Even if you run a small business, you have to file a tax return. Income tax in particular plays an important role here.
Tax return for small businesses: income tax
If you expect a relatively low total turnover, you can register a small business. This means you are not required to prepare financial statements, but you still have to submit a tax return once a year, by July 31st.
- If you decide to use the small business regulation for your small business, you only have to prepare an income surplus statement (EÜR) for income tax purposes and send it to the tax office.
- In contrast to double-entry bookkeeping, simple bookkeeping is sufficient here – that is, you list the income and expenses of your business in the EÜR appendix of the income tax return and your income tax to be paid is then calculated.
- If you only have your business as a part-time job and also do another activity in your main job, you must take all your income into account in your income tax return, because these are added together and then taxed.
- The income tax allowance is €9,984 for single people and €19,968 for married people. If your turnover is below the allowance, you do not have to pay any tax.
Sales tax for small businesses
All companies are subject to sales tax, but there are also exemptions to make your life easier.
- If you make use of the small business regulation, you generally do not have to show sales tax on your invoices. However, this is only possible if you had a maximum turnover of 22,000 euros in the last financial year and do not expect a turnover of more than 50,000 euros in the current financial year.
- If you exceed these sales limits, you must submit a sales tax return once a year. In addition, you must submit a sales tax advance return, which you send electronically to the tax office on a monthly or quarterly basis.