History
The history of the CUCO Lohnsteuerhilfeverein e.V.
CUCO: Reinventing Income Tax Assistance
From an award-winning vision to digital reality
Some ideas take time to unfold their full impact. At CUCO, it took exactly ten years for the perfect brand to meet the perfect business model. The result is an income tax assistance association that not only preserves the tradition of personal consultation but radically simplifies it through high-tech.
Two experts – One vision
Behind CUCO stand two experts who combine the best of two worlds:
- The System Architect: Mathias Dehe (1st Chairman) has been working as an organizational expert for the German retail and franchise landscape for 25 years. He is the strategist who makes complex systems scalable without losing focus on the people.
- The Industry Insider: Adrian Weiß (Deputy Chairman) looks back on an eight-year tenure as a board member of the largest German income tax assistance association. Prior to that, he managed leadership processes at statutory health insurance funds. He saw up close where the industry is limited: in fragmented, regional organizations and inadequately implemented digitalization.
The name CUCO says it all: Customer Cooperation
As early as 2015, Mathias Dehe moderated a school project at a high school, which involved the blueprint for an individualized digital service. The project group received a national award for its concept. This is how the name originated, which forms our DNA today: CUCO – the acronym for CUstomer COoperation.
For ten years, this brand, which Mathias Dehe had taken over, waited for the perfect business model. In the summer of 2025, the time had come: The collaboration between Mathias Dehe and Adrian Weiß began. A promise for customer-oriented cooperation on an equal footing.
A Milestone in the TechQuartier Frankfurt
The vision became an association. We deliberately chose the Frankfurt TechQuartier for our foundation. It is the epicenter for digital innovation and underlines our ambition to rethink efficiency, digitalization, and income tax assistance.
A special highlight accompanied this launch: Right after the founding of the association, CUCO was awarded the Innovation Prize 2026 by Steffen Reiz Consulting GmbH (Strategy and Innovation Consulting). This honor confirms our path to transform income tax assistance through forward-looking concepts.
To achieve this goal, we have allied ourselves with first-class experts. Our partners include:
- A team of specialized web developers for a seamless user experience.
- A partner company for AI expertise to automate complex data streams.
- A leading software provider for highly precise tax calculation programs.
The future began on January 1, 2026
Business operations have been running since the beginning of 2026. While the recognition process at the OFD Frankfurt is progressing, our digital infrastructure is already in place: A cloud-based ERP system merges with AI-supported communication services and a scalable tax calculation program.
What does this mean for our members? Maximum freedom. In the future, you will have the choice between familiar on-site support and an innovative, completely digital consulting process. We use technology not as an end in itself, but to create time for what is essential: your success.
On May 5th, 2026, we received recognition from the OFD Frankfurt
On May 5th, 2026, the time had come: The board of the CUCO Lohnsteuerhilfeverein e.V. received the certificate of recognition from the Oberfinanzdirektion Frankfurt. We are now allowed to accept new members and contract advisory center managers. At the same time, the first advisory center in Darmstadt received its operating license. We can now prepare tax returns for our members and submit them to the tax office. This day marks the end of the implementation phase of the association. We are now entering the growth phase and are here for you.
We call that Customer Cooperation.
We call it CUCO.