EÜR for Freelancers in Germany: What Counts, How to File, By When?

As a freelancer you usually calculate your profit with the income surplus statement (EÜR): business income minus business expenses (§ 4 Abs. 3 EStG). You send it electronically to the tax office (§ 60 Abs. 4 EStDV), together with your income tax return for 2026 by Monday, 2 August 2027.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short

Allowed: If you are not required to keep books and do not keep them, you may use the surplus of business income over business expenses as profit.
What counts: Income in the year it reaches you; expenses in the year you pay them.
Deadline: Without a tax adviser, seven months after year end; for 2026 Monday, 2 August 2027.

May I use an EÜR as a freelancer?

Usually yes. Your income from freelance work is income from self-employment (§ 18 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 EStG). Anyone who is not required by law to keep books and close accounts regularly, and does not do so, may use the surplus of business income over business expenses as profit (§ 4 Abs. 3 Satz 1 EStG). The bookkeeping thresholds in the Fiscal Code name commercial businesses and farmers and foresters (§ 141 Abs. 1 AO); freelancers are not named there.

What this means for you: For your freelance work the EÜR is usually enough; whether another rule requires bookkeeping you check for your own case.

Which income and expenses count?

Income: It belongs to the calendar year in which it reached you (§ 11 Abs. 1 Satz 1 EStG). An invoice from December that your client pays in January counts in January.
Expenses: Business expenses are costs caused by the business (§ 4 Abs. 4 EStG); you deduct them in the year you pay them (§ 11 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG).
Pass-through items: Amounts you receive and pay out in the name and for the account of someone else drop out (§ 4 Abs. 3 Satz 2 EStG).
Purchases: Depreciable movable assets up to 800 euros (less any input VAT included) can be deducted in full in the year of purchase (§ 6 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG); more expensive ones you depreciate under the depreciation rules (§ 4 Abs. 3 Satz 3 EStG).

What this means for you: Paid is paid: what matters is the date the money reaches your account or leaves it.

How do I deduct travel and other costs?

All costs caused by your profession are business expenses (§ 4 Abs. 4 EStG), including trips to clients. Which trips, which rate and how a company car counts is explained in Deducting travel costs in your EÜR.

What this means for you: Collect receipts and trip records during the year, not when you file.

How do I send the EÜR, and by when?

The EÜR goes to the tax office in the officially prescribed data set by remote data transmission; on application the tax authority may waive this to avoid undue hardship (§ 60 Abs. 4 EStDV). Your income tax return also goes this way if you have income from self-employment (§ 25 Abs. 4 EStG). The deadline is generally seven months after the end of the calendar year (§ 149 Abs. 2 AO):

Year	Deadline without a tax adviser	Reason
2026	Monday, 2 August 2027	31 July 2027 is a Saturday (§ 108 Abs. 3 AO)

How the ELSTER transmission works: Create and send your EÜR in ELSTER.

What this means for you: Plan the 2026 EÜR for the end of July 2027; the profit figure flows into your income tax return.

Which taxes come on top of the EÜR?

The profit from the EÜR is your income from self-employment and is subject to income tax (§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 3 EStG). Trade tax hits commercial businesses (§ 2 Abs. 1 GewStG); the income type commercial business stands in § 2 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 EStG next to self-employment. VAT depends on your turnover: VAT for freelancers.

What this means for you: The EÜR is the basis of income tax; whether VAT comes on top depends on your turnover.

How VAT GPT helps

Upload: your invoices and receipts; the AI reads amounts, countries and tax rates.
Check: you review and confirm the values; VAT GPT builds the EÜR from them.
Send: with Pro the EÜR goes through ELSTER to the tax office.

Not included: no tax advice and no bookkeeping for a GmbH or UG. There are Free, Go (30 days free with all Pro features) and Pro (49 € a month or 444 € a year, incl. VAT). Try it for free

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to prepare a balance sheet as a freelancer? The bookkeeping threshold of § 141 AO names commercial businesses and farmers and foresters (§ 141 Abs. 1 AO); as a freelancer you usually state profit through the EÜR.

Does the invoice or the payment count? The payment: income and expenses count in the year they are received and paid (§ 11 EStG).

Can I file the EÜR on paper? Only on application to avoid undue hardship, with a profit statement on the officially prescribed form (§ 60 Abs. 4 Satz 2 EStDV).

What is the limit for low-value assets? 800 euros per asset, less any input VAT included (§ 6 Abs. 2 Satz 1 EStG).