Booking inventory in the EÜR: how online sellers get it right

In the EÜR (income surplus statement), buying goods is a business expense in the year you pay for them (section 11(2) EStG), not only when you sell them. Goods still in stock at year end, including in an Amazon warehouse, have therefore already reduced your profit. That applies to trading goods; the law names an exception only for certain assets such as securities, shares, land and buildings (section 4(3) sentence 4 EStG).

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

Timing: Purchases of goods count as a business expense in the year of payment (section 11(2) sentence 1 EStG), not in the year of sale.
Anlage EÜR: goods, raw materials and supplies including incidental costs on line 27 (2025 form).
Input VAT: The input VAT contained in the invoice and deductible under section 15 UStG counts as a business expense at the time of payment (line 57).
Stock at year end: In the EÜR there is no stocktake for the profit; the goods are already recorded as an expense.
Sale: The proceeds are income only in the year they flow to you.

How do you book a purchase of goods?

You pay your supplier's invoice. In that year you enter the net amount as a business expense, or the gross amount as a small business (Kleinunternehmer); the 2025 Anlage EÜR lists goods, raw materials and supplies including incidental costs on line 27. Incidental costs are costs connected with the purchase, such as freight (the line numbers apply to the 2025 form; check them on the form for the year you file). You enter the input VAT from the invoice, if you may deduct it, on line 57. More in EÜR: booking VAT and input VAT and EÜR business expenses: the list.

If you pay an invoice only in the following year, the purchase is an expense only then. With payment in advance, the day the money leaves your account counts.

What about goods in stock at year end?

This is the question online sellers ask most. In the EÜR there is no valuation of stock for the profit: what you have paid is an expense, whether or not the goods are sold. That also applies if the goods are in an Amazon warehouse on 31 December. The law knows an exception only for certain current assets, namely shares in corporations, securities, land and buildings: their costs are business expenses only when sold or withdrawn (section 4(3) sentence 4 EStG). Trading goods are not among them. ELSTER's guidance on line 27 reminds you of this exception.

The consequence: a large purchase shortly before year end lowers the profit of the old year, and the sale in the new year raises that of the new year. Over the years this evens out; in a single year it can shift your tax. If your total turnover is more than 800,000 euros or your profit more than 80,000 euros, a bookkeeping obligation can arise; more in EÜR or balance sheet for online sellers.

Moving your goods to an Amazon warehouse in another EU country is a separate event for VAT: moving an item of the business to the rest of the EU counts as a supply for consideration (section 3(1a) UStG). More in Amazon Pan-EU: warehouses abroad.

Returns, shrinkage and write-offs

Customer return: The refund to the customer reduces your income. You have already recorded the purchase of the goods as an expense; if you take them back and sell them again, the new proceeds are income again.
Damaged or disposed goods: There is no second business expense for them, because the purchase has already been deducted. Disposal costs are business expenses of their own.
Goods taken for private use: If you use goods yourself, that is a withdrawal (section 4(1) sentence 2 EStG), which you must record as income. More in Withdrawals and contributions in the EÜR.

A small example

The numbers are invented. In December 2026 you pay for a delivery of 500 pieces at 5,000.00 euros net plus 950.00 euros VAT. By New Year's Eve you sell 200 pieces for 4,000.00 euros net. In 2027 you sell the remaining 300 pieces for 6,000.00 euros net.

Year	Income net	Goods purchased (line 27)	Effect before other costs
2026	4,000.00	5,000.00	minus 1,000.00
2027	6,000.00	0.00	plus 6,000.00

Over both years that is 5,000.00 euros profit before other costs. The 950.00 euros input VAT counts as a business expense in the year of payment (line 57), provided you may deduct it.

Common mistakes

Booking the purchase only at the sale. In the EÜR the payment counts.
Valuing stock at year end. That belongs to the balance sheet, not the EÜR.
Forgetting input VAT or counting it twice. It has its own lines and does not belong in the net amount.
Booking an invoice as paid before the year end. What counts is when the money left your account.
Overlooking the limits. From 800,000 euros turnover or 80,000 euros profit a bookkeeping obligation can arise.

How VAT GPT helps

Upload your supplier invoices: the AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates, and you check and confirm. VAT GPT books the Amazon fee rows (AMAZON_FEE) as expenses, which you see on the Expenses page. The expenses captured this way flow into your EÜR; with VAT GPT Pro you send it through ELSTER. There is Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (€49 per month or €444 per year, including VAT). Try for free now

Frequently asked questions

When is a purchase of goods a business expense in the EÜR? In the year of payment (section 11(2) sentence 1 EStG).

Do I have to value my stock at year end? Not for the EÜR. Trading goods are already an expense once paid.

Does that apply to goods in an Amazon warehouse as well? Yes. Whether the goods are with you or in a fulfilment warehouse does not change the business expense.

Where does the purchase of goods go on the Anlage EÜR? On line 27, goods, raw materials and supplies including incidental costs (2025 form).

Where is the input VAT entered? On line 57, at the time of payment.

What about goods I use privately? That is a withdrawal (section 4(1) sentence 2 EStG).