Your First EÜR as a New Business: What Belongs in Year One?

In your first EÜR you calculate business income minus business expenses for the year you started, and send it electronically to the tax office (§ 4 Abs. 3 EStG, § 60 Abs. 4 EStDV). For 2026 the filing day is Monday, 2 August 2027. The year begins when your business starts, not on 1 January.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short

Period: only the months from the start of the business; a shortened first year is normal.
Profit: business income minus business expenses, no balance sheet, as long as you are not required to keep books (§ 4 Abs. 3 EStG).
Deadline: generally seven months after year end, for 2026 2 August 2027 (§ 149 Abs. 2 AO).

Who may use the EÜR?

You may use the EÜR if you are not legally required to keep books and do not keep any (§ 4 Abs. 3 EStG). Freelancers may use it without a turnover or profit limit; for traders the bookkeeping duty applies only when the tax office finds more than 800,000 euros of turnover or 80,000 euros of profit (§ 141 AO). It does not apply to a GmbH or UG.

What this means for you: As a sole proprietor in year one, the EÜR almost always suffices.

What counts as income and expenses?

Business income: money you receive for your work or goods, in the year it reaches you.
Business expenses: costs caused by the business, in the year you pay them.
Pass-through items: amounts you only collect and pay out in the name and on behalf of someone else do not count (§ 4 Abs. 3 Satz 2 EStG).
VAT: under standard taxation it is part of income and expenses; as a small business you work with gross amounts.

Line details are in EÜR for small businesses in Germany: line by line.

What this means for you: Keep a list of payments in and out from day one; everything else follows from it.

How do you treat purchases in the founding year?

Purchase	Treatment in the EÜR
Up to 800 euros net per asset (movable, usable on its own)	expense in full in the year of purchase (§ 6 Abs. 2 EStG)
Above 250 up to 800 euros net, deducted at once	enter in a running register, unless your records already show the details (§ 6 Abs. 2 sentences 4 and 5 EStG)
Above 800 euros net	depreciate over the useful life (§ 4 Abs. 3 Satz 3 EStG)

The 800-euro amount is the net value without the input VAT included.

What this means for you: A desk at 700 euros net is an expense at once in 2026; a machine at 1,500 euros net is depreciated over its useful life.

How do you file the first EÜR?

Have your tax number and ELSTER certificate ready (Apply for a tax number).
Put together the year's income and expenses and file the receipts (Receipt retention periods).
Open the form "Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (Anlage EÜR)" in ELSTER and choose the year.
Enter the figures and send them together with the income tax return.

The steps in detail are in Income surplus statement in ELSTER. The deadline is explained in Income tax return for the self-employed. Without a tax adviser you file within seven months after year end (§ 149 Abs. 2 AO).

What this means for you: Plan the EÜR for the spring after your founding year, and you will have plenty of room before 2 August 2027.

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

Must I file an EÜR in the founding year? Yes, if you determine your profit with the EÜR; you send it with your income tax return, also when you make a loss (§ 60 Abs. 4 EStDV).

How do I treat purchases for opening the business? Up to 800 euros net per asset you may deduct them in full in the financial year of the opening of the business (§ 6 Abs. 2 EStG).

Do I need an Excel template? A spreadsheet helps with collecting, but the EÜR is transmitted electronically (§ 60 Abs. 4 EStDV); see EÜR template in Excel.