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Guide: YouTube

YouTube income and tax: AdSense, VAT and the Zusammenfassende Meldung.

Google pays by Gutschrift, without VAT and from another EU country. For income tax the ad revenue is business income all the same, and for VAT the payer's seat brings a reporting duty many YouTubers don't know about. Here is what applies, each with its reference.

As of 6 November 2026 · 22 sources

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The basic rules.

Four points to know before the next AdSense payment lands.

YouTube income is taxable: ad revenue is business income.

The Hessian Ministry of Finance expressly lists platform income from creator funds, subscriptions and ad placements as business income. Whoever publishes videos regularly and wants to earn money with them has, in the tax administration's view, income from a trade (Gewerbebetrieb).1

From when? From the first euro, but you pay tax only above the basic allowance.

There is no exemption threshold for YouTubers. Income tax is due once your taxable income from all sources together exceeds the basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag), €12,348 in 2026. If you earn something with videos only occasionally, that is other income, taxable from €256 a year.2

Google writes the Gutschrift, you don't write an invoice.

When the recipient of your service draws up the settlement, that is a Gutschrift (self-billing). It must be agreed beforehand, which is usually part of the AdSense terms, and the document must be labelled „Gutschrift“. The turnover still belongs in your records and, if you charge VAT, in your VAT return.3

If a business in another EU country pays, it owes the VAT in its own country.

A service to a business is deemed supplied where the recipient runs its business. Who pays you is on your AdSense statement; as far as we know, that is Google Ireland Limited in Ireland. The supply is then not taxable in Germany, and the recipient owes the tax there. This is a conclusion from the statute, not an explicit rule for YouTubers.4

Depending on your case.

Whether you are a Kleinunternehmer or charge VAT decides what follows from the AdSense Gutschrift.

Charging VAT: EC Sales List

Services to a business in another EU country for which the recipient owes the tax there are reported electronically to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) by the 25th day after the end of the quarter: its USt-IdNr. and the total. You need your own USt-IdNr. for this.5

Charging VAT: line 35 of the return

You declare the same supplies separately in the VAT return, in line 35 as non-taxable services under § 18b Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG, code 21. The relevant period is the one in which you performed the service.6

As a Kleinunternehmer: no report

The duty to file an EC Sales List does not apply to businesses using § 19 Abs. 1 UStG; the Federal Central Tax Office confirms this. As a Kleinunternehmer you file no VAT returns either.7

The USt-IdNr. AdSense asks for

The Federal Central Tax Office issues it on application; you tick the box in the questionnaire for tax registration or apply later online with the BZSt. You need it for the EC Sales List. Whether to apply as a Kleinunternehmer, for instance because the platform asks for it, is a question for your tax adviser.8

Input tax: yes, if you charge VAT

You deduct the VAT on camera, editing machine and software as input tax if you charge VAT. That your supplies take place abroad does no harm: the deduction is excluded only for foreign supplies that would be exempt in Germany, and advertising services would not be. As a Kleinunternehmer there is no input tax.9

Keep statements for eight years

Your AdSense statements are your accounting records. You keep them for eight years, in order, digitally as well if they stay readable. Download them while you still have access to the account.10

Why the EC Sales List concerns YouTubers.

The chain is short: you provide Google with content and ad placements, Google pays you a share of the ad revenue. That is a service to a business, and it is deemed supplied where the recipient runs its business (§ 3a Abs. 2 UStG). If the payer is based in another EU country, the supply is not taxable in Germany; the recipient owes the tax in its country. This is exactly the case the statute means by „im übrigen Gemeinschaftsgebiet steuerpflichtige sonstige Leistungen, für die der Leistungsempfänger die Steuer dort schuldet“ (§ 18a Abs. 2 UStG). Applying this to AdSense is our conclusion; it assumes that an EU company is your contracting party. Have your tax adviser confirm it.

If you charge VAT, two reports follow. The EC Sales List goes electronically to the Federal Central Tax Office by the 25th day after the end of the quarter, through ELSTER or the BZSt online portal, with the recipient's USt-IdNr. and the total (§ 18a Abs. 2 und Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 UStG); the relevant quarter is the one in which you performed the service (§ 18a Abs. 8 Satz 2 UStG). You declare the same amounts separately in the VAT return, line 35 (§ 18b Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG). For both you need your own USt-IdNr., which the Federal Central Tax Office issues on application (§ 27a Abs. 1 UStG).

As a Kleinunternehmer both fall away: no EC Sales List (§ 18a Abs. 4 UStG), no VAT return (§ 19 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG). Non-taxable supplies also do not belong to total turnover under § 19 Abs. 2 UStG; whether that applies to your AdSense payments 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. If a Gutschrift shows VAT you do not owe as a Kleinunternehmer, object to it: it then loses its effect as an invoice (§ 14 Abs. 2 Satz 6 UStG).

Income tax does not ask where the payer is based. Whoever monetises videos self-employed, sustainedly and with the intention to make a profit runs a trade (§ 15 Abs. 2 EStG) and registers it within one month with the municipality and, through the questionnaire for tax registration, with the tax office (§ 138 Abs. 1, 1b und 4 AO; § 14 Abs. 1 GewO; Hessen, Leitfaden S. 4). Profit is business income less business expenses (§ 4 Abs. 3 EStG). Employees must file a return once side income exceeds €410 a year (§ 46 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 EStG); trade tax arises only above trade income of €24,500 (§ 11 Abs. 1 Satz 3 Nr. 1 GewStG).

