Taxes in Your First Year of Self-Employment: The Plan

You report the start to the tax office, pay income tax on your profit and, unless you are a small business, VAT (§ 138 AO, § 19 UStG). You file the returns for 2026 by Monday, 2 August 2027. Trade tax applies only to trades, not to freelancers.

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short

Register: the tax registration questionnaire within one month of the start.
Pay: income tax prepayments on 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December (§ 37 EStG), VAT depending on the period.
File: EÜR, income tax and VAT returns for 2026 by 2 August 2027.

Which taxes hit you in the first year?

Tax	Who pays	Basis
Income tax	all self-employed with a profit	§ 2 EStG
VAT	everyone who is not a small business	§ 19 UStG
Trade tax	trades only, above 24,500 euros of trade income	§ 11 GewStG

The basic allowance is 12,348 euros in 2026; up to that, the scale income tax is zero (§ 32a EStG). Which taxes freelancers pay in detail is in Freelancer taxes in Germany.

What this means for you: With a small profit your income tax in year one is low, but your duties do not disappear.

Which dates apply in the first year?

When	What
within one month of the start	tax registration questionnaire (§ 138 Abs. 4 AO)
10th after the quarter or month	VAT return, not for small businesses (§ 18 Abs. 1 UStG)
10 March, 10 June, 10 September, 10 December	income tax prepayment, if the tax office sets one (§ 37 EStG)
2 August 2027	filing the returns for 2026 (§ 149 Abs. 2 AO)

31 July 2027 is a Saturday, so 2 August 2027 is the last day. An overview for online sellers is in the tax calendar.

What this means for you: Enter the dates in your calendar right at the start, and none of them will surprise you.

What do you need before the first invoice?

Tax number from the questionnaire (Apply for a tax number).
ELSTER access with a certificate for all later filings (ELSTER certificate).
A decision between small business and standard VAT (Small business or standard VAT).
Invoice details under section 14 UStG (German invoice: mandatory details).

What this means for you: Tax number and VAT decision first, then the first invoice.

Where do most first-year mistakes happen?

The biggest stumbling blocks are a missed VAT return, missing receipts and late returns. You must keep receipts (Receipt retention periods), and profit determination by EÜR is described in Your first EÜR. For the VAT return, see Your first VAT return and VAT return for small businesses.

What this means for you: Record income and receipts as you go, not in the year after.

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 calculates the VAT return and EÜR.
Send: with Pro the VAT return, annual VAT return, EÜR and income tax return go through ELSTER to the tax office.

You also fill in the tax registration questionnaire in VAT GPT and send it through ELSTER. Not included: no tax advice. 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

Do I already pay taxes in the first year? If your taxable income is above the basic allowance of 12,348 euros (2026) you pay income tax; you pay VAT only without the small business scheme.

Do freelancers pay trade tax? No, trade tax applies only to trades (§ 2 GewStG).

When must I file my first tax return? Without a tax adviser, seven months after year end; for 2026 that is 2 August 2027.