Guide: Kleinunternehmer
The Kleinunternehmer limit for creators, explained section by section.
New rules apply since 1 January 2025: two limits, what counts is what has been paid, and crossing €100,000 takes you out at once, not next year. Here is what the law and the Federal Ministry of Finance say, each with its reference.
As of 31 October 2026 · 20 sources
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The rules since 2025.
Four points to know before you write your next invoice without VAT.
Two limits: €25,000 and €100,000.
Your supplies are exempt if your total turnover did not exceed €25,000 in the previous year and does not exceed €100,000 in the current year.1
Cross €100,000 and you're out at once.
The very supply that crosses the limit is no longer exempt, in full. From then on the general obligations apply, including VAT returns.2
Over €25,000 last year? Then not from 1 January.
If your total turnover last year was above €25,000, you are not a Kleinunternehmer this year, even if you stay below €25,000 this year.3
In the founding year the limit is €25,000.
If you start during the year, only this year's turnover counts, and the limit is €25,000, not €100,000. This is not in the statute itself but the tax administration's view.4
What counts, what applies.
Total turnover is not the same as your bank balance. And as a Kleinunternehmer your obligations differ from those of a business charging VAT.
What counts is what has been paid
Total turnover is calculated on payments received: an invoice counts once the money is there. Down payments count when they come in.5
Counted without VAT
The consideration is what you receive for your supply, less the VAT legally owed on it. As a Kleinunternehmer you charge none, so the amount that arrives is what counts.6
Only supplies taxable in Germany
Total turnover includes taxable supplies in Germany. Services to a business are in principle supplied where the recipient runs its business. Selling fixed assets, such as your old camera, stays out.7
An invoice with a § 19 note
Your invoice needs a note that the small-business exemption applies. A sequential number is not required.8
No input tax
You don't get back the VAT on your purchases, such as gear or software: tax on supplies used for exempt supplies is excluded from input tax deduction.9
No VAT returns, with exceptions
Monthly or quarterly returns and the annual return are not required. Exceptions: the tax office requests a return, or you owe tax on services you buy from abroad.10
What creators often miss.
Software and ads from abroad: if you, as a business, buy a service from a business in another EU country, such as a software subscription, you owe the VAT on it yourself, even as a Kleinunternehmer (§ 13b Abs. 1 and Abs. 5 Satz 1 UStG; Abschnitt 13b.1 Abs. 1 Satz 3 UStAE: “Auch Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG) … schulden die Steuer.”). For the months in which this happens you file a VAT return (§ 18 Abs. 4a UStG).
Payouts from platforms based abroad: under § 3a Abs. 2 UStG, services to a business are in principle supplied where the recipient is established. If they are therefore not taxable in Germany, they don't belong to total turnover under § 19 Abs. 2 UStG. Whether that applies to your payouts depends on who your contracting party is and where it is based. This is a conclusion from the statute, not an explicit rule for creators: have your tax adviser check it.
EC Sales List: as a Kleinunternehmer you don't file one; § 18a Abs. 4 UStG expressly exempts you. If you cross the limit, the general filing obligations apply from that point (Abschnitt 19.1 Abs. 7 Satz 3 UStAE).
E-invoicing: as a Kleinunternehmer you may keep sending invoices on paper or as a PDF, a PDF with the recipient's consent (§ 34a Satz 4 UStDV; Abschnitt 14.7a Abs. 3 UStAE). You must be able to receive e-invoices though; an ordinary email inbox is enough (Abschnitt 14.1 Abs. 5 UStAE).
Opting out: you can waive the exemption and charge VAT, for instance to reclaim input tax. The waiver binds you for at least five calendar years (§ 19 Abs. 3 UStG).
Affliq counts your limit the way the tax office does: paid invoices and payouts with a domestic tax case, with a warning from 80 %. From the payment that crosses the limit, new invoices get 19 % VAT. Affliq only knows what you have recorded in it.
Affliq records and does the maths, it does not advise. How things are taxed is your tax adviser's call.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Kleinunternehmer limit in 2026?
Your total turnover must not have exceeded €25,000 in the previous year and must not exceed €100,000 in the current year. In the founding year, according to the tax administration, the limit is €25,000.1
What happens if I go over €100,000 during the year?
