Deduct a Camera in Germany 2026: GWG or 7-Year Depreciation?

A new camera for your business is rarely cheap: a full-frame mirrorless body quickly runs €2,000 to €3,000, and a decent lens adds more on top. The good news: as a freelancer, photographer or GmbH you can deduct the camera from your taxes. The bad news: unlike a laptop, there is no one-year special rule here – a camera is not computer hardware.

So the net price alone decides how you deduct it: up to €800 net, the camera is a low-value asset and fully deductible at once. Above that, it lands in the official depreciation table – which sets a useful life of 7 years for photo and video equipment.

Here are the rules for getting your camera, lenses and gear correctly into your EÜR or your GmbH financial statements in 2026 – including input VAT, private use, and three levers that pull the tax relief forward.

Key facts at a glance

• Up to €800 net: the camera is a low-value asset (GWG) and 100 % deductible at once in the year of purchase (Section 6 (2) EStG).
• Above €800 net: depreciation over the useful life of 7 years per the AfA table (entry 6.14.4 for photo, film and video equipment).
• New for 2026: if you buy the camera between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027, you may also depreciate degressively at up to 30 % – pulling the deduction into the early years.
• Input VAT is reclaimed immediately in the filing period under standard taxation, regardless of the multi-year depreciation.
• Private use is split proportionally: under 10 % business no deduction, 10–90 % proportional, over 90 % full.

Rule 1: The decisive line – €800 net

Whether you get an immediate write-off or years of depreciation depends on the net purchase price of the individual device:

• Up to €800 net (Section 6 (2) EStG): the camera is a low-value asset (geringwertiges Wirtschaftsgut, GWG) and 100 % deductible in the year of purchase. At 19 % VAT, that equals €952 gross. An action cam or entry-level system camera for €700 net goes entirely into the EÜR of the purchase year.
• Above €800 net: depreciation over the useful life applies (see Rule 2).

Important: the €800 threshold applies per device, not per invoice. And from €250.01 net upwards, every low-value asset must be entered in a running register (purchase date, manufacturer, model, serial number, price). The details are in our guide to the GWG threshold and immediate write-off. Unlike a laptop – which is fully deductible at once even above €800 thanks to a special BMF rule – there is no such shortcut for cameras.

Rule 2: Above €800 – 7-year straight-line depreciation

If the camera costs more than €800 net, you depreciate it using the official depreciation table for general-purpose assets. For photo, film and video equipment it sets a useful life of 7 years – noticeably longer than for many other devices.

Example: you buy a system camera for €2,520 net on 15 May 2026. The annual straight-line depreciation of €360 (€2,520 ÷ 7) runs pro rata:

The pro-rata calculation in the purchase year is required by Section 7 (1) sentence 4 EStG. For a GmbH the entry goes straight into the asset register – we explain the mechanics in our guide to depreciation in a GmbH.

Depreciate faster: degressive AfA (2025–2027)

For movable fixed assets acquired between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027, the legislator has reintroduced degressive depreciation with the immediate investment programme (Section 7 (2) EStG, announced on 18 July 2025). Instead of equal rates, you then write off up to 30 % per year of the remaining book value – at most three times the straight-line rate.

For our example camera (€2,520 net, bought May 2026), this brings much more deduction into the early years:

The degressive AfA is also calculated to the month in the purchase year (here 8/12). Once the degressive rate falls below the straight-line rate, you may switch to straight-line once and spread the rest evenly. You make the choice per asset – for an expensive camera in a strong-profit year, degressive is often the better lever.

Rule 3: Input VAT – reclaim the 19 %

If you are entitled to deduct input VAT (standard taxation, not the small-business scheme), you reclaim the VAT shown on the invoice via your VAT return – immediately in the filing period of the purchase, regardless of the multi-year depreciation. On a camera costing €3,000 gross, that's €478.99 of input VAT in one go.

This requires the mandatory invoice fields under Section 14 UStG: name & address, tax number or VAT ID, date, net amount, VAT rate and VAT amount. Small-business owners (Kleinunternehmer) deduct the gross amount as a business expense but cannot reclaim input VAT – whether giving up the scheme pays off for an expensive camera is covered in our Kleinunternehmer guide.

