How to Deduct Your Smartphone as a Self-Employed Person in Germany (2026)
Diana
Updated on:
An iPhone 16 Pro easily costs €1,500. A Galaxy S25 Ultra is in the same league. As a freelancer or self-employed person in Germany, you can deduct your smartphone — but the rules are different from a laptop. Phones do not fall under the famous one-year computer-hardware write-off. This guide walks you through when your phone counts as a business expense, how much you can deduct, and how mixed personal/business use works.
Can I deduct my phone at all?
Yes — if you use the smartphone for your self-employed work, it's a business asset and a deductible expense. That holds for freelancers (Freiberufler), sole traders (Einzelunternehmer), tradespeople (Gewerbetreibende), and also UGs and GmbHs. What matters is not whose name is on the invoice but how you actually use the device: client calls, business email, scheduling, banking, mobile bookkeeping — all of that counts as business use.
Employees can also deduct a phone as Werbungskosten in their income tax return, but the rules are different. This article focuses on the self-employed scenario, where the rules are more generous and the savings bigger.
Book your phone in 30 seconds, not 30 minutes
Norman recognises your Apple or Samsung receipt automatically from a photo, assigns it to the right category, and pushes the input VAT into your next VAT return. No bookkeeping work, no missed receipts.
Important: Unlike laptops, no 100 % instant write-off
This is where many self-employed people slip up. Since the BMF letter of 26 February 2021, "computer hardware and software for data input and processing" has an assumed useful life of one year — meaning laptops, tablets, monitors and desktop PCs can be deducted in full in the year of purchase.
Smartphones are explicitly not on that list. The Finanzamt treats telecommunication devices separately, and the standard depreciation rules apply. So how you deduct your phone depends on the net purchase price.
Up to €800 net: GWG — 100 % in the year of purchase
If your phone costs at most €800 net (up to roughly €952 gross), it qualifies as a low-value asset (geringwertiges Wirtschaftsgut, GWG) under § 6 (2) EStG. You can deduct the full amount in the year of purchase. Most mid-range smartphones fall under this threshold — an iPhone 16e (around €700 gross) or a Pixel 9 (around €800 gross) are clearly below the line.
Above €800 net: depreciation over the useful life
If the phone costs more than €800 net, you have to depreciate it over its expected useful life. The BMF's official AfA-Tabelle doesn't list smartphones explicitly — in practice, most Finanzämter accept five years. For an iPhone 16 Pro at €1,500 net (purchased in May 2026) that works out to roughly €300 per year, prorated from the month of purchase.
Pool depreciation as an alternative (€250 – €1,000 net)
For phones between €250 and €1,000 net, you can pool the asset (Sammelposten) and depreciate it evenly over five years. Be aware: if you choose this method, you have to apply it consistently to all assets in this price range across the whole fiscal year. Most self-employed people only use it if they have lots of mid-priced acquisitions.
How much can you deduct? (Full vs. mixed use)
The Finanzamt distinguishes between three scenarios — same as with a laptop. The difference: for phones, mixed use is the rule, not the exception.
1. Pure business use (over 90 %)
If you carry a second phone purely for the business — a work-only device with no private apps and no personal contacts — you can deduct 100 % of the purchase price and ongoing costs. This is the cleanest route because you don't have to negotiate a usage split with the Finanzamt.
2. Mixed use (10 – 90 % business)
If you use a single smartphone for both private (WhatsApp with friends, Instagram, Spotify) and business purposes, you have to estimate the business share and deduct only that. Example: at 70 % business use and a purchase price of €800, that's €560 of business expense.
Document your estimate briefly, e.g. as a note in your bookkeeping: "Smartphone used 70 % for business: client calls, business email, mobile bookkeeping, banking; 30 % private (messengers, social media, streaming)." In a tax audit you need to be able to defend the share. A 60 – 80 % business split is common for self-employed people and rarely contested.
3. Predominantly private (under 10 % business)
If your business use stays under 10 %, the phone is treated as private property for tax purposes. You can't deduct the device itself, only individual business calls billed via the contract.
The €20 flat rate doesn't apply to the self-employed
You'll often read about a "phone cost flat rate" (20 % of the bill, max €20 per month). This shortcut only applies to employees claiming Werbungskosten. As a self-employed person you always have to estimate the business share — but you're free to claim higher rates if they reflect reality.
Input VAT: when you get 19 % back
If you're VAT-registered (i.e. not a small business under § 19 UStG / Kleinunternehmer), you can claim the VAT on your phone in addition to the income-tax deduction. On a gross price of €952, the Finanzamt refunds €152 of input VAT — your effective cost is €800 net.