Affliq imports your AdSense statement and turns each line into a payout with its tax case. The platform master data say who pays and from where; it follows: other EU country, not taxable, EC Sales List if you charge VAT. Affliq compiles the report per quarter, provides the codes for the VAT return, counts the Kleinunternehmer limit only with what is taxable in Germany, and at year end puts everything in the tax package for your adviser. 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

Do I have to pay tax on YouTube income?

Yes. Ad revenue from the Partner Programme, channel memberships and Super Chats are business income in the tax administration's view if you publish videos regularly. Whether tax is due in the end depends on your total income; you must declare the income in any case.1

From when do I have to pay tax on YouTube income?

You pay income tax once your taxable income exceeds the basic allowance, €12,348 in 2026. If you are employed, you must file a tax return once your side income exceeds €410 a year. Whoever earns something only occasionally has other income from €256.11

Do YouTubers have to pay VAT?

On the AdSense payout in principle not: the service is deemed supplied at the payer's seat, and if it is based in another EU country, it owes the tax there. You report the supply but pay no German VAT on it. That does not apply to sponsors in Germany; you invoice them with VAT unless you are a Kleinunternehmer.4

Do I have to file an EC Sales List as a YouTuber?

Not as a Kleinunternehmer: § 18a Abs. 4 UStG expressly exempts you. If you charge VAT and your payout comes from a business in another EU country, you report it as a rule per quarter in the EC Sales List to the Federal Central Tax Office.12

Why does AdSense want my VAT identification number?

Because the payer can treat the tax in its country as a business-to-business transaction only if it knows you as a business. The USt-IdNr. is issued by the Federal Central Tax Office on application, through the questionnaire for tax registration or online. As a Kleinunternehmer you are not required to have one; whether to apply anyway is a question for your tax adviser.13

What do I enter for YouTube in the VAT return?

If you charge VAT, you declare supplies to businesses in other EU countries for which the recipient owes the tax separately: line 35 of the form, code 21, as non-taxable services under § 18b Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG. No VAT arises on them.14

Can I deduct input tax as a YouTuber?

If you charge VAT, yes: you deduct the VAT on supplies for your business, even though your own supplies are not taxable abroad, because advertising services would not be exempt in Germany. As a Kleinunternehmer the deduction is excluded.9

Does YouTube income count towards the Kleinunternehmer limit?

Only supplies taxable in Germany count. If your AdSense payment is not taxable in Germany because of where the payer is based, on this reading it does not count. Sponsors and affiliate programmes in Germany do. What matters is who your contracting party is; check it with your tax adviser.15

Sources

Statutes and administrative guidance, as of 6 November 2026. Tax law changes: the current statutory text always prevails, and what applies to you is for your tax adviser to say.

  1. Hessisches Ministerium der Finanzen, Leitfaden Influencer, S. 2Leitfaden zur Besteuerung von Influencerinnen und Influencern · Hessian Ministry of Finance, as of June 2026; p. 2 platform income, p. 4 tax number, p. 5 Gutschrift
  2. § 32a Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 EStG; § 22 Nr. 3 Satz 2 EStG§ 32a EStG – Einkommensteuertarif
  3. § 14 Abs. 2 Satz 5 und Abs. 4 Satz 1 Nr. 10 UStG§ 14 UStG – Ausstellung von Rechnungen
  4. § 3a Abs. 2 UStG§ 3a UStG – Ort der sonstigen Leistung
  5. § 18a Abs. 2 und Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 UStG§ 18a UStG – Zusammenfassende Meldung
  6. § 18b Satz 1 Nr. 2 UStG; Vordruckmuster USt 1 A 2026, Zeile 35§ 18b UStG – Gesonderte Erklärung innergemeinschaftlicher Lieferungen und bestimmter sonstiger Leistungen im Besteuerungsverfahren
  7. § 18a Abs. 4 UStG; § 19 Abs. 1 Satz 2 UStG§ 18a UStG – Zusammenfassende Meldung
  8. § 27a Abs. 1 UStG; BZSt, Vergabe der USt-IdNr.Bundeszentralamt für Steuern – Vergabe der USt-IdNr.
  9. § 15 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 und Abs. 2 Satz 1 UStG§ 15 UStG – Vorsteuerabzug
  10. § 147 Abs. 1 Nr. 4 und Abs. 3 AO§ 147 AO – Ordnungsvorschriften für die Aufbewahrung von Unterlagen
  11. § 32a Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 EStG; § 46 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 EStG§ 46 EStG – Veranlagung bei Bezug von Einkünften aus nichtselbständiger Arbeit
  12. § 18a Abs. 4 UStG§ 18a UStG – Zusammenfassende Meldung
  13. § 27a Abs. 1 UStG§ 27a UStG – Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer
  14. Vordruckmuster USt 1 A 2026, Zeile 35Muster der Vordrucke im Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldungs- und -Vorauszahlungsverfahren für das Kalenderjahr 2026 · BMF letter of 29 December 2025; form USt 1 A, line 35, with instructions
  15. § 19 Abs. 2 Satz 1 UStG§ 19 UStG – Steuerbefreiung für Kleinunternehmer

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