# Taxes for Physiotherapists in Germany: VAT Exemption and EÜR Source: https://norman.finance/de/en/solutions/physiotherapy **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-solutions-physiotherapy --- Your treatments are usually VAT-exempt. The back-training course without a prescription is not. Most mistakes happen exactly on that line, and they surface at the audit. ## For practices between prescription and self-payer From the EÜR to VAT returns to income tax: Norman prepares, reviews, and submits everything directly to the tax office. - **Automated EÜR preparation:** Norman maintains your income-expenditure report continuously and prepares it automatically at year-end. - **Deductions you'd otherwise miss:** Norman's AI checks every expense for deductibility. No deduction slips through anymore. - **Income tax declaration:** Norman pre-fills your income tax declaration with data from your ongoing bookkeeping. - **ELSTER submission included:** Submit your tax declarations directly from Norman to the tax office, no extra software needed. - **Live tax estimates:** See at any time how much tax is coming your way and plan ahead with real-time data. ## What a physio practice needs from its books Four points where a practice differs from an ordinary business. 1. **Exempt and taxable in one set of books.** Treatment under § 4 No. 14 UStG is exempt; wellness without a prescription is not. Norman keeps both kinds of turnover apart without you running two systems. 2. **VAT returns only when they are due.** With exempt treatments only, none are due. As soon as taxable turnover appears, Norman prepares the return and files it straight with the Finanzamt. 3. **The small-business thresholds in view.** For the taxable part, €25,000 prior year and €100,000 current year apply. Norman shows continuously how close you are. 4. **EÜR instead of a balance sheet.** As a healthcare profession you are freiberuflich: no trade tax, profit by cash-basis EÜR. Norman prepares the EÜR and submits it. ## What Norman takes off your month-end Norman reduces recurring finance work before receipts, VAT, and deadlines become a problem. - 8 hours: sorting receipts each month - 5 tools: to keep in sync - Tax stress: before every deadline ## Norman instead of manual finance routine Receipts, invoices, tax data, and advisor handoff work together instead of splitting across five tools. | | Norman | Manual without Norman | | --- | --- | --- | | Receipts | Captured and categorized as they arrive | Pile up in your inbox and shoeboxes | | Client invoices | One workflow with automatic reminders | Word template and manual sending | | EÜR & VAT returns | Prepared from live data | Built in spreadsheets at deadline | | Advisor handoff | One login, structured data | ZIP via email and follow-ups | ## Plans that grow with your workflow Start free and unlock tax, team, and automation features when you need them. ### Self-employed (Freelancers & sole traders) - **Free**: Core accounting features. €0. - Unlimited e-invoicing - Tax write-off tips - AI Autopilot - Connect to ChatGPT & Claude - Receipt scanning (OCR) - Norman AI usage limits - **Klein**: For Kleinunternehmer. Monthly: €12/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €9/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €3/month (excl. VAT), then €12. - Bank sync - Annual tax declarations (EÜR) - Personal income tax - Declare salary as an employee - UStVA & ZM filing - Higher Norman AI limits - **Pro**: For self-employed charging VAT. Monthly: €28/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €21/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €7/month (excl. VAT), then €28. - VAT returns - All tax declarations - Tax efficiency score - Receipt auto-matching - Up to 5 bank accounts synced - Maximum Norman AI limits ### Companies (UGs & GmbHs) - **Free**: Invoicing and bookkeeping. €0. - Complete double-entry bookkeeping - AI Autopilot - Unlimited e-invoicing - Bank sync (1 account) - Norman AI usage limits - **Pro**: Reports, insights, and advisor tools. Monthly: €12/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €9/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €3/month (excl. VAT), then €12. - BWA & financial reports - DATEV export - Tax advisor access - Multi-user access - Higher Norman AI limits - **Max**: Annual accounts and every tax filing. Monthly: €52/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €39/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €13/month (excl. VAT), then €52. - UStVA & ZM filing - Corporate & trade tax - Annual accounts with E-Bilanz - Bank sync (5 accounts) - Maximum Norman AI limits **Exempt and taxable, cleanly separated:** Norman keeps both kinds of turnover in one set of books and files only what has to be filed. [Start for free](https://app.norman.finance/sign-up) ## FAQ ### Is everything a physio practice does VAT-exempt? No. What is exempt under § 4 No. 14 UStG is medical treatment, meaning services with a therapeutic purpose, usually evidenced by a medical prescription. Services that merely increase general well-being, such as wellness massage or pure fitness classes, are subject to VAT. ### How do I treat self-payer services? It depends on the content, not on who pays. A self-paid service can still be exempt if a therapeutic purpose is in the foreground and can be evidenced, for example as part of prevention or rehabilitation. Without that therapeutic character, the standard rate applies. ### Do I have to file VAT returns? Usually not if you provide only exempt treatments. As soon as you have taxable turnover, from wellness or product sales, its size decides: below the small-business thresholds you can use the Kleinunternehmerregelung, above them VAT returns become due. ### Can I reclaim input VAT on equipment and fit-out? Only to the extent the purchase relates to taxable turnover. For the exempt part of your work, input-tax recovery is excluded. Mixed use is apportioned. That is the practical price of the exemption. ### Am I freiberuflich or a trade business? Physiotherapy belongs to the healthcare professions and therefore counts as freiberuflich. You register no trade, pay no trade tax, and determine profit by EÜR. That can change if you sell goods at scale or deploy staff outside the profession. ### What changes when I hire staff? The exemption attaches to the treatment, not to you personally. Where employed therapists with the relevant qualification treat patients, that turnover stays exempt. On top come wage tax registration and social insurance for the employees. ## Related pages - [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. - [Small business](https://norman.finance/de/en/small-business): Simple bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax workflows for small businesses under Germany's Kleinunternehmer rules. - [VAT return](https://norman.finance/de/en/vat-return): Norman calculates your German VAT return (UStVA) from bank and receipts and submits it to the Finanzamt via ELSTER. For GmbH, UG and the self-employed. - [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. - [Accounting](https://norman.finance/de/en/accounting): Norman keeps receipts, bank transactions, and categories connected, so your bookkeeping stays current week by week. - [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.