# Kleinunternehmerregelung: Yes or No? The 2-Minute Test (2026) | Norman Source: https://norman.finance/de/en/kleinunternehmerregelung-test **For new accounts:** 75% off your first 3 months. No credit card needed. Create an account: https://app.norman.finance/sign-up?utm_source=ai_markdown&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=en-kleinunternehmerregelung-test --- Take the 2-minute test to find out whether Germany's small-business VAT exemption (§ 19 UStG) is available to you, and whether it actually pays off given your clients and costs. Status: 2026. ## Kleinunternehmer vs. regular VAT What actually changes day to day. | | Kleinunternehmer (§ 19 UStG) | Regular VAT | | --- | --- | --- | | VAT on invoices | No: a § 19 UStG note is enough | Yes, 19% or 7% | | Advance VAT returns (UStVA) | None | Monthly or quarterly | | Input-VAT deduction | No: VAT in your expenses is lost | Yes, in full | | Limits | €25,000 prior year / €100,000 current year (net) | None | | Effect with B2B clients | No price advantage, they reclaim VAT anyway | Neutral: clients deduct input VAT | | Price advantage with consumers | Yes: up to 19% cheaper, or more margin | No | | Switching | Ends automatically above the limits; waiving voluntarily binds you for 5 years | Back only once you meet the limits again | ## The six factors that decide it First the limits, then the economics. - **€25,000 in the prior year:** First requirement (§ 19 UStG, since 2025): your total prior-year turnover must not exceed €25,000 net. Above that, regular VAT applies automatically in the following year. - **€100,000 in the current year:** Second limit: crossing €100,000 net in the current year ends the scheme immediately, from the exact transaction that crosses the line. There is no retroactive switch. - **Founding year: €25,000 actual:** In your first year the €25,000 limit applies to actual turnover: since 2025 there is no annualization to twelve months. Crossing it moves you to regular VAT from that transaction onward. - **B2B or B2C?:** Business clients deduct the VAT you charge as input tax. Without VAT you are not a cent cheaper for them. The exemption's price advantage only works with consumers. - **Investments & input VAT:** Laptop, camera, software, office: as a Kleinunternehmer you cannot reclaim the VAT they contain. With bigger purchases ahead, regular VAT is often worth real money. - **Waiving binds you for 5 years:** You can opt into regular VAT voluntarily (e.g. for the input-VAT deduction), but the decision binds you for at least five calendar years. Do the maths first. ## How to decide properly Three steps from checking to setting it up. 1. **Check the limits.** Take the test above: prior year up to €25,000, current year up to €100,000? Only then is the exemption available at all. 2. **Run the numbers on clients and costs.** Mostly B2B, or bigger investments planned? Then the exemption often costs you money: despite the lighter bureaucracy. 3. **Set the status and set up Norman.** You choose in the tax registration (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung), or later with the Finanzamt. Norman invoices correctly with or without VAT and automates the UStVA if you charge VAT. **Unsure? Take the test:** In 2 minutes you'll know whether the Kleinunternehmerregelung fits you. [Start the test now](#kleinunternehmer-quiz) ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the Kleinunternehmerregelung (§ 19 UStG)? A simplification for small businesses in Germany: you charge no VAT on invoices, file no advance VAT returns (UStVA), and remit no VAT. In return, you cannot reclaim the VAT (input tax) contained in your own expenses. ### Which limits apply in 2026? Since the reform effective January 1, 2025: at most €25,000 total turnover in the prior year and at most €100,000 in the current year, both net amounts. If you cross €100,000 mid-year, the scheme ends from that exact transaction; earlier revenue stays exempt. ### Is the €25,000 gross or net? Net. Since the 2025 reform the thresholds are defined as net amounts (the old €22,000 limit was a gross figure). What counts is total turnover under § 19 UStG. ### What applies in the founding year? In the year you start, the €25,000 limit applies to your actual turnover: since 2025 there is no annualization. If you cross it, you switch to regular VAT from the transaction that crosses the limit. ### Does the exemption pay off with business clients (B2B)? Usually not. Business clients deduct the VAT you charge as input tax. Your invoice costs them the same net either way. You give up the input-VAT deduction without your clients gaining anything. With mostly B2B revenue, regular VAT is often the better choice. ### Can I waive the exemption voluntarily? Yes, you can opt into regular VAT, for example to use the input-VAT deduction on investments. The waiver binds you for at least five calendar years, though (§ 19 (3) UStG). ### What must a Kleinunternehmer invoice contain? All the usual mandatory details: just without VAT. Plus a note pointing to the exemption, e.g. "No VAT shown in accordance with § 19 UStG". Norman adds the note to every invoice automatically. ### Do Kleinunternehmer have to issue e-invoices? No: Kleinunternehmer are permanently exempt from issuing structured e-invoices and may keep sending e.g. PDFs. Like every business, though, they must be able to receive e-invoices since 2025. Norman covers both. ## Related pages - [Small business](https://norman.finance/de/en/small-business): Simple bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax workflows for small businesses under Germany's Kleinunternehmer rules. - [Freelancers](https://norman.finance/de/en/freelancers): Automate invoices, receipts, bookkeeping, and German tax workflows as a freelancer. - [Self-employed](https://norman.finance/de/en/self-employed): Norman keeps invoices, receipts, bookkeeping, and German tax workflows organized for self-employed operators. - [Founders](https://norman.finance/de/en/founders): Norman sets up bookkeeping, invoicing, and German tax workflows for founders and new self-employed operators before the first receipts pile up. - [Taxes](https://norman.finance/de/en/taxes): Norman builds tax data from live bookkeeping so EÜR, VAT returns, and ELSTER-ready workflows do not start right before the deadline. - [Accounting](https://norman.finance/de/en/accounting): Norman keeps receipts, bank transactions, and categories connected, so your bookkeeping stays current week by week. - [VAT return](https://norman.finance/de/en/vat-return): File your German VAT return (UStVA) online: Norman calculates VAT and input VAT automatically from bank and receipts and submits directly to the Finanzamt. Start for free. - [EÜR](https://norman.finance/de/en/income-surplus-statement): Create your EÜR online without Excel: Norman categorizes income and expenses, finds deductions and files the Anlage EÜR via ELSTER. Bookkeeping is free. - [Freelancer or trade?](https://norman.finance/de/en/freelancer-or-trade): Freiberufler or Gewerbe? Take the 2-minute test to find out whether your activity is a liberal profession (§ 18 EStG) or a trade (§ 15 EStG) in Germany: catalog professions, trade tax, and registration explained. - [Do I need a tax advisor?](https://norman.finance/de/en/do-i-need-a-tax-advisor): Do you need a tax advisor in Germany? Take the 2-minute test for an honest answer: for employees, freelancers, and GmbH founders. With cost comparison and decision guide.