Rule 4: Hobby or business? Private use

The tax office scrutinizes cameras more than a printer – because photography is a hobby for many people. You have to make the business use plausible:

• Under 10 % business use: no deduction – the camera stays private.
• 10–90 % business use: proportional deduction. At 70 % business use, you deduct 70 % of depreciation and input VAT.
• Over 90 % business use: full deduction, private use counts as negligible.

Anyone who registers a photography business (Gewerbe) or uses the camera for product shots, reels and client shoots can easily justify a high business share. A short record helps: jobs, shooting dates, published images. That keeps the deduction standing in a tax audit.

Rule 5: Lenses, gear & memory cards

Plenty of gear surrounds the camera – treat each item individually:

• Tripod, memory cards, camera bag, batteries, cleaning kit: usually under €800 net → GWG, fully deductible at once.
• Interchangeable lenses: a lens bought separately is its own asset. Up to €800 net it's a GWG, above that it gets its own 7-year depreciation. Buy body and lens as a kit on one invoice and you treat the bundle as a single asset.
• Microphones, lighting, gimbal: standalone devices – same €800 logic.
• Editing software (Lightroom, Capture One as a subscription): ongoing business expense, fully deductible in the year paid.

Post fixed assets and ongoing costs separately so the asset register stays clean.

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IAB & pool depreciation: two more levers

Alongside degressive AfA, two options bring the deduction forward:

• Investment deduction (Investitionsabzugsbetrag, IAB): if you are planning the purchase, under Section 7g EStG you can deduct up to 50 % of the expected cost up to three years in advance – ideal for cutting tax in a strong year. You can even combine the IAB with degressive AfA on the remaining amount. Details in our IAB guide for the self-employed and GmbH.
• Pool depreciation (Sammelposten): assets between €250.01 and €1,000 net can go into a pool and be depreciated evenly over 5 years (Section 6 (2a) EStG) – an alternative to individual depreciation when the camera is just over the GWG line.

Book it GoBD-compliant – and let Norman do the rest

Whether €700 or €3,000: under GoBD the tax office requires complete, tamper-proof documentation. Original invoice with all mandatory fields, correct posting to the right account, no retroactive edits. Lost the receipt? A self-issued voucher (Eigenbeleg) rescues the business expense – but not the input VAT deduction.

Norman automatically recognizes on a camera purchase whether GWG, 7-year depreciation or pool applies, posts the receipt to the right account and reclaims the input VAT in your filing. For a GmbH it flows straight into the asset register and the annual accounts – see taxes for GmbH and taxes for the self-employed.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Over how many years is a camera depreciated?

Over 7 years. That is the useful life for photo, film and video equipment in the official AfA table (entry 6.14.4). If the net price is up to €800, there is no spreading at all – you deduct the camera as a GWG in full immediately.

Can I depreciate a camera faster than 7 years?

Yes, in two ways. If you buy between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027, you can depreciate degressively at up to 30 % and pull most of it into the early years. You may also apply a shorter useful life if you prove intensive professional wear – plausible for heavy shooters, but best agreed with your tax advisor.

Can I deduct a used camera?

Yes. The same rules apply to used devices: the basis is your actual purchase price. Up to €800 net GWG immediate write-off, above that depreciation over the (remaining) useful life. For heavily used second-hand gear, a shorter remaining useful life can often be justified.

Can I deduct a camera if I also use it privately?

Yes, but only proportionally. At 10 to 90 % business use, you deduct the corresponding percentage of depreciation and input VAT. Under 10 % business use no deduction is possible, over 90 % the camera counts as fully business. A short record of jobs secures the share.

Can I deduct a camera as an employee?

Yes, if you use it for work – then it's income-related expenses (Werbungskosten) in Anlage N of your income tax return. The same logic applies: up to €800 net at once, above that over 7 years. If you use the camera for mixed purposes, you deduct only the business share.

Conclusion

Deducting a camera in 2026 follows clear logic: up to €800 net, 100 % at once; above that, 7-year depreciation – the one-year computer rule does not apply here. For purchases between mid-2025 and the end of 2027, degressive AfA up to 30 % pulls the deduction forward. You still reclaim the input VAT immediately, split private use cleanly, and treat lenses and gear individually. If you plan the purchase, IAB or pool depreciation pull tax relief forward too. Documented with discipline, you extract the maximum from every camera – and stand clean in a tax audit.