Fixed Asset Register in Germany 2026: Rules, Contents & Template for Freelancers and GmbHs

Every laptop, desk and machine over 800 euros net ends up in your fixed asset register (Anlagenverzeichnis) – and often stays there for years. The register is the basis for your depreciation (AfA), part of your tax return, and one of the first things the tax office wants to see in an audit. If it is missing or incomplete, estimates and follow-up questions follow.

For freelancers filing an income-surplus statement (EÜR), the fixed asset register is even officially mandated: it is called Anlage AVEÜR and is part of the annual tax return. GmbHs and UGs keep it as part of their fixed-asset accounting. Either way: no clean register, no correct depreciation.

This article explains who must keep a fixed asset register, which details belong in it, how to handle low-value assets (GWG) and pools correctly, which useful lives apply in 2026 and how to use the new 30% declining-balance AfA – including the most common mistakes to avoid.

In short: the fixed asset register in 30 seconds

• The fixed asset register is the complete list of your fixed assets, with acquisition cost, useful life, depreciation and residual book value per item.
• It is mandatory for anyone depreciating fixed assets – as the Anlage AVEÜR for an EÜR, and as the asset movement schedule in the GmbH's annual accounts.
• Assets over €800 net (or over €1,000 if you pool) belong in the regular register; below that, GWG immediate write-off or the pool applies.
• In 2026 you depreciate computers and software over 1 year, office furniture over 13 years, and a company car over 6 years.
• For movable assets acquired from 1 July 2025, a declining-balance AfA of up to 30% is available again – it front-loads the depreciation.

What is a fixed asset register?

The fixed asset register (Anlagenverzeichnis, also Anlagespiegel) is the complete list of your fixed assets: everything you use in the business long-term and do not intend to sell. That includes computers, office furniture, machinery and the company car, but also intangibles such as purchased software or licences.

For each item, the register documents what it cost, over how many years you depreciate it and the residual book value at year-end. It is the link between your bookkeeping and your depreciation (AfA): the register is what tells you how much AfA flows into your profit calculation each year.

Who has to keep a fixed asset register?

Practically anyone with depreciable fixed assets – whether you file a balance sheet or an EÜR:

• Freelancers and self-employed with an EÜR: you must submit the Anlage AVEÜR electronically with your income-surplus statement as soon as you depreciate any asset.
• GmbH and UG: as a balance-sheet company you keep ongoing fixed-asset accounting. The asset movement schedule (Anlagenspiegel) is part of the annual financial statements and shows additions, disposals and depreciation per balance-sheet item.
• Small businesses (Kleinunternehmer): even without VAT the record-keeping duty applies – once you depreciate something, you need a register.

If you only ever buy immediately deductible small items, you can often skip a classic register, but you must still document GWG separately (see below).

What must the register contain?

For each asset, these mandatory details go in their own row:

• Description of the asset (e.g. "Lenovo ThinkPad notebook")
• Date of acquisition or production
• Acquisition or production cost (net of input VAT, if you can reclaim it)
• Useful life per the official AfA depreciation tables
• Depreciation method (straight-line or declining-balance)
• Annual AfA amount and accumulated depreciation
• Residual book value at year-end
• Disposals (sale, withdrawal, scrapping) with date

These fields create the audit trail across the entire useful life. An asset stays in the register at a memo value of 1 euro until it finally leaves the business.

Here is an extract for three assets acquired in 2026 (straight-line AfA, each added in January):

Setting the useful life correctly: the 2026 AfA table

The useful life determines over how many years you depreciate an asset. The official AfA table from the Federal Finance Ministry is decisive. For the most common purchases, these values apply in 2026:

Two things are often done wrong: computers and software may be written off over a useful life of one year since the 2021 BMF letter – effectively an immediate write-off, regardless of price. Office furniture, by contrast, runs for 13 years, far longer than many assume. Writing furniture off over three or six years applies too much AfA – a classic audit finding.

In the year of acquisition, straight-line AfA is calculated pro rata temporis, month by month: buy the company car in April and it is 9 of 12 months, i.e. 9/12 × €5,000 = €3,750 AfA in the first year.

