EÜR template in Excel: what your spreadsheet must contain

An Excel spreadsheet can collect and add up the figures for your income surplus statement (EÜR, Einnahmenüberschussrechnung), but you cannot file it: the EÜR must be transmitted electronically to the tax office in the officially prescribed data format (§ 60 (4) EStDV). For your spreadsheet to match the Anlage EÜR at year end, it needs five sheets: income, expenses, assets, withdrawals and contributions, and a summary.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Profit: the surplus of business income over business expenses (§ 4 (3) EStG).
Timing: income when received, expenses when paid.
Required records: assets, low-value assets over €250, withdrawals and contributions, and certain expenses belong in their own records.
Filing: electronically, not as an Excel file.
VAT: under standard taxation you need net, VAT and gross; as a small business owner the gross amount is enough.

Is there an official template?

The official template is the Anlage EÜR. You fill it in in ELSTER or in software and transmit it electronically; paper is only allowed in cases of hardship. Your own Excel spreadsheet is not a template from the tax office. It is an aid for ordering your figures so you can later transfer them into the lines of the Anlage EÜR. How filing in ELSTER works: EÜR income surplus statement.

Which sheets does the spreadsheet need?

Sheet	Content
Income	every business income with the date the money arrived
Expenses	every business expense with the date of payment
Assets	register of the fixed assets
Withdrawals and contributions	private withdrawals and contributions, recorded separately
Summary	totals per category, matching the lines of the Anlage EÜR

Which columns belong in income and expenses?

Business income is recorded, as a rule, when it is received, and business expenses, as a rule, when they are paid (§ 11 EStG). The payment date is therefore the most important column, not the invoice date.

Column	Why
Payment date	receipt or payment decides the year
Document number	links the row to the receipt
Counterparty and text	what the money was for
Category	totals per line of the Anlage EÜR
Net, VAT, gross	under standard taxation: net in the income and expense lines, VAT and input VAT in their own lines
Business share	for mixed expenses only the business share counts

Small business owners do not need a VAT column: they enter income in the total amount actually received and business expenses gross. More: Filling in the EÜR as a small business owner. How VAT and input VAT belong in the EÜR: EÜR and VAT: booking output and input VAT.

What belongs on the assets sheet?

Fixed assets must be listed in a special register that is kept continuously, with the date of acquisition or production and the acquisition or production costs (§ 4 (3) sentence 5 EStG). Low-value assets above €250 also go into a special register kept continuously (§ 6 (2) sentence 4 EStG). Columns: description, acquisition date, acquisition cost, useful life, depreciation per year, remaining book value. How depreciation and low-value assets work: EÜR depreciation and low-value assets.

What belongs on the withdrawals and contributions sheet?

Withdrawals and contributions must be recorded separately (§ 4 (4a) sentence 6 EStG). According to ELSTER this includes cash withdrawals and cash contributions, for example a private withdrawal from the business bank account. Columns: date, type (withdrawal or contribution), amount, note. More: EÜR withdrawals and contributions.

Which expenses need their own records?

Expenses for gifts, entertainment, guest houses, hunting and fishing, a home workroom and inappropriate expenses (§ 4 (5) sentence 1 nos. 1 to 4, 6b and 7 EStG) must be recorded individually and separately from other business expenses (§ 4 (7) EStG). For entertainment the law requires written details of place, day, participants and occasion, and of the amount. Set up a separate category or sheet for them. An overview of expense types: EÜR business expenses list.

What can Excel not do?

The spreadsheet transmits nothing to the tax office; for that you need ELSTER or software connected to ELSTER.
It does not check whether an expense is deductible or which line it belongs in.
It calculates depreciation, low-value-asset limits and flat rates only if you build the formulas yourself and keep them up to date.
It does not store receipts.

Common mistakes

Sorting by invoice date instead of payment. What counts is when the money flows in or out.
Mixing private and business items. For mixed expenses only the business share counts.
Forgetting the asset register. It must be kept continuously.
Not recording withdrawals and contributions. They must be recorded separately.
Treating the spreadsheet as the filing. The Anlage EÜR is transmitted electronically.

How it works with VAT GPT

Instead of typing rows yourself, you upload your invoices and receipts as a photo or PDF: the AI reads the data and categorizes it, and you check and confirm the result. You can also import Amazon and eBay CSV reports. VAT GPT sorts your income and expenses into categories and shows your profit or loss for every period; you can export your data as a ZIP file with receipts and an overview table. You send the EÜR to the tax office through ELSTER with VAT GPT Pro.

Everything is in one place: advance VAT return, annual VAT return, OSS return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns. With Go you use all Pro features free of charge for 30 days. Get to know VAT GPT or create an account right away.

What VAT GPT does not do

VAT GPT is not tax advice – for example on whether a single expense is deductible.
VAT GPT does not prepare corporation tax returns (for example for a GmbH or UG).
VAT GPT does not record withdrawals and contributions: the EÜR overview has no input for them; you work out the totals for lines 106 and 107 yourself, for example with the withdrawals and contributions sheet.

What does VAT GPT cost?

Free (basic features, free of charge), Go (30 days free with all Pro features), Pro €49 per month or €444 per year, each including VAT.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an official Excel template for the EÜR? The official template is the Anlage EÜR, which you transmit electronically. An Excel spreadsheet is your own aid.

Can I hand in the Excel spreadsheet to the tax office? The EÜR must be transmitted electronically in the officially prescribed data format (§ 60 (4) EStDV). An Excel file is not provided for this.

Which registers must I keep? A register of fixed assets (§ 4 (3) sentence 5 EStG), a special register for low-value assets above €250 (§ 6 (2) sentence 4 EStG) and separate records of withdrawals and contributions (§ 4 (4a) sentence 6 EStG).

Which date goes into the spreadsheet? The payment date: receipt for income, payment for expenses.

Do I need a VAT column as a small business owner? No. You enter income in the total amount received and expenses gross.

Where do I see my profit? In the spreadsheet as total income minus total expenses; in VAT GPT the EÜR overview shows the profit or loss.