Reverse Charge in Germany 2026: §13b UStG for the Self-Employed and Companies

In Brief: Reverse Charge at a Glance

• What it is: Under reverse charge (§13b UStG), the recipient of the service owes the VAT, not the supplier. You receive a net invoice with no VAT shown.
• Who it affects: Every Unternehmer — freelancers, sole traders, partnerships, UGs and GmbHs. It is not a question of legal form but of the type of service. Only purely private purchases are excluded.
• Typical cases: EU services such as Google and Meta Ads, Adobe or Figma (§13b para. 1); services from outside the EU such as AWS, OpenAI or Zoom (para. 2 no. 1); plus construction work, building cleaning and a few special cases.
• Mandatory note: The invoice must state "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (§14a para. 5 UStG) — with no VAT amount.
• In the UStVA: You declare the self-assessed VAT and reclaim it as input VAT in the same step. With full input-VAT recovery the net effect is zero — but both amounts must be reported.
• Watch out, Kleinunternehmer: As the recipient you owe the §13b VAT despite §19 — but you cannot reclaim it as input VAT. Then it is a real extra cost.

What Is the Reverse Charge Procedure?

Normally the supplier shows VAT on the invoice, collects it from the customer and remits it to the tax office. Reverse charge under §13b UStG turns that logic around: the supplier invoices net — with no VAT — and the recipient calculates the tax and owes it to the tax office (§13b para. 5 sentence 1 UStG).

The rationale is practical. If a foreign company supplies a service to you, it would be almost impossible to force that company to charge German VAT and register in Germany. So the legislator shifts the liability onto you, the domestic recipient — which secures the tax revenue and prevents fraud.

The clever part: if you have full input-VAT recovery, you deduct the self-assessed tax again as input VAT in the same breath. On balance you pay nothing — the entry is a zero-sum game. The correct recording is still mandatory, because the tax office expects to see both sides in the pre-return.

Important: reverse charge only applies in a B2B context. The liability shifts only when you receive the service as an Unternehmer (or a legal entity). Private purchases are never affected.

When Does §13b UStG Apply?

Whether §13b applies depends not on your legal form but on the type of service. For most self-employed people, two cases are everyday business: digital services from the EU and from outside the EU. The remaining cases mainly concern specific industries.

For freelancers, sole traders and most small GmbHs, the first two rows are what matter: every invoice from Google Ireland, Meta, Adobe, AWS or OpenAI is a reverse charge invoice. The construction and cleaning cases (para. 2 no. 4 and 8) only apply if you yourself sustainably provide such services — which you prove to the tax office with a certificate (form USt 1 TG).

For clarity: reverse charge is not the same as an intra-community supply of goods. §13b concerns services; the physical movement of goods within the EU follows its own rules (see intra-community supply).

How to Recognise a Reverse Charge Invoice

A correct reverse charge invoice shows no VAT amount and no rate. Instead it carries the mandatory note "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" — the exact wording prescribed by §14a para. 5 sentence 1 UStG. On cross-border invoices the English phrase "Reverse charge" is also acceptable.

So you receive a net invoice. You calculate, report and — where entitled — reclaim the tax (usually 19%, or 7% for reduced-rate services) yourself. If the note is missing, the invoice is formally deficient, but the liability still shifts to you: the reversal of VAT liability is a matter of law, not of the invoice text.

How to Book Reverse Charge — an Example

Suppose you spend €1,000 on Google Ads (Google Ireland). You receive a net invoice for €1,000 with the reverse charge note and book:

• Expense (advertising): €1,000
• Output VAT §13b (liability to the tax office): €190
• Input VAT §13b (receivable from the tax office): €190

Net tax effect: zero. The two €190 amounts cancel out — but both must appear in the UStVA. In the SKR03 chart of accounts you use accounts 1787 (output VAT §13b) and 1577 (deductible input VAT §13b) for EU services.

Expert opinion

No VAT on the invoice doesn't mean VAT-free. Check for the reverse-charge note — Google, Meta and AWS invoices often have one.

Reporting Reverse Charge in the VAT Pre-Return (UStVA)

This is where most guides go wrong — they quote the outdated "lines 48–52" from the pre-2021 form. What matters are the codes (Kennziffern, Kz) of the current USt 1 A form, because line numbers shift with every revision while the codes stay stable.