Straight-line or declining-balance? The 30% turbo AfA in 2026

With straight-line AfA you spread the acquisition cost evenly over the useful life. For movable assets acquired between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027, a declining-balance AfA is available again in 2026 (§ 7 (2) EStG, investment immediate programme): up to three times the straight-line AfA, capped at 30% of the residual book value per year. It applies to machines, equipment or vehicles – not buildings or intangibles.

The effect: depreciation is front-loaded, lowering your profit more in the early years. Example for a machine at €10,000 net with a 5-year useful life:

With declining-balance AfA it pays to switch to the straight-line method in the year the remaining straight-line AfA is higher – here from year 4. The reverse switch is not allowed. Whether straight-line or declining-balance suits you depends on your profit situation: if you want to reduce high profits now, declining-balance is the better choice.

Low-value assets, pools and the separate GWG register

Not every purchase runs through the register for years. For low-value assets (geringwertige Wirtschaftsgüter, GWG) these thresholds apply unchanged in 2026 (all net):

The separate GWG register for items between €250.01 and €800 must show the acquisition date and cost – unless that already follows from your bookkeeping. For the pool (Sammelposten), you place all items between €250.01 and €1,000 of a year into one pool and write it off evenly over five years, regardless of whether an individual item leaves earlier.

Important: per financial year you must choose either GWG immediate write-off or the pool – mixing both within one year is not allowed.

Building the register step by step

1. Collect receipts. Keep the invoice handy for every purchase over €250 – you will need date, net amount and description right away.
2. Classify the asset. Check the threshold: GWG, pool or regular fixed asset?
3. Set the useful life. Use the official AfA table (e.g. 1 year for computers, 6 years for the car, 13 years for office furniture).
4. Choose the AfA method. Straight-line or – for movable assets from July 2025 – declining-balance at up to 30%.
5. Calculate AfA. Cost divided by useful life gives the straight-line annual AfA. In the year of purchase you calculate pro rata temporis, month by month.
6. Roll the register forward. Each year reduce the book value and add additions and disposals.

Maintaining this in a spreadsheet every year, it is easy to miss an addition or miscalculate the AfA. An AI bookkeeping tool like Norman recognises the asset directly from the invoice, suggests useful life and depreciation method, and keeps the register up to date automatically – including the Anlage AVEÜR for your tax return.

Common mistakes

• Useful life set wrong – office furniture over 3 instead of 13 years, or computers still over 3 instead of 1 year.
• GWG between €250 and €800 not documented – the separate register is missing.
• Full-year AfA in the year of purchase instead of pro rata temporis.
• Forgotten disposals: a sold company car sits in the register for years.
• Gross instead of net recorded, although input VAT is deductible.
• An asset over €800 fully deducted instead of capitalised – a classic, often confused with the investment deduction (IAB).

Frequently asked questions

Is a fixed asset register mandatory?

Yes, as soon as you depreciate fixed assets. With an EÜR you submit it electronically as the Anlage AVEÜR with your tax return; for a GmbH the asset movement schedule is part of the annual accounts. Only if you buy exclusively immediately deductible small items can you skip a classic register.

What is the difference between the fixed asset register and the GWG register?

The fixed asset register records all assets depreciated over their useful life (generally over €800 net). The separate GWG register documents only the immediately written-off low-value assets between €250.01 and €800. Both can exist side by side.

From what amount must an asset go into the register?

Depreciable assets over €800 net (or over €1,000 if you use the pool) belong in the regular fixed asset register. Below that, immediate deduction, GWG write-off or the pool applies.

What useful life applies to a computer in 2026?

Computers, notebooks, peripherals and software may be depreciated over a useful life of one year since 2021 – effectively an immediate write-off in the year of acquisition, regardless of price.

Can I use declining-balance depreciation?

Yes, for movable assets acquired between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2027. The declining-balance AfA is up to three times the straight-line AfA, capped at 30% of the residual book value per year. A switch to the straight-line method is allowed; the reverse is not.

Conclusion

The fixed asset register is not optional paperwork but the mandatory basis of every depreciation – for freelancers as the Anlage AVEÜR, for the GmbH as part of the annual accounts. Master the required fields, the GWG thresholds, the right useful life and pro-rata AfA, and any audit becomes routine. It stays complete and error-free most easily when your bookkeeping software keeps the register automatically from your receipts, instead of you rebuilding it in a spreadsheet once a year.

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