EÜR or balance sheet for online sellers: what applies?

As an online seller you may use the income surplus statement (EÜR) as long as you are not obliged to keep books and do not keep any (section 4(3) EStG). The obligation can come from two directions: from tax law, if your total turnover is more than 800,000 euros or your trade profit more than 80,000 euros in the financial year and the tax office notifies you (section 141 AO), and from commercial law, if you are a merchant (section 238 HGB), for example as a GmbH, and as a sole trader do not fall under the exemption in section 241a HGB.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In brief

EÜR: profit as the surplus of business income over business expenses (section 4(3) EStG). Possible if there is no bookkeeping obligation and you keep no books.
Balance sheet: profit as a comparison of business assets at year end with those of the previous year (section 4(1) EStG), with an annual stocktake.
Tax-law limits: total turnover above 800,000 euros in the calendar year or profit from a trade above 80,000 euros in the financial year (section 141(1) AO).
Start of the obligation: with the financial year after the tax office's notice (section 141(2) AO).
Corporation: A GmbH counts as a commercial company (section 13(3) GmbHG) and is therefore obliged to keep books.

When may you use the EÜR?

The EÜR is open to you if two things come together: you are not obliged under legal rules to keep books and prepare regular closing accounts, and you do not keep books voluntarily either (section 4(3) sentence 1 EStG). Anyone who keeps books and prepares closing accounts without being obliged is treated for tax purposes like someone who prepares a balance sheet (section 5(1) EStG).

The tax limits: 800,000 and 80,000 euros

Under section 141(1) AO, commercial businesses must keep books and prepare closing accounts based on annual stocktakes if, according to the findings of the tax authority, for the individual business they had

total turnover within the meaning of section 19(2) sentence 1 UStG of more than 800,000 euros in the calendar year, or
profit from a trade of more than 80,000 euros in the financial year.

The limit applies per business. Either one is enough.

How do you find out? The obligation does not start by itself. It must be met from the start of the financial year that follows the notification of the notice in which the tax office points to the start of the obligation (section 141(2) AO). The obligation ends at the end of the financial year following the one in which the tax office finds that the conditions no longer apply. If you are getting close to the limits, talk to your tax adviser so that you can prepare the change.

Total turnover is the sum of your taxable supplies calculated on the basis of payments received, less certain supplies (section 19(2) sentence 1 UStG), not just one sales channel. The turnover limit is not the same as the small business limit; that one is in Small business rule 2026: the limit.

Commercial law: who is a merchant?

Besides tax law there is commercial law, and anyone who has to keep books under it must also do so for tax purposes (section 140 AO).

A merchant is anyone who runs a commercial business (section 1(1) HGB). A commercial business is every trade, unless the business does not require a commercially organised operation because of its nature or scale (section 1(2) HGB).
Registration: A trade that is not a commercial business under section 1(2) HGB counts as one if the firm is entered in the commercial register (section 2 HGB). If a firm is registered, nobody can be told by someone relying on the entry that the trade is not a commercial business (section 5 HGB).
GmbH: The company counts as a commercial company (section 13(3) GmbHG), and the rules on merchants also apply to commercial companies (section 6(1) HGB).
Exemption for small sole traders: Sole traders who on the closing dates of two consecutive financial years show no more than 800,000 euros in revenue and 80,000 euros in annual surplus each need not apply sections 238 to 241 HGB (section 241a HGB). In the case of a new start-up the effects already apply if the figures are not exceeded on the first closing date after the start-up.

For most small online sellers who start as sole traders this means: below the limits you can use the EÜR even if you are entered in the commercial register. Whether your business is a commercial business depends on its nature and scale and is, if in doubt, an individual question for your tax adviser.

What changes with stock?

With the EÜR, the purchase of goods is a business expense when you pay for it, not only when you sell (Booking inventory in the EÜR). Anyone who keeps a balance sheet determines profit through business assets at year end instead (section 4(1) sentence 1 EStG) and does an annual stocktake (section 141(1) AO). Typically that means: goods in the warehouse at year end, including at Amazon, belong in the stocktake and are not deducted as expenses in the year of purchase. How exactly this works depends on the commercial principles of proper bookkeeping (section 5(1) EStG), which your tax adviser applies.

How do you switch?

Switching from the EÜR to a balance sheet changes the method of determining profit. Plan it with your tax adviser for the start of a financial year, not in the middle of the year.

Common mistakes

Mixing up the turnover limit and the small business limit. The 800,000 euros concern the bookkeeping obligation, the small business limit concerns VAT.
Only waiting for the tax office. Commercial law obliges you regardless of a notice if you are a merchant and have no exemption under section 241a HGB.
GmbH and EÜR. A GmbH counts as a commercial company and keeps books.
Equating turnover and profit. The two limits are separate; one is enough.
Ignoring stock. With a balance sheet, stock belongs in the inventory, also in a fulfilment warehouse.

How VAT GPT helps

If you may use the EÜR, you create it with VAT GPT Pro and send it through ELSTER, together with the trade tax and income tax returns. You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV, and VAT GPT sorts the sales rows and books the fee rows (AMAZON_FEE) as expenses. 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

Do I have to prepare a balance sheet as an online seller? Not automatically. You may use the EÜR if you are not obliged to keep books and keep none (section 4(3) EStG).

When does the bookkeeping obligation under the tax code start? At more than 800,000 euros total turnover in the calendar year or more than 80,000 euros profit from a trade in the financial year (section 141(1) AO), from the financial year after the tax office's notice (section 141(2) AO).

Am I obliged to keep books as a sole trader in the commercial register? Sole traders are exempt from sections 238 to 241 HGB below the limits of section 241a HGB (800,000 euros revenue and 80,000 euros annual surplus in two consecutive financial years).

Can a GmbH use the EÜR? A GmbH counts as a commercial company (section 13(3) GmbHG) and keeps books.

How do I learn that I must prepare a balance sheet? The tax office points you to the start of the obligation with a notice (section 141(2) AO).