Permanent VAT deadline extension and special prepayment: one more month for your return

With a permanent deadline extension (Dauerfristverlängerung), the tax office extends, on application, the deadlines for filing your advance VAT returns and for paying the prepayments by one month (section 46 UStDV). If you file your advance returns monthly, the office ties the extension to a special prepayment: it is one eleventh of the prepayments of the previous year (section 47 UStDV) and is credited again in December.

Last updated: 26 October 2026

The essentials in brief

Effect: one more month for filing and paying the advance return (section 46 UStDV).
Special prepayment: only for monthly advance returns; one eleventh of the previous year's prepayments (section 47 (1) UStDV).
Application: electronic, no later than the date the first affected advance return is due (section 48 (1) UStDV).
Declaration and payment: the special prepayment is calculated, declared and paid in the application; in later years by 10 February.
Offset: in the advance return for December.

What does the permanent extension give you?

The tax office has to extend, on application, the deadlines for submitting the advance returns and for paying the prepayments by one month (section 46 UStDV). A return that would otherwise be due on the 10th of a month is then due on the 10th of the following month. The extension applies to advance returns and prepayments, not to the annual return. The tax office has to reject the application, or revoke an extension already granted, if the tax claim appears at risk.

All dates with and without the extension are in the deadline calendar.

Who has to pay a special prepayment?

For a business that has to submit its advance returns monthly, the extension is to be granted on the condition that it pays a special prepayment on the tax of each calendar year (section 47 (1) UStDV). According to the ELSTER guide this applies when advance returns are submitted monthly. If you file quarterly, you can apply for the extension; section 47 UStDV names the special prepayment condition only for monthly advance returns.

How to calculate the special prepayment

Basic case: one eleventh of the sum of the prepayments for the previous calendar year (section 47 (1) UStDV). According to the ELSTER guide you calculate without taking the previous year's special prepayment into account.
Active for part of the previous year: the prepayments of that period are converted into an annual sum; started months count as full months (section 47 (2) UStDV).
Started in the current year: calculation on the basis of the prepayments expected for the year (section 47 (3) UStDV).

Example from the North Rhine-Westphalia tax administration: for 2025 a total of 15,000 euros of VAT was declared. Someone who wants to use the extension from 2026 pays one eleventh of it: 15,000 euros / 11 = 1,363 euros. In the advance return for December 2026 the 1,363 euros are credited against the VAT payments.

Application and payment

Application: the business applies for the extension by the time the advance return for which it is to apply first is due. The application is sent electronically through the official interface (section 48 (1) UStDV), in practice through ELSTER.
Special prepayment in the application: whoever files monthly calculates and declares the special prepayment in the application and pays it at the same time (section 48 (1) UStDV).
Later years: while the extension applies, the special prepayment is to be calculated, declared and paid each year by the statutory date of the first advance return (section 48 (2) UStDV); the ELSTER guide names 10 February.
Decision of the tax office: according to the ELSTER guide you may use the extension if the tax office does not reject the application. Only a rejection comes with a notice.
Duration: it applies until you declare that you no longer want it, or the tax office revokes it.

Offset in December

The special prepayment that was set has to be taken into account when the prepayment for the last filing period of the tax period for which the extension applies is set (section 48 (4) UStDV). In ELSTER you generally deduct it in the advance return for December. If you stopped the activity or gave up the extension, you enter it in the last filing period for which the extension applies.

Permanent extension and expense deduction for EÜR

If you determine your profit by cash-basis accounting (EÜR), the extension has a side effect: the Federal Fiscal Court held that the VAT prepayment for December of the previous year, which is paid within the ten-day period of section 11 (2) sentence 2 EStG but only falls due after it because of a permanent extension, is to be treated as a business expense only in the year of payment (BFH VIII R 25/20). More on EÜR: Income surplus statement (EÜR).

Common mistakes

Not declaring the special prepayment. For monthly returns it belongs to the application and to later years.
Applying too late. The application is due by the date of the first affected advance return.
Forgetting the December offset. Otherwise you effectively pay the special prepayment twice.
Confusing the extension with the annual deadline. The extension concerns advance returns and prepayments.
Overlooking the EÜR effect. It shifts the deduction of the December prepayment into the following year.

How it works with VAT GPT

VAT GPT prepares your advance return from the documents of the period:

Upload documents: the AI reads invoice date, amounts, currency and country. You check and confirm the values.
Check the result: VAT GPT prepares the advance return, monthly or quarterly.
Send: with VAT GPT Pro via ELSTER directly to the tax office.

Everything is in one place: VAT return, annual VAT return, OSS return, EÜR, trade tax and income tax return. 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 permanent extension is worthwhile for you.
The AI reads date, amounts, currency and country; calculating and declaring the special prepayment is for you to check.

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

How much time does the extension give? One month for filing the advance return and paying the prepayment (section 46 UStDV).

How high is the special prepayment? One eleventh of the previous year's prepayments (section 47 (1) UStDV).

When is the special prepayment credited? In the advance return for the last period for which the extension applies, generally December.

By when must I apply? By the due date of the first advance return for which the extension is to apply (section 48 (1) UStDV).

Can the tax office reject the extension? Yes, if the tax claim appears at risk (section 46 UStDV).

How do I end the extension? By declaring it to the tax office; the ELSTER guide points to the form Sonstige Nachricht an das Finanzamt.