The very supply that crosses the limit is subject to VAT in full, and the general filing obligations apply from that point. The ministry gives the example: €80,000 so far, then a €40,000 order, and that order is already subject to regular taxation.11
Is the limit gross or net?
The law speaks of consideration received. Consideration is the payment less the VAT legally owed. Since you charge no VAT as a Kleinunternehmer, in practice the amount that reaches you counts.12
Do payouts from YouTube, TikTok or Meta count towards the limit?
Only supplies taxable in Germany count. Services to a business abroad are in principle taxable there under § 3a Abs. 2 UStG and then don't count. What matters is who your contracting party is and where it is based; check this with your tax adviser.13
Do I have to file an EC Sales List as a Kleinunternehmer?
No. The obligation does not apply to businesses using § 19 Abs. 1 UStG. The Federal Central Tax Office confirms this too.14
Do I have to issue e-invoices as a Kleinunternehmer?
No, you may always send another kind of invoice, such as a PDF with the recipient's consent. You must be able to receive e-invoices though.15
Can I opt out of the Kleinunternehmer rule?
Yes, by declaring it to the tax office by the end of February of the second following year. The waiver binds you for at least five calendar years.16
Sources
Statutes and administrative guidance, as of 31 October 2026. Tax law changes: the current statutory text always prevails, and what applies to you is for your tax adviser to say.
- § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 1 UStG§ 19 UStG – Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
- Abschnitt 19.1 Abs. 2 Satz 4 und Abs. 7 Satz 3 UStAEBMF-Schreiben of 18 March 2025 – Sonderregelung für Kleinunternehmer · III C 3 - S 7360/00027/044/105, BStBl I S. 742; new Abschnitte 19.1 to 19.7 UStAE
- Abschnitt 19.1 Abs. 2 Satz 2 UStAEBMF-Schreiben of 18 March 2025 – Sonderregelung für Kleinunternehmer · III C 3 - S 7360/00027/044/105, BStBl I S. 742; new Abschnitte 19.1 to 19.7 UStAE
- Abschnitt 19.1 Abs. 3 UStAEBMF-Schreiben of 18 March 2025 – Sonderregelung für Kleinunternehmer · III C 3 - S 7360/00027/044/105, BStBl I S. 742; new Abschnitte 19.1 to 19.7 UStAE
- § 19 Abs. 2 Satz 1 UStG, Abschnitt 19.2 Abs. 1 UStAE§ 19 UStG – Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
- § 10 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG§ 10 UStG – Bemessungsgrundlage
- § 19 Abs. 2 UStG, § 3a Abs. 2 UStG§ 3a UStG – Ort der sonstigen Leistung
- § 34a UStDV, Abschnitt 14.5 Abs. 14 UStAE§ 34a UStDV – Rechnungen von Kleinunternehmern
- § 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 Nr. 1 UStG§ 15 UStG – Vorsteuerabzug
- § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG, § 18 Abs. 4a UStG§ 18 UStG – Besteuerungsverfahren
- Abschnitt 19.1 Abs. 2 Satz 4 UStAEBMF-Schreiben of 18 March 2025 – Sonderregelung für Kleinunternehmer · III C 3 - S 7360/00027/044/105, BStBl I S. 742; new Abschnitte 19.1 to 19.7 UStAE
- § 19 Abs. 2 Satz 1 und § 10 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG§ 10 UStG – Bemessungsgrundlage
- § 19 Abs. 2 Satz 1 UStG§ 19 UStG – Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
- § 18a Abs. 4 UStG§ 18a UStG – Zusammenfassende Meldung
- § 34a Satz 4 UStDV§ 34a UStDV – Rechnungen von Kleinunternehmern
- § 19 Abs. 3 UStG§ 19 UStG – Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer · gesetze-im-internet.de, Federal Ministry of Justice
Further sources
- Umsatzsteuer-Anwendungserlass, as of 31 December 2025Federal Ministry of Finance; Abschnitte 13b.1, 14.1, 14.5, 14.7a, 18a.1
- BMF-Schreiben of 15 October 2025 – Einführung der obligatorischen E-RechnungIII C 2 - S 7287-a/00019/007/243, BStBl I S. 1806
- § 13b UStG – Leistungsempfänger als Steuerschuldner
- Bundeszentralamt für Steuern – Abgabepflicht der Zusammenfassenden Meldung
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