How to pay VAT as a freelancer in Germany

Self-employed people have to think about a lot when it comes to the regular VAT return. Not only the preparation and the submission to the Finanzamt (tax office) are important, of course the payment must not be forgotten, too. Here we explain how to pay the VAT due correctly.

How much VAT do I have to pay?

It’s actually quite simple: The amount is calculated from the VAT that you charge your clients. From this, you subtract the VAT that you yourself have paid for your business expenses.

Self-employed persons must regularly pay VAT to the Finanzamt (unless they are exempt from this obligation under the Kleinunternehmerregelung, small business rule). This means that as a self-employed person you have to include the VAT on your invoices to your customers. You must then transfer these amounts to the Finanzamt. At the same time, you can claim the VAT that you have paid for professional expenses from the Finanzamt. You then submit expenses and income together in the Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (VAT return). You must submit this digitally on a monthly or quarterly basis, depending on your profit.

💡In order to submit your VAT return, you can simply use a tax solution like Accountable.

How to pay VAT to the Finanzamt?

The calculated amount, which you finally have to pay, you then transfer directly to the account of your responsible Finanzamt, stating your tax number.

Tipp from Accountable 💡: Accountable automatically produces the VAT return for you. You also see how much you have to pay and the correct bank details of your Finanzamt.

What is the deadline for the VAT payment?

Depending on what your Finanzamt tells you, you must submit and pay the VAT return monthly or quarterly. The deadline is always the 10th day of the following month. This deadline refers to both the submission and the payment of the sales tax. If the 10th falls on a weekend or holiday, the last day of the deadline is the next working day.

If you submit the VAT return monthly, you must also have paid it by the 10th day of the following month. If you have to submit it quarterly, the deadline is, for example, April 10 for the first quarter.

When do I get VAT back?

Of course, it is also possible that you have no income from self-employment in a certain period of time, or you have more expenses than income. Especially if you are still at the beginning of your self-employment, you probably have little income but already some professional expenses. Also, if you have many customers abroad, you also do not charge VAT, but you can still claim VAT for your own expenses in Germany.

In this case, you still have to submit your VAT return. However, you will then get money back from the Finanzamt. As a rule, the Finanzamt transfers the amount to be refunded quite quickly, in one to three weeks.