Booking VAT and input VAT in the EÜR: how to do it correctly

In the income surplus statement (EÜR, Einnahmenüberschussrechnung), under standard VAT taxation you enter your business income net (line 15), the VAT received separately in line 17 and the input VAT from incoming invoices in line 57. Payments to the tax office go in line 58, refunds in line 18. What counts in each case is the time of payment (EÜR 2025 instructions; line numbers can change in other years).

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Income net: line 15, the VAT belonging to it in line 17.
Expenses net: the deductible input VAT goes in line 57, at the time of payment.
VAT paid to the tax office: line 58.
VAT refunded by the tax office: line 18, as business income.
10-day rule: an advance payment for December that is due and paid by 10 January still counts in the old year; with a permanent extension (Dauerfristverlängerung, due only on 10 February) it does not.
Small business owners: no lines 15 to 17, expenses gross.

How do I book VAT and input VAT in the EÜR?

The EÜR follows receipt and payment (§ 11 EStG). The VAT on your income belongs to business income when you receive it, the input VAT on your expenses to business expenses when you pay it. That is why you split the amounts on invoices into net and VAT:

Transaction	Line of the Anlage EÜR
Business income subject to VAT, without VAT (net)	15
VAT received on this income	17
VAT refunded by the tax office	18
Business expense, net	depending on type, for example 27 or 60
Deductible input VAT from incoming invoices	57
VAT paid to the tax office	58

Why separately? The VAT your customers pay you is business income; payments to the tax office and the input VAT paid are business expenses. As a result only the net amount affects profit, as long as all payments fall in the same year.

Worked example

You sell a service for 1,000 euros net and invoice 1,190 euros (19 percent VAT). Your customer pays 1,190 euros. You buy material for 500 euros net and pay 595 euros (95 euros input VAT). In your advance VAT return you then report 190 euros VAT and 95 euros input VAT; you transfer 95 euros to the tax office.

Item	Amount	Line
Business income net	€1,000	15
VAT received	€190	17
Material net	€500	27
Input VAT paid	€95	57
VAT paid to the tax office	€95	58

Total income is 1,190 euros, total expenses 690 euros: profit is 500 euros, exactly the net profit of 1,000 minus 500 euros.

When does the payment to the tax office count? The 10-day rule

The advance VAT payment is due on the tenth day after the end of the advance return period (§ 18 UStG). According to the EÜR instructions, an advance payment for the previous year that is due and paid within 10 days after the start of the calendar year is treated as a business expense in the previous year. Likewise, a refund for an advance return period of the previous year that falls due and is received in that period counts in the previous year as business income. If you have a permanent extension (Dauerfristverlängerung), the December advance payment is due one month later (§ 46 UStDV); even if you pay it in January, it is a business expense only in the year of payment (Federal Fiscal Court, judgment of 21 June 2022, VIII R 25/20).

Example: the advance payment for December 2025 is due on 10 January 2026. If you pay by 10 January, the payment counts as a business expense in 2025. If you gave a direct debit mandate, the account is covered and the mandate is not revoked, the instructions assume an outflow on the due date when the advance return is filed by 10 January, even if your account is debited later.

Interest on VAT goes in line 56; other tax-related additional charges such as late-filing and late-payment surcharges go in line 60.

Special cases: reverse charge and intra-EU acquisitions

Incoming invoices from intra-EU acquisitions and from services for which you, as the recipient, owe the VAT under § 13b UStG contain no input VAT. Such invoices therefore have nothing for line 57. Business income for which the recipient owes the VAT under § 13b UStG, as well as VAT-exempt income, belongs in line 16.

What applies to small business owners?

Small business owners enter their business income in line 12 and, as a rule, do not use lines 15 to 17. They enter business expenses gross, because they are not entitled to an input VAT deduction. More: Filling in the EÜR as a small business owner.

Common mistakes

Income gross in line 15. Line 15 asks for the net amount; the VAT belongs in line 17.
Input VAT by invoice date. The input VAT belongs in the year you pay the invoice.
Forgetting the payment to the tax office. It belongs in line 58.
Input VAT from reverse-charge invoices. Such invoices contain no input VAT.
Missing the 10-day rule. A December advance payment that is due and paid by 10 January counts in the previous year (not with a permanent extension).
Booking net as a small business owner. Without an input VAT deduction the gross amount counts.

How it works with VAT GPT

VAT GPT reads uploaded invoices with AI (amounts, countries and tax rates), and you check and confirm the values. In the EÜR overview the income side has the lines "Vereinnahmte Umsatzsteuer" (VAT received) and "Umsatzsteuer-Erstattung vom Finanzamt" (VAT refund from the tax office), and the expense side "Gezahlte Vorsteuer" (input VAT paid) and "An das Finanzamt gezahlte Umsatzsteuer" (VAT paid to the tax office). Sending to the tax office runs 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 an invoice entitles you to an input VAT deduction.
VAT GPT does not prepare corporation tax returns (for example for a GmbH or UG).

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

Which line takes the VAT on my income? Line 17; the income itself goes in net in line 15.

Where does input VAT go? In line 57, at the time of payment.

Where does my payment to the tax office go? In line 58.

Where does a refund from the tax office go? In line 18.

Does a payment on 8 January still count for the previous year? An advance payment for the previous year that falls due within 10 days after the start of the year is to be treated as a business expense in the previous year.

Do reverse-charge invoices contain input VAT? No; invoices for services under § 13b UStG and for intra-EU acquisitions contain no input VAT.

Do I need line 57 as a small business owner? No. Small business owners enter expenses gross.