Requirements: you have a proper invoice with VAT shown separately (Apple, Samsung etc. always issue this), and the phone is used at least 10 % for business. With mixed use, you can choose to assign the phone fully to the business (full VAT deduction, but you must declare a private-use withdrawal) or to the business share only (proportional VAT).
You claim the VAT in the VAT advance return for the month in which you received the invoice — not in the annual return. As a Kleinunternehmer there's no input VAT refund, but the bookkeeping is much simpler.
A worked example
You buy an iPhone 16 Pro in May 2026 for €1,500 gross (€1,260.50 net + €239.50 VAT). You use it 70 % for business, 30 % privately. The net price is over €800, so you depreciate over 5 years.
Annual depreciation: €1,260.50 ÷ 5 years = €252.10 per full year
2026 (prorated from May): €252.10 × 8/12 = €168.07
Business share 70 %: €117.65 deductible expense in 2026
Input VAT in May 2026 VAT return: 70 % of €239.50 = €167.65
Income tax saving 2026 (assumed marginal rate 35 %): €117.65 × 35 % = €41.18
In each of the following years (2027 – 2030) you deduct 70 % of €252.10 (= €176.47) as business expense. Over the full useful life that adds up to about €882 of business expense plus €167.65 of input VAT — the state effectively covers around 30 % of your costs.
If you stay below €800 net (e.g. an iPhone 16e at €749 net), it's much simpler: deduct the entire amount in 2026, no AfA tables, no follow-up years.
Also deductible: phone bill, contract, accessories
The purchase is just one piece. The recurring costs are at least as important — and they hit you every month.
Mobile contract
Your monthly bill (Telekom, Vodafone, O2, 1&1 …) follows the same logic as the device. Pure work phone: 100 % business expense and 100 % input VAT deductible. Mixed use: prorated by your estimated share — usually the same percentage you apply to the device itself.
Accessories (case, charger, AirPods)
Case, power bank, fast charger, car mount — small items below €250 net are typically booked directly as business expenses without capitalising them. Headphones like AirPods or Sennheiser MTW are clearly a business tool if you use them for client calls and video meetings.
Repairs and insurance
Screen replacements after a drop, battery swaps, AppleCare+ or a phone insurance plan are all maintenance expenses or business expenses — deductible in proportion to your business use share.
How to book the phone correctly
In your EÜR (income surplus statement), a GWG phone (≤ €800 net) lands in the account "Geringwertige Wirtschaftsgüter" or "Sofortabschreibung GWG". For a phone above €800 net, you book it into fixed assets ("Andere Anlagen, Betriebs- und Geschäftsausstattung") and post the annual depreciation. The mobile bill goes under "Telefonkosten" / "Telefon, Internet" — with the private withdrawal as the offsetting entry for mixed use.
If you use software like Norman, this happens automatically: snap the invoice, the system recognises the supplier and amount, assigns the right category, and sets up the multi-year depreciation schedule. For a complete overview of typical work tools, see our equipment deductibles page; recurring costs like electricity, internet and phone are listed under utilities.
Common mistakes when deducting a phone
Treating the smartphone like a laptop: the 100 % instant write-off doesn't apply. Above €800 net, depreciation is mandatory.
Trying to claim input VAT as a Kleinunternehmer: not allowed. You always book the gross amount as the expense.
Claiming 100 % without a dedicated work phone: if you only have one phone and use it privately too, the Finanzamt won't accept 100 %. A plausible split between 50 and 80 % is far safer.
Using the €20 flat rate: employees only. Self-employed people must estimate.
Forgetting the prorated AfA in the year of purchase: if you buy in May, you can only deduct 8/12 of the annual depreciation that year.
Keeping only the till receipt: a Mediamarkt cash receipt isn't enough — you need a proper invoice with VAT shown separately.
Bottom line: deduct your phone the smart way
A phone under €800 net is easy: full deduction in the year of purchase, done. Above €800 net, it gets a bit more involved — five-year depreciation, prorated from the month of purchase. In both cases, the input VAT refund is worth the effort if you're VAT-registered. The bigger decision is whether to run a dedicated business phone (100 %) or to share one device (estimated split). A second device for work only saves you years of usage-share negotiations.
Whichever route you choose: keep the invoice, document your usage share, and book the recurring costs every month. Self-employed people who skip this routine leave hundreds of euros of tax savings on the table each year. If you'd rather automate the bookkeeping, take a look at our accounting software comparison — and in the sister piece, the laptop deduction guide, you'll see why computer and tablet purchases work even better since 2021.