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German acquisition threshold — is your EU purchase taxable in Germany?

The acquisition threshold only protects certain buyers: businesses making exclusively exempt supplies with no input VAT recovery, farmers and foresters on the flat-rate scheme, and legal persons that are not in business. For them there is no intra-Community acquisition as long as their EU purchases neither exceeded EUR 12,500 last year nor are expected to exceed it this year. The threshold falls away if the buyer opts out (including by using its VAT ID) and never applies to new vehicles or excise goods.

2026 rules — verified on September 23, 2026Free, no account

This content is part of the path: Handling VAT on business within the EU· Step 3 of 9· Next step: EU distance sales from Germany — does the EUR 10,000 threshold apply?

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Sources and assumptions

  • gesetze-im-internet.de — UStG § 1a Abs. 3 Nr. 2 — tax year 2026, verified on September 23, 2026
    Excerpt from the source : « der Gesamtbetrag der Entgelte für Erwerbe im Sinne des Absatzes 1 Nr. 1 und des Absatzes 2 hat den Betrag von 12 500 Euro im vorangegangenen Kalenderjahr nicht überstiegen und wird diesen Betrag im laufenden Kalenderjahr voraussichtlich nicht übersteigen (Erwerbsschwelle). »
  • gesetze-im-internet.de — UStG § 1a Abs. 4 Satz 3 — tax year 2026, verified on September 23, 2026
    Excerpt from the source : « Der Verzicht bindet den Erwerber mindestens für zwei Kalenderjahre. »

Calculation assumptions

  • The other conditions of UStG s. 1a(1) are taken as met: the goods move from another member state into Germany, and the supplier is not a small business exempt in its own country. Only the threshold is checked.
  • Small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) are placed under letter a: s. 1a(3) no. 1 letter b has been repealed, s. 19(1) UStG makes their supplies exempt and s. 15(2) no. 1 UStG denies input VAT recovery on exempt supplies. This placement reads the three provisions together; the statute does not say it in so many words.
  • Amounts are the total net consideration for all intra-Community acquisitions, including the purchase being checked — not just purchases from one supplier.

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This result is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute personalised tax advice. Check your situation with the tax authorities or a professional.