Submit your VAT return

If you have achieved taxable sales within Germany as a business person, you must always submit a VAT return.

As an entrepreneur, you must always pay tax on each of your sales. You first invoice your customers for the VAT and then pay this to the tax office, minus the input tax.

As an entrepreneur, you make advance payments on your annual sales tax through advance sales tax returns. In addition to the advance sales tax returns, you must also submit an annual sales tax return. The turnover for the entire calendar year is taken into account here. The amounts resulting from your advance returns are offset against your annual tax liability. As part of your VAT return, you calculate the tax to be paid to the tax office yourself or determine the surplus that results in your favor. After filing your VAT return, you will either receive a refund from the tax office or have to pay the missing amount.

Exceptions for entrepreneurs who apply the small business rule

Entrepreneurs who apply the small business regulation (Section 19 UStG) are generally exempt from submitting VAT returns from the 2024 tax period.

Since January 1, 2025, an entrepreneurial person who may apply the small business regulation is anyone who

• has a total turnover of no more than EUR 25,000 in the previous calendar year and
• does not exceed EUR 100,000 in the current calendar year.

Submission of the VAT return

Companies and certain other groups of persons are generally obliged to submit their annual tax returns to the tax office electronically.

Responsibility

You must contact the tax office in whose district you operate your business entirely or at least predominantly, i.e. the place where your practice, production facility or office is located, for example, and where you

• offer or carry out your commercial or professional activity,
• receive orders and prepare their execution and
• receive payments.

• Your company is based in Germany and you generate taxable sales.
• Since the 2024 tax period, the following also applies: You are generally exempt from submitting a VAT return as long as you apply the small business rule. The small business regulation may no longer be applied if you:
  • exceeded the total turnover of EUR 25,000 in the previous calendar year or
  • exceed the turnover of EUR 100,000 in the current calendar year.
• You must always submit your VAT return electronically, for example via the ELSTER portal.
• You have regularly submitted advance VAT returns, the frequency depends on the amount of the payment burden (monthly or quarterly).
• Your incoming and outgoing invoices contain the mandatory information required by law in order to be able to claim input tax deduction. If you claim tax deductions for cross-border deliveries and services within the European Union, you can submit the relevant evidence.

• Objection: This must be submitted to the tax office on time and in writing or for recording.
• Application for suspension of enforcement: Can be submitted at the same time as the objection in order to suspend the payment obligation until the decision on the objection has been made.
• Action before the tax court: If the objection is rejected, you can file an action with the tax court within one month of receiving the objection decision.
• Application for amendment or correction: If there are obvious errors in the tax assessment notice, you can submit an application for correction due to obvious inaccuracy

You submit your VAT return to your local tax office. You can use tax software with an ELSTER link or the ELSTER portal directly:

• You open "ELSTER - your online tax office".
• Log in with your access data and your personal security procedure.
• Under "Forms & services", click on "All forms" and then on "VAT".
• Click on "VAT return" and select the year for which you wish to submit the VAT return.
• Complete the main application and all relevant attachments online, upload the required evidence and submit everything digitally to the tax office.

The tax office may waive electronic submission in special exceptional cases. In this case, you must submit a tax return using the officially prescribed form and sign it in person.

There are no costs.

• Required Documents

  The VAT return includes:

  • Main form (USt 2 A)
  • Annex UR: Information on intra-Community acquisitions and sales.
  • Annex UN: only required for business persons based abroad. Instructions for completing the UN annex can be found in form USt 6 E
  • Annex FV: for fiscal representatives within the meaning of the VAT Act
  • All advance VAT returns submitted during the year
  • Receipts and invoices: all outgoing and incoming invoices relating to VAT.
  • Proof of payment: Evidence of payments made and received
  • Bank statements showing the relevant transactions
  • recapitulative statements: if cross-border deliveries or services were provided within the European Union (so-called intra-Community deliveries and services)
  • Special forms if necessary (depending on specific business transactions or sectors)

  In special cases, further attachments may be required, which are referred to in the forms