The German small-business VAT rule as a creator: yes or no?

The question turns up when you fill in the tax registration questionnaire, usually without warning, and the decision sticks for a while. So here is what sits behind it.

Clearly upfront: this is orientation, not tax advice. The rule itself is simple; applying it to payouts from abroad is not.

What the rule does

As a small business you do not charge VAT, do not pay it over and file no advance returns. In exchange you cannot reclaim input VAT: the VAT on your purchases is not refunded.

This concerns VAT only. You pay income tax either way, and you need a business registration regardless.

The thresholds

What counts is turnover, not profit. As of 2026 the threshold is 25,000 euros of turnover in the previous year; if a second, much higher threshold is exceeded during the current year, the rule ends immediately. These amounts were changed recently and can change again — check them in the year you decide.

If you start mid-year, turnover is extrapolated to twelve months. Starting in October does not mean counting three months.

When it pays off

If you start alongside a job, invest little and stay below the threshold. Then you save yourself monthly filings and part of the bookkeeping without losing anything.

When it hurts

If you buy a lot at the start — camera, lighting, equipment, furnishings. Without input VAT deduction you carry that VAT yourself for good. On larger purchases that can outweigh the saved effort.

And if it is foreseeable that you will pass the threshold. Then you switch mid-year, and switching is where mistakes happen.

The part that is special in our field

Your turnover comes from a platform abroad. Whether and where VAT arises does not follow what appears on your statement but the rules for services to businesses abroad. That is where general guides stop and a tax adviser starts — including when you use the small-business rule.

Ask about it explicitly in a first meeting. Anyone dodging that question does not look after creators.

How to decide

Three questions. How much turnover do you realistically expect over the next twelve months? How much will you buy in that time? And would you be willing to file monthly if it got you the input VAT back?

The answers usually settle it. What remains you clarify with a tax adviser before submitting the form — changing the choice later is possible but inconvenient.

How we help

We are not tax advisers and we do not give tax advice. What we do: we tell you which questions to ask, and we make sure your numbers are clean enough that an adviser needs little time on them. Everything else on the topic is in Tax on OnlyFans income in Germany.