Registering a small business in Germany: what does it cost?

Want to register a small business and wondering what it costs? The fee is set by your state or municipality, so there is no single nationwide figure. Where we looked it up, the fee for a sole trader is 26 euros (Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia); the online notification costs 15 euros in Berlin. The follow-on costs usually weigh more.

Last updated: 27 October 2026

In short

Tax number: According to Berlin the tax registration questionnaire is free of charge; Berlin also calls registering with ELSTER free.
No separate "small business" form: You register a trade (section 14 GewO); "Kleingewerbe" is everyday usage for a small trade.
Trade tax: Natural persons have an allowance of 24,500 euros (section 11 GewStG).

What does registering a small business cost?

The legal basis is section 14 (1) GewO: anyone who starts an independent permanent trade must notify the competent authority at the same time. The local authority is competent; in Berlin it is the district's regulatory office where your business is located. What the notification costs is set by the state's fee schedule. The following examples come from the authorities' own pages:

Place	Fee according to the authority
Berlin	26 euros per sole trade; 15 euros for notification in the electronic procedure
North Rhine-Westphalia	26 euros for natural persons; further costs possible if additional documents have to be obtained (for example a certificate of good conduct)
Hamburg	25 euros per partner in partnerships; 15 euros for a copy of the registration

These are examples, not a price list for all of Germany. Check the figure on your municipality's page before you register. Online is cheaper in Berlin: 15 euros, and you pay the reduced fee online right away. More: Business registration online in Germany.

What does the tax number cost?

Nothing. For the tax registration of a trade with the tax office, Berlin lists "Fees: none", and the Berlin tax administration describes the registration with "Mein ELSTER" as free. You must submit the questionnaire electronically, within one month of starting the activity (section 138 (1b) and (4) AO). The process is explained in Tax number for a business in Germany; the individual fields in Tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietors.

Which costs come after registration?

The registration fee is usually the smallest item. Running costs depend on what you do:

Trade tax: For natural persons and partnerships, trade income is reduced by an allowance of 24,500 euros (section 11 (1) GewStG). If your trade income is below it, no trade tax arises for your trade.
Income tax: The profit of your sole proprietorship belongs in your income tax return (Wirtschaftsportal NRW).
VAT: As a small business owner you generally do not charge VAT (section 19 UStG). The limits and what happens when you exceed them: Small business rule 2026: the limits.
Chamber contribution (IHK or HWK): At the IHK you are exempt from the contribution without a commercial register entry as long as your trade income or business profit does not exceed 5,200 euros. As a founder who had no income from a business, self-employment or agriculture and forestry in the five years before and held no more than a tenth of a corporation, up to 25,000 euros you pay no basic contribution and no levy in the founding year and the following year, and no levy in the third and fourth year (section 3 (3) IHKG). For the Handwerkskammer and your chamber's current limits, ask your chamber.
Permit and employers' liability insurance association: Some trades need an additional permit; whether your new business is subject to compulsory insurance with the Berufsgenossenschaft is something you clarify with it (Wirtschaftsportal NRW).

What is a "small business" in the first place?

When you register, you notify a trade (section 14 GewO), large or small. The Wirtschaftsportal NRW calls a Kleingewerbe a business that does not exceed 80,000 euros profit and 800,000 euros annual turnover. ELSTER names the same amounts as the limits above which traders generally need a profit and loss account or a balance sheet. Below them, the cash-basis profit calculation (EÜR) is enough. Under commercial law a trade is a commercial business unless, by its nature or size, it does not require a commercially organised business operation (section 1 (2) HGB).

Which mistakes come up often?

Counting on a fixed fee. The figure depends on your place; your municipality's page applies.
Thinking the trade registration replaces the questionnaire. The trade office does inform the tax office (section 14 (8) GewO), but you must still submit the tax registration questionnaire yourself, within one month.
Paying third parties for the questionnaire. It is free of charge at ELSTER; with access to "Mein ELSTER" you submit it yourself.
Mixing up trade tax and VAT. The trade tax allowance (24,500 euros) and the small business limit (25,000 euros in the founding year; after that 25,000 euros previous year, 100,000 euros current year) are two different rules.

How VAT GPT helps you with this

You pay the registration fee to your authority, and you register the trade at your municipality. For the tax side of your small business, you use VAT GPT like this:

Fill in the questionnaire: In VAT GPT you fill in the tax registration questionnaire for sole proprietors. There you also choose whether you apply the small business rule or waive it.
Send: VAT GPT sends the questionnaire to the tax office so that you get your tax number.
Afterwards: You upload your Amazon or eBay CSV reports and invoices, VAT GPT breaks down VAT for Germany and the EU (OSS) and prepares the advance return if you need one.

Everything is in one place: advance VAT return, annual VAT return, OSS return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax returns.

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

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to register a small business? Your state decides. Examples: Berlin 26 euros (online 15 euros), North Rhine-Westphalia 26 euros for natural persons. Your municipality's page gives the exact fee.

Do I have to register a trade at all for a small business? Yes, if you take up a commercial activity: the notification under section 14 GewO is made at the same time as you start. Freelancers do not notify a trade but inform the tax office of the start (Berlin: exceptions from the duty to notify under section 6 GewO).

Is the tax number subject to a fee? No. According to Berlin the tax registration questionnaire is free of charge.

Do I pay trade tax on a small business? Only above the allowance of 24,500 euros of trade income (section 11 GewStG, natural persons and partnerships). The amount depends on your municipality's multiplier (Wirtschaftsportal NRW).

Do I pay VAT on a small business? Not while you are a small business owner: in the founding year at most 25,000 euros of turnover, after that previous year at most 25,000 euros and current year at most 100,000 euros (section 19 (1) UStG, section 19.1 (3) UStAE).

Can I register online? Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia and the BayernPortal offer an online procedure; what it looks like is in Business registration online in Germany.