and other submissions as files in the XML structures the BMF publishes for Datenstromübermittlung. | The same web service user and session, plus software that writes the published XML structures. | | UID-Abfrage-Webservice | Checks VAT identification numbers (UID-Nummern) from your own software. | The same web service user and session. | | FinanzOnline by hand | The Databox, Steuerakt, Steuerkonto and Anträge und Abfragen, one participant at a time. | A FinanzOnline account, signed in with ID Austria or with access credentials and an authenticator app. | Read on November 12, 2026: [FinanzOnline web services for software makers (Sonstige Funktionen)](https://www.bmf.gv.at/services/finanzonline/informationen-fuer-softwarehersteller/softwarehersteller-sonstige-funktionen.html), [DataBox-Download-Webservice](https://www.bmf.gv.at/dam/jcr:02d9e9ec-a4f6-4c58-aa3d-aadb8946aed2/BMF_DataBox_Download_Webservice_2.pdf), [Session-Webservice](https://www.bmf.gv.at/dam/jcr:570753b2-d511-4194-a03e-33f0ac7371ec/BMF_Session_Webservice_2.pdf). ## Signing in to FinanzOnline FinanzOnline signs you in with ID Austria, with a username and password, or with Teilnehmer-Identifikation, Benutzer-Identifikation and password. Since 1 October 2025 those credentials always need a code from an authenticator app as well. With Fous you sign in through FinanzOnline's own sign-in with your own account, and the login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API or written to logs. ## Worth knowing - **A Supervisor sets up the users**: Only a Supervisor, or a user the Supervisor has authorized, can create users in Benutzerverwaltung. That includes the separate user that the BMF's web services require. - **Fetching a Databox document marks it read**: In the DataBox web service, a document counts as read once it has been fetched. Read documents can be listed only for a span of 7 days, at most 31 days back. - **Two-step sign-in is required**: Since 1 October 2025, signing in with a username or Teilnehmer-Identifikation needs a time-limited code from a TOTP authenticator app. ID Austria already counts as two-step sign-in. - **A negative balance is a Guthaben**: In the BMF's Kontoinformation, a negative balance is a Guthaben (credit) and a positive balance a Rückstand (amount owed). Keep that in mind when you pass balances to accounting. ## More in Government: UK and Western Europe - [Guichet unique des formalités d'entreprises](https://fous.com/automate/guichet-unique-des-formalites-d-entreprises.md) - [Companies House WebFiling](https://fous.com/automate/companies-house-webfiling.md) - [Planning Portal](https://fous.com/automate/planning-portal.md) - [Chorus Pro](https://fous.com/automate/chorus-pro.md) - [FCA RegData](https://fous.com/automate/fca-regdata.md) - [net-entreprises.fr](https://fous.com/automate/net-entreprises-fr.md) - [Urssaf compte employeur](https://fous.com/automate/urssaf-compte-employeur.md) - [ePortal ESTV](https://fous.com/automate/eportal-estv.md) - [impots.gouv.fr espace professionnel](https://fous.com/automate/impots-gouv-fr-espace-professionnel.md) - [MOT Testing Service](https://fous.com/automate/mot-testing-service.md) Other industries: [eFileIL](/automate/efileil), [HM Land Registry portal](/automate/hm-land-registry-portal), [EPA Central Data Exchange](/automate/epa-central-data-exchange), [eVA](/automate/eva), [Maryland Tax Connect](/automate/maryland-tax-connect), [GDOL Employer Portal](/automate/gdol-employer-portal). ## Frequently asked questions ### Does FinanzOnline have an API? Yes, as SOAP web services. The BMF publishes a Session web service plus services for DataBox download, file upload, UID checks and more, used with a web service user created in Benutzerverwaltung. The BMF and the hotline do not help with technical setup. The Steuerakt, Steuerkonto and Anträge und Abfragen are used by hand. ### Can I download Databox documents automatically? Yes. The DataBox-Download-Webservice returns all unread documents, or read and unread ones for up to 7 days at a time going back at most 31 days. With Fous, you can build a method that reads the Databox under Nachrichten with your own sign-in, and a workflow that emails you the new documents. ### What do the Databox document types mean? The DataBox web service sorts documents by Erledigungstyp: B for Bescheide, Ergänzungsersuchen and Bescheinigungen, M for Mitteilungen, I for Informationen, P for Protokolle and EU for EU-Erledigungen, among other codes. ### Does a negative Steuerkonto balance mean I owe tax? No. In the BMF's Kontoinformation a negative balance is a Guthaben, a credit in your favour, and a positive balance is a Rückstand, an amount owed. A Guthaben can be claimed with a Rückzahlung request under Anträge und Abfragen. ### Is Fous affiliated with the Bundesministerium für Finanzen? No. Fous is an independent product. You use it with your own FinanzOnline account, and a method reads and does only what that account can. Fous is an independent product: it is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the operator of FinanzOnline (Bundesministerium für Finanzen). The name is used only to say which system this page is about. Something here wrong or out of date? Write to legal@fous.com.