German business gifts and entertainment as deductible expenses
The EUR 50 is a CLIFF per recipient and financial year: one cent above it and the whole gift stops being deductible — including earlier gifts to the same person that year. Reasonable, documented entertainment, by contrast, is 70 % deductible, with no threshold.
2026 rules — verified on September 22, 2026Free, no account
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Sources and assumptions
- gesetze-im-internet.de — EStG § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 1 Satz 2 — tax year 2026, verified on September 22, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Aufwendungen für Geschenke an Personen, die nicht Arbeitnehmer des Steuerpflichtigen sind. 2Satz 1 gilt nicht, wenn die Anschaffungs- oder Herstellungskosten der dem Empfänger im Wirtschaftsjahr zugewendeten Gegenstände insgesamt 50 Euro nicht übersteigen; »
- gesetze-im-internet.de — EStG § 4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 2 Satz 1 — tax year 2026, verified on September 22, 2026
Excerpt from the source : « Aufwendungen für die Bewirtung von Personen aus geschäftlichem Anlass, soweit sie 70 Prozent der Aufwendungen übersteigen, die nach der allgemeinen Verkehrsauffassung als angemessen anzusehen und deren Höhe und betriebliche Veranlassung nachgewiesen sind. »
Calculation assumptions
- For gifts, enter the TOTAL of everything given to the same recipient during the financial year, not the value of a single gift. That is exactly what the statute measures.
- Entertainment expenses are assumed to be reasonable. Anything unreasonable 'by general standards' is stripped out first and does not take part in the 70 %.
- VAT treatment — in particular input VAT on non-deductible gifts — is not modelled. Enter the net amount, excluding deductible input VAT (EStG s. 9b(1)); only a business without input VAT deduction enters the gross amount.
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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.