Last Updated on 16. September 2026
The “Tax Return via App with One Click” scored a double win at the 2026 eGovernment Competition: 1st place in the public vote and 3rd place in the jury category “Customer-Centric Administrative Processes Reimagined from Start to Finish.”
The A12 Platform as the Technological Foundation
Since July 1, 2026, around 11.5 million single, childless employees and recipients of retirement income have been able to submit their tax returns fully automatically via MeinELSTER+. The app retrieves all data already on file with the tax authorities, such as wage tax statements, pension income, church tax, and health insurance contributions and uses it to generate a completed draft return. Adjustments can be made at any time, and in the end, a single click is all it takes to submit the return to the tax office. All data is processed exclusively on GDPR-compliant servers operated by the German tax administration.
MeinELSTER+ is built on mgm’s A12 AI Low Code Platform, which has served as the technological foundation of ELSTER for years and has also been available as open source since May 2026.
The eGovernment Competition
Since its founding in 2000, the eGovernment Competition by BearingPoint and Cisco has been one of the most influential platforms for digital innovation in the public sector. The 2026 award ceremony took place on September 2 and 3 as part of the Ministerial Congress in Berlin. The fact that the ELSTER project won over not only the jury but also the public makes this success especially meaningful.
“This double win at the eGovernment Competition makes us very proud as a long-standing partner of the ELSTER project – and it belongs to the entire ELSTER team, who worked with great dedication and technical excellence to turn a years-long vision into real value for millions of citizens,” says Sergio Lerena, a member of mgm’s executive management, who has supported the KONSENS procedure ELSTER, one of Germany’s largest eGovernment systems, for many years. “The fact that the ‘Tax Return with One Click’ solution was recognized shows that it’s not just good, it’s right.”
Ongoing Development of the App
The Tax Return with One Click is being continuously developed further. Support for joint filing is planned starting in 2027. The path toward a truly citizen-centered tax administration has been set—and the award in Berlin has shown that it’s the right one.
More information:
- Website: MeinELSTER+
- Website: A12 AI Low Code Platform
- Website: eGovernment Competition 2026
