Skip to content

German annual VAT return (Umsatzsteuererklärung)

The Umsatzsteuererklärung settles the whole calendar year: in it you compute the tax payable or the surplus in your favour yourself, which is why it counts as a self-assessment return (§ 18(3) UStG). It does not replace the preliminary returns, it closes them out — and any difference in favour of the tax office falls due one month after the return is received (§ 18(4) UStG).

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 22, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 45 min

This content is part of the path: Filing and paying German VAT· Step 10 of 10· Last step of the path

Deadlines

Seven months after the end of the calendar year
General deadline for tax returns relating to a calendar year (§ 149(2) sentence 1 AO)
Last day of February of the second following year where a tax adviser is instructed
§ 149(3) AO — the tax office may request the return in advance in individual cases (§ 149(4) AO)
One month after the end of a SHORTER assessment period
In the cases of § 16(3) and (4) UStG, that is where the activity starts or ends during the year (§ 18(3) sentence 2 UStG)
One month after the return is received: the balancing payment falls due
Only for the difference in favour of the tax office (§ 18(4) sentence 1 UStG)

Documents to prepare

  • ELSTER access with a certificate or an ELSTER business account
  • The company's tax number at the competent tax office
  • Taxable bases of the year's supplies, separated by VAT rate
  • Total deductible input VAT for the year
  • Total advance payments made during the year
  • List of supplies on which you owe the tax as the recipient
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

  • Every entrepreneur under the German VAT Act, even one who had no preliminary return to file during the year
  • Anyone with only a shorter assessment period, for instance because the activity began or ended during the year (§ 16(3) and (4) UStG)
  • Anyone who owes tax solely as the recipient of a supply under § 13b(5) or § 25b(2) UStG (§ 18(4a) UStG)
  • Small businesses under § 19 UStG are excluded: the filing duties of § 18(1) to (4) UStG do not apply to them — unless the tax office asks them to file

Worked example

Jonas Weidner, a bicycle workshop in Bremen, closes out his 2025 year

Across the year his preliminary returns paid 9,600 euros in advance. The annual return produces a tax of 10,450 euros, because he had mistakenly left a payment on account received in December out of his December preliminary return and now catches it up — it belonged in December already (§ 13(1) no. 1(a) sentence 4 UStG). The difference in favour of the tax office is 10,450 − 9,600 = 850 euros. It does not fall due on filing but one month after the return reaches the tax office (§ 18(4) sentence 1 UStG) — if Jonas files on 12 May 2026, the date is 12 June 2026. Had the return produced a surplus in his favour, that deadline would not apply: it expressly covers only the amount in favour of the tax office.

How to fill it in, step by step

  1. Establish which assessment period applies: the calendar year, or a shorter period where the activity began or ended during the year (§ 16(3) and (4) UStG).
  2. Sign in to Mein ELSTER and select „Umsatzsteuererklärung“ and the calendar year.
  3. Enter the taxable bases of the whole year's supplies, separated by VAT rate.
  4. Record the year's deductible input VAT and the supplies on which you owe tax as the recipient.
  5. Compute the tax payable or the surplus yourself — that is the substance of the self-assessment under § 18(3) sentence 1 UStG.
  6. Set the total of your advance payments against it and check the difference before transmitting.
  7. Transmit the return with authentication and note the date of receipt: the due date of the balancing payment hangs on it.

Good to know

  • The annual return is a SELF-ASSESSMENT, not a mere report: you compute the tax yourself, and it has the effect of an assessment for as long as the tax office does not assess differently.
  • Where the tax office departs from your return, or assesses because no return was filed, the difference falls due one month after the assessment notice is served (§ 18(4) sentence 2 UStG).
  • Outstanding advance payments remain due regardless: § 18(4) sentence 3 UStG says so expressly. The annual return does not cure a missed preliminary deadline.
  • On request the tax office may waive electronic transmission to avoid undue hardship; the return is then filed on the officially prescribed form and must be signed BY HAND (§ 18(3) sentence 3 UStG) — unlike the preliminary return, for which the statute requires no handwritten signature.
  • ELSTER also offers the form for the current year. That is not an oversight: a shorter assessment period under § 16(3) UStG is declared within one month of its end, that is in mid-year.

Common mistakes

  • Paying the balance when filing and treating it as settled without noting the date of receipt. The period runs from RECEIPT by the tax office, not from the date on the return (§ 18(4) sentence 1 UStG).
  • Assuming that being released from preliminary returns during the year also releases you from the annual return. The release under § 18(2) UStG concerns the preliminary returns and the advance payments, not the return under subsection (3).
  • Waiting for the year end when the business closes. Where the activity ends during the year, the return must be transmitted within ONE MONTH of the end of the shorter assessment period (§ 18(3) sentence 2 UStG).
  • Filing the paper version without a handwritten signature. In hardship cases § 18(3) sentence 3 UStG requires one expressly.
  • Believing that a refund claim also falls due one month after receipt. By its wording the one-month rule of § 18(4) sentence 1 UStG covers only the difference IN FAVOUR OF THE TAX OFFICE.

Frequently asked questions

Does the annual return replace the preliminary returns?

No. § 18(3) UStG places the return for the calendar year ALONGSIDE the preliminary returns of subsections (1) and (2); it settles them. Outstanding advance payments remain due in their own right (§ 18(4) sentence 3 UStG).

When must I make the balancing payment?

One month after the self-assessment is received by the tax office, where the annual computation differs from the total of the advance payments to your detriment (§ 18(4) sentence 1 UStG). If the tax office assesses differently, the month runs from service of the notice (sentence 2).

By when must the return be filed?

At the latest seven months after the end of the calendar year (§ 149(2) sentence 1 AO); where a tax adviser is instructed, by the last day of February of the second calendar year following the assessment period (§ 149(3) AO).

Must I file if I am a small business?

The filing duties of § 18(1) to (4) UStG do not apply to small businesses (§ 19(1) sentence 2 UStG). § 149(1) sentence 2 AO is unaffected: anyone the tax office asks to file must file.

I closed the business in June — which year do I select?

The current one. In the cases of § 16(3) and (4) UStG the self-assessment must be transmitted within one month of the end of the shorter assessment period (§ 18(3) sentence 2 UStG), and ELSTER offers the current calendar year for exactly that.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

Read in German

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.