From when do I have to declare my hobby to the tax office?
December 8, 2020 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
I am a hobby artist and would like to open a shop on Etsy for this. Currently, I do not intend to finance myself with it or make real profits (I already have a good job). I just want to see if there are buyers and if I enjoy it at all. Of course, this could change. As far as I understand, this should fall under a hobby and would not have to be taxed as long as the profit is below 410 euros per year. Do I still have to inform the tax office about this? And if so, how? Do I also have to include the income and expenses in the tax return in this case? And under what category should I do that? And if the profit exceeds 410 euros, can I still register the business retrospectively without getting into tax problems? I don't want to do anything wrong here.
Thank you in advance!
Good morning and thank you for using frag-einen.com!
I will be happy to answer your question as part of an initial consultation.
In general, you are required to notify the tax office of starting this activity (questionnaire for tax registration). You will then receive a new tax number from the tax office, so that you can declare the income (if any, negative) in your tax return.
You declare the income in attachment S (as an artist, you should be self-employed) and then you must record income and expenses in attachment EÜR. However, if the profit is less than 410 EUR, no income tax is due.
You should definitely avoid a late registration, as the tax office may see this as an administrative offense. At the same time, Etsy as a marketplace may also require confirmation from you that you are registered with the tax office.
I hope this answers your question, if not, please feel free to contact me with any further questions.
Best regards,
Knut Christiansen
Tax advisor
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