Kleinunternehmerregelung: the €55k decision

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Under €55,000 gross annual turnover you may invoice without VAT. That's the rule since 1 Jan 2025 — a big chunk of the internet still says €35,000; ignore those articles.

What exemption means

No VAT on your invoices (with the mandatory note — wording in the invoicing guide)
No UVA filings, no VAT bookkeeping
But: no input-VAT deduction — the 20% on your laptop, software and accountant stays your cost

The 10% tolerance

Exceed €55k by up to 10% (max €60,500) and the exemption survives until year-end; from January you're VAT-registered. Blow past 10%, and VAT applies immediately from the transaction that breached it — mid-year, mid-invoice-run. Watch your running total from ~€50k.

Stay exempt or opt in?

Stay Kleinunternehmer if…	Opt into VAT (Regelbesteuerung) if…
your clients are consumers (your prices are effectively 20% cheaper)	your clients are businesses (they deduct VAT anyway — your exemption buys you nothing)
you have few input costs	you invest: hardware, software, furniture, advisors — the input VAT comes back
you value zero VAT admin	you'll cross €55k soon anyway

Opting in binds you for five years — it's a declaration to the Finanzamt, not a checkbox you flip back. Model both scenarios once before deciding; ten minutes of arithmetic, years of consequence.

EU note: since the 2025 reform there's also an EU-wide small-business scheme allowing exemption in other member states (with registration) — relevant once you sell to consumers across the EU.

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Status: 2026. Amounts and thresholds change (SVS values adjust yearly) — this is careful general information, not individual tax or legal advice. For your specific case, talk to a licensed Steuerberater.