Skip to content

German preliminary VAT return (Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung)

The Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung is the German preliminary VAT return: it reports the VAT of one filing period, which you calculate yourself. It must be transmitted electronically through ELSTER by the tenth day after the end of that period, and the payment falls due on that same day (§ 18(1) UStG). The default period is the calendar quarter.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 22, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 20 min

This content is part of the path: Filing and paying German VAT· Step 9 of 10· Next step: German annual VAT return (Umsatzsteuererklärung)

Deadlines

Tenth day after the end of the filing period
Transmission AND payment on the same day — § 18(1) sentences 1 and 4 UStG
One month later with a permanent filing extension
On request the tax office must extend the deadlines by one month (§ 46 UStDV); monthly filers declare a special advance payment in exchange
10 February if you opt into monthly filing
First return for the first calendar month; the choice binds you for the whole calendar year (§ 18(2a) UStG)
Application for the extension: by the due date of the first return it should cover
§ 48(1) sentence 1 UStDV — filed later, it only takes effect for the following period

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • The company's tax number (Steuernummer) at the competent tax office
  • Taxable bases of the period's supplies, separated by VAT rate
  • Total deductible input VAT for the period
  • Total advance payments of the previous year, if you apply for the permanent extension
See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

  • Any entrepreneur (Unternehmer) under the German VAT Act who is not covered by the small-business rule
  • Anyone whose tax for the preceding calendar year exceeded 9,000 euros: the filing period is then the calendar month (§ 18(2) UStG)
  • Anyone whose tax for the preceding calendar year was no more than 2,000 euros: the tax office may release them from filing and from the advance payment (§ 18(2) UStG)
  • Small businesses under § 19 UStG are excluded: the filing duties of § 18(1) to (4) UStG do not apply to them
  • Anyone who owes tax solely as the recipient of a supply under § 13b(5) UStG must also file (§ 18(4a) UStG)

Worked example

Lena Brandt, a graphic designer in Leipzig, moves to monthly filing

For 2025 her advance payments totalled 12,400 euros. That is more than the 9,000 euros above which § 18(2) UStG makes the calendar month the filing period, so in 2026 she files monthly. The return for January 2026 must therefore be transmitted and paid by 10 February 2026. If she applies for the permanent extension under § 46 UStDV, both dates move to 10 March 2026 — in exchange she must declare and pay a special advance payment of one eleventh of the previous year's advance payments (§ 47(1) UStDV), here 12,400 / 11 = 1,127.27 euros. That amount is not lost: it is credited against the advance payment for the last filing period of the year (§ 48(4) UStDV).

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Sign in to Mein ELSTER and select the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung under „Umsatzsteuer“, together with the calendar year.
  2. Choose the filing period inside the form — calendar month or calendar quarter; ELSTER states explicitly that this choice is made in the form, not before it.
  3. Enter the taxable bases of your supplies separately by VAT rate, that is the net amounts excluding VAT.
  4. Enter the deductible input VAT for the period.
  5. Calculate the advance payment yourself — § 18(1) sentence 1 UStG requires exactly that — and check the result before transmitting.
  6. Transmit the return with authentication and arrange payment by the tenth day after the end of the period.

Good to know

  • The permanent extension is not at the tax office's discretion: on request it „has“ to extend the deadlines by one month (§ 46 UStDV). It may only refuse or revoke where the tax claim appears to be at risk.
  • The special advance payment concerns monthly filers only. Quarterly filers obtain the extension without it — § 47(1) UStDV speaks expressly of the entrepreneur who has to transmit monthly.
  • If the preceding year produced a surplus in your favour of more than 9,000 euros, you may choose the calendar month instead of the quarter, which helps with lasting input-VAT surpluses. The choice binds you for the whole calendar year (§ 18(2a) UStG).
  • On request the tax office may waive electronic transmission to avoid undue hardship; the officially prescribed paper form then applies (§ 18(1) sentence 2 UStG).
  • Preliminary returns do not replace the annual VAT return: that one must be transmitted as well (§ 18(3) UStG), and the difference from the sum of the advance payments falls due one month after it is received (§ 18(4) UStG).

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a new business must always file monthly. For the assessment periods 2021 to 2026 a derogation applies: for anyone starting the activity during the current calendar year, „the expected tax of the current calendar year“ is decisive (§ 18(2) UStG). 2026 still falls inside that window.
  • Filing on time and paying late. Transmission and due date fall on the same day (§ 18(1) sentence 4 UStG) — the permanent extension moves both, and a return alone is never enough.
  • Applying for the permanent extension too late. It must be applied for by the time the first return it is meant to cover has to be transmitted (§ 48(1) sentence 1 UStDV).
  • Booking the special advance payment as a lost prepayment. It is credited against the advance payment for the last filing period of the year; any remaining refund claim is set off or refunded (§ 48(4) UStDV).
  • Mistaking the exemption threshold for an option. Where the previous year's tax was no more than 2,000 euros the tax office MAY release you (§ 18(2) UStG) — until it does, the duty stands.

Frequently asked questions

When is the preliminary VAT return due?

By the tenth day after the end of the filing period — both the transmission and the payment of the advance you calculated yourself (§ 18(1) sentences 1 and 4 UStG).

Monthly or quarterly — what decides?

The default period is the calendar quarter. Where the tax for the preceding calendar year exceeded 9,000 euros the calendar month is the period; where it was no more than 2,000 euros the tax office may release you from filing (§ 18(2) UStG).

Do small businesses have to file?

No. § 19(1) sentence 2 UStG excludes them from the filing duties of § 18(1) to (4) UStG. § 149(1) sentence 2 AO is unaffected: anyone the tax office asks to file must file.

How do I get one more month?

Through the Dauerfristverlängerung. On request the tax office must extend the deadlines by one month (§ 46 UStDV). Monthly filers declare and pay a special advance payment of one eleventh of the previous year's advance payments (§ 47(1), § 48(1) UStDV).

What happens if I do not file at all?

If the tax office assesses the tax itself because the return was not filed, the difference falls due one month after the assessment notice is served; the due date of outstanding advance payments is unaffected (§ 18(4) UStG).

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

This topic in other countries

Each country applies its own law: these pages are written in its language and read from its official sources.

Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.