Deduct a Laptop in Germany 2026: 100% in Year One

A business laptop rarely costs under 1,000 €, and a well-specced MacBook Pro easily clears 2,500 €. The good news: you no longer have to spread that cost over three years. Thanks to the BMF ruling on the useful life of computer hardware, you can deduct your laptop fully in the year you buy it in 2026 – regardless of price.

This is the single most important special rule for anyone who works on a computer: freelancers, sole traders, and UG/GmbH directors. Use it and you push your taxable profit down as far as possible in the purchase year – instead of claiming only a third of the cost each year.

Here are the five rules that put your laptop, accessories, and software cleanly into your EÜR or your GmbH annual accounts in 2026 – including input VAT recovery and private use.

In short: Since the BMF letter, computer hardware has a one-year useful life – you deduct your laptop's full price in the purchase year, whether it cost 700 € or 2,800 € net. Below 800 € net it's a low-value asset (GWG) anyway and immediately fully deductible. Under standard taxation you also reclaim the 19% input VAT. Only the business share is deductible, which you must estimate realistically.

Rule 1: Computer hardware – one-year useful life

With the BMF letter of 22 February 2022 (IV C 3 - S 2190/21/10002 :025), the tax authorities reduced the standard useful life for computer hardware and software to one year. It applies retroactively to all fiscal years ending after 31 December 2020 – and explicitly covers notebooks, tablets, and peripheral devices.

In practice: you can depreciate the full acquisition cost of your laptop in the year of purchase – whether it cost 900 € or 2,800 € net. The old three-year depreciation from the official AfA table is effectively neutralised for computers.

• This is not an immediate write-off like the GWG rule, but a shortened useful life under §7(1) of the Income Tax Act (EStG). The effect is the same: full deduction in year one.
• The asset still enters the fixed-asset register, but is fully depreciated within a year.
• You do not have to apply the one-year rule – it is an option. In loss-making years, spreading the cost can make more sense.

So practically every business notebook lands 100% in the purchase year – only the legal basis differs:

Rule 2: Up to 800 € net – it's a low-value asset anyway

If the laptop costs 800 € net or less (§6(2) EStG), it is a low-value asset (GWG) and immediately 100% deductible – without even needing the BMF rule. At 19% VAT that's 952 € gross.

So a 750 € net notebook goes fully into your EÜR in the year of purchase. For GWG above 250.01 € net you must keep a running register (purchase date, manufacturer, serial number, price). The details are in our guide to the GWG threshold and immediate write-off.

For pricier devices, Rule 1 applies – only the legal basis differs, not the outcome. This is how you assign each laptop to one of three paths:

Rule 3: Input VAT – claim back 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 through your VAT return. On a 2,380 € gross laptop that's 380 € input VAT – immediately, in the VAT period of the purchase.

The invoice must show the mandatory details under §14 UStG: name and address, tax number or VAT ID, date, net amount, VAT rate, and VAT amount. An order confirmation or delivery note won't do – with online purchases you often have to download the invoice yourself.

Here's how much input VAT you reclaim by price:

Small-business owners (Kleinunternehmer) deduct the gross amount as a business expense but cannot reclaim VAT. Whether dropping the small-business scheme pays off for larger purchases is covered in our article on the Kleinunternehmer VAT exemption.

Rule 4: Split private use cleanly

Using the laptop for evening Netflix and personal email too? Then only the business share counts:

• Under 10% business use: no deduction – the device stays private.
• 10–90% business use: pro-rata deduction. At 70% business use you deduct 70% of the cost (depreciation pro-rata, input VAT pro-rata).
• Over 90% business use: full deduction, private use is treated as negligible.

How that plays out on an 1,800 € net laptop:

You estimate the business share reasonably – the tax office accepts plausible figures but may want a justification. If you already deduct a home office, a high business share is easier to argue. The same split logic applies to phone and mobile costs and to a business-used smartphone.

Rule 5: Accessories & software – usually deductible at once

Everything around the laptop is handled separately:

• Mouse, keyboard, docking station, laptop bag, external SSD: usually under 800 € net → GWG, immediately 100% deductible.
• External monitor: a separate asset – GWG up to 800 € net, above that the one-year hardware rule applies again.
• Software & SaaS subscriptions (Office 365, Adobe CC, accounting tools): ongoing business expenses, fully deductible in the year paid.
• Repairs and battery replacement: immediately deductible maintenance costs.

Book hardware and running costs separately – the asset on the office-equipment account, software and accessories as ongoing costs. That keeps the fixed-asset register clean.

Deducting a laptop as an employee (work-related expenses)

Employed and working from home on your own laptop? Then you deduct it not as a business expense but as work-related equipment (Arbeitsmittel) in Anlage N. The logic is almost the same: up to 800 € net immediately in full, above that the one-year rule applies, and again only the business share counts.

Two differences to know:

• Work-related expenses only bite once your total job-related costs exceed the employee lump sum of 1,230 €, which is deducted automatically anyway.
• As an employee there is no input VAT deduction, so you always use the gross amount.

How the two expense types differ is shown in our article on business vs. employee expenses.

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What matters in 2026: GoBD-compliant receipts and bookkeeping

Whether 700 € or 2,800 € – under the GoBD rules the tax office requires complete, tamper-proof documentation: the original invoice with all mandatory details, correct posting to the right account, and no after-the-fact edits. Lost the receipt? A self-issued receipt (Eigenbeleg) rescues the expense deduction – but not the input VAT, for which the original invoice is mandatory.

Norman automatically detects whether a laptop purchase is a GWG, one-year hardware, or regular AfA, books it to the right account, and claims the input VAT in your return. For GmbHs it flows straight into the fixed-asset register and the annual accounts – see Taxes for GmbH and Taxes for the self-employed.

Frequently asked questions

Can I deduct a laptop fully in the year I buy it? Yes. Since the BMF letter, computer hardware has a one-year useful life – you deduct the full amount in the purchase year, regardless of price. Below 800 € net the GWG immediate write-off applies anyway.

What percentage of the laptop can I deduct? You deduct the business-use share. Above 90% business use it's 100%, between 10 and 90% pro-rata (e.g. 70% use = 70% deduction), under 10% nothing.

Does the laptop still have to be depreciated over three years? No. The old three-year depreciation from the AfA table is effectively superseded for computer hardware. You may use the shortened one-year useful life – but you don't have to; in loss years a longer spread remains optional.

Can I reclaim the input VAT on the laptop? Under standard taxation, yes: you deduct the 19% shown on the invoice as input VAT in your VAT return. Small-business owners only deduct the gross amount as a business expense, with no input VAT.

Where do I enter the laptop in my tax return? The self-employed book it as a business expense or depreciation in the EÜR (Anlage EÜR) and list it in the fixed-asset register. Employees enter it as work-related equipment in Anlage N.

Can I deduct a used laptop I bought second-hand? Yes, just like a new one. What matters is the net price and a proper invoice. The one-year rule and the GWG threshold apply to second-hand purchases too.

Conclusion

Deducting a laptop in 2026 is easier than most purchases thanks to the BMF rule: computer hardware has a one-year useful life – you deduct the full amount in the purchase year, no matter how expensive the device. Under 800 € net the GWG immediate write-off applies anyway. Always claim the input VAT, split private use cleanly, and book accessories and software separately. Do it consistently and you get the maximum out of every new device – and stand clean in a tax audit.