Withdrawals and contributions in the EÜR: what you must record

Withdrawals are all assets you take out of the business for yourself, your household or other non-business purposes, for example cash, goods or use. Contributions are assets you put into the business, for example a cash deposit (§ 4 (1) EStG). Under the income surplus statement (EÜR, Einnahmenüberschussrechnung) too, you record them separately and, as a sole proprietor, enter the totals in lines 106 and 107 of the Anlage EÜR.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Withdrawal: cash, goods, use or services taken for private purposes.
Contribution: cash deposit or other asset you put into the business.
Records: withdrawals and contributions must be recorded separately (§ 4 (4a) EStG).
Anlage EÜR: line 106 (withdrawals) and line 107 (contributions), per the EÜR 2025 instructions.
Effect: excessive withdrawals can reduce the deductibility of interest on debt.
No business account: then all business income also counts as withdrawals and all business expenses also as contributions.

What is a withdrawal and what is a contribution?

The law lists as withdrawals all assets, that is cash withdrawals, goods, products, use and services, that you took from the business for yourself, for your household or for other non-business purposes during the business year. Contributions are all assets (cash deposits and other assets) that you put into the business during the business year (§ 4 (1) sentences 2 and 8 EStG).

Example	Withdrawal or contribution?
You take 500 euros from the business account to pay your home rent	Withdrawal (cash)
You take goods from stock for private use	Withdrawal (goods)
You use a business machine privately	Withdrawal (use)
You pay 1,000 euros from your private account into the business account	Contribution (cash)
You pay a business expense with your private card	Contribution

Where do they go in the Anlage EÜR?

The EÜR 2025 instructions name lines 106 and 107: there you enter the withdrawals and contributions that must be recorded separately under § 4 (4a) EStG, regardless of whether you have interest on debt. Withdrawals include not only the private use of business assets or services but also cash withdrawals and cash contributions, for example a privately motivated withdrawal from the business bank account or a payment out of the cash register. Withdrawals and contributions that are not in cash are in principle valued at the going-concern value (Teilwert), plus VAT where applicable.

They have their own lines and are not business expenses: a cash withdrawal is not a business expense and does not reduce your profit.

What if I have no separate business account?

Then, according to the EÜR instructions, all business income also counts as withdrawals and all business expenses also as contributions. That is one reason to keep a separate account for the business: you then only have to record the truly private transactions separately.

What about goods, use and the company car?

The Anlage EÜR has its own lines for some withdrawals as business income. The sale or withdrawal of fixed assets goes in line 19; for withdrawals the going-concern value generally applies. The private use of a business motor vehicle is recorded as business income in line 20; for a vehicle used more than 50 percent for business, the value is in principle determined as a flat rate under the 1 percent rule. Other withdrawals of goods, use and services, for example withdrawals of goods, belong in line 21.

Why do withdrawals matter for tax?

They help decide whether you can deduct interest on debt in full. An excess withdrawal is the amount by which withdrawals exceed the sum of profit and contributions of the business year. Interest on debt is then non-deductible at a flat 6 percent of the excess withdrawal, adding excess withdrawals of earlier years and subtracting under-withdrawals of earlier years. At most the interest of the year reduced by 2,050 euros is added back; interest on loans that finance fixed assets is not affected (§ 4 (4a) EStG). This applies to the EÜR too; for that, withdrawals and contributions must be recorded separately.

Example (simplified, ignoring excess withdrawals of earlier years): your profit is 30,000 euros, your contributions 2,000 euros and your withdrawals 36,000 euros. The excess withdrawal is 36,000 − (30,000 + 2,000) = 4,000 euros. With 5,000 euros of interest on debt, 6 percent of 4,000 euros = 240 euros is not deductible; the cap of 5,000 − 2,050 = 2,950 euros does not apply here. If your interest on debt, excluding interest on loans for the acquisition cost of fixed assets, exceeds 2,050 euros, sole proprietors must also attach the Anlage SZ.

Common mistakes

Booking private withdrawals as business expenses. A cash withdrawal is not a business expense.
Forgetting expenses paid privately. They are contributions and belong in the records.
Not valuing withdrawals of goods. Goods withdrawals and private use of business assets are withdrawals.
Recording withdrawals only when you have interest on debt. They must be entered regardless of interest.
Running private and business through one account. Then all income counts as withdrawals and all expenses as contributions.

How it works with VAT GPT

VAT GPT reads uploaded invoices and receipts with AI, sorts income and expenses into categories and shows your profit or loss for every period. In the EÜR overview the income includes the line "Verkauf von Anlagevermögen" (sale of fixed assets). You check and confirm the values.

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 how to value a particular withdrawal.
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 from your records.

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

What is a withdrawal? An asset you take from the business for yourself, your household or other non-business purposes: cash, goods, use or services (§ 4 (1) sentence 2 EStG).

What is a contribution? An asset you put into the business, for example a cash deposit (§ 4 (1) sentence 8 EStG).

Must I record withdrawals and contributions under the EÜR too? Yes, they must be recorded separately (§ 4 (4a) EStG).

Where do I enter them in the Anlage EÜR? In lines 106 and 107 (EÜR 2025 instructions).

Do withdrawals reduce my profit? No. They have their own lines and are not business expenses.

What is an excess withdrawal? The amount by which withdrawals exceed the sum of profit and contributions of the business year. It can reduce the deduction of interest on debt.

What applies without a separate business account? Then all business income also counts as withdrawals and all business expenses also as contributions.