Applied to the Google Ads example: you enter the €1,000 in Kz 46, the self-assessed €190 in Kz 47 — and the same €190 as input VAT in Kz 67. The tax office sees both sides and the net result is zero. A one-sided entry (the tax but not the input VAT, or vice versa) is spotted immediately in a VAT audit. For how the pre-return works overall, see the VAT return guide.

Special Case: Kleinunternehmer (Small Businesses)

A common and costly misconception is: "As a Kleinunternehmer I have nothing to do with VAT." With reverse charge that is not true.

• As the recipient you still owe the tax. If, as a Kleinunternehmer, you receive an EU or foreign service (e.g. Facebook Ads), you become the person liable for the tax under §13b — the small-business scheme (§19 UStG) does not protect you. For that you need a VAT ID and must file a UStVA.
• But you cannot reclaim it. Because §19 excludes input-VAT recovery, the €190 on €1,000 of ads is a real extra cost — not the zero-sum game it is for a standard-rated business. Factor that in before booking larger EU or US services.

The reverse also holds: if a Kleinunternehmer invoices you, reverse charge does not apply — their service is not taxable under §19, so there is no tax that could shift (§13b para. 5 in conjunction with section 13b.1 of the VAT application decree, UStAE).

When You Supply Reverse Charge Services Yourself

You can also be on the supply side — for instance as a freelancer serving a business client in Vienna or Amsterdam. Then:

• You invoice net with no VAT and add the note "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers".
• You need your own VAT ID and your customer's, and you verify their number beforehand.
• You report the turnover as an intra-community service in Kz 21 of the UStVA — and additionally in the EC Sales List (Zusammenfassende Meldung, ZM) by the 25th after the end of the quarter (§18a UStG).

The full workflow for an EU invoice — from verifying the VAT ID to the EC Sales List — is in EU B2B invoice for freelancers. If the service goes to a customer outside the EU, different rules apply again (see third-country invoice).

Reverse Charge and E-Invoicing in 2026

For 2026, the §13b cases and the €5,000 threshold do not change — the substantive rules stay as they are. What is new is the framework: reverse charge transactions fall squarely under the e-invoicing obligation. Since 1 January 2025, every business in domestic B2B must be able to receive e-invoices — and the mandatory note "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" must travel inside the structured format (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD), not just on the visible document.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Not recording the invoice because no VAT is shown — easy to miss when platform invoices are imported automatically.
• Forgetting the input VAT: you report the §13b tax but don't reclaim it — giving the tax office money you're entitled to.
• Forgetting the note on your own outgoing invoices to EU customers — the invoice is then formally deficient.
• Forgetting the ZM: EU services belong not only in the UStVA but also in the EC Sales List.
• Outdated codes copied from old templates — always use the current form.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Who pays the VAT under reverse charge?

The recipient. The supplier invoices net with no VAT; you, the recipient, calculate the tax yourself, owe it to the tax office and — if entitled to input-VAT recovery — deduct it again in the same step.

Does reverse charge only apply to GmbHs?

No. §13b is not tied to legal form but to the service. It applies equally to freelancers, sole traders, partnerships, UGs and GmbHs — to anyone who receives a relevant service as an Unternehmer.

What note must a reverse charge invoice show?

The exact wording "Steuerschuldnerschaft des Leistungsempfängers" (§14a para. 5 UStG). On cross-border invoices "Reverse charge" is also acceptable. No VAT amount is shown.

Does reverse charge apply to Kleinunternehmer too?

As the recipient, yes — you owe the tax despite §19, but you cannot reclaim it as input VAT. If you invoice as a Kleinunternehmer yourself, reverse charge does not apply, because your service is not taxed under §19.

Where do I report reverse charge in the UStVA?

EU services received in Kz 46/47, other §13b cases in Kz 84/85, the deductible input VAT in Kz 67. Your own EU services go in Kz 21, domestic §13b output transactions in Kz 60.

What's the difference between reverse charge and an intra-community supply?

Reverse charge (§13b) concerns services; an intra-community supply concerns the physical movement of goods between EU businesses. Both lead to a net invoice but follow different reporting rules.

Conclusion

Reverse charge is not a GmbH topic — it affects every Unternehmer who buys digital services from abroad or serves business clients in the EU. The mechanism is rule-based: recognise the net invoice, calculate the tax yourself, report it under the correct codes, deduct the input VAT. Do it cleanly and you pay nothing on balance; forget one side and you risk questions in an audit. Read on: EU B2B invoice for freelancers · EC Sales List · VAT return guide · Apply for a VAT ID.