Depreciation and withdrawal of a company vehicle from a small business into personal assets.
March 20, 2022 | 49,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
I purchased a vehicle (model year 2015) for exclusive business use in August 2020 and included it in the assets of my side business (small business).
Purchase price: 26,900 euros (gross)
In the 2020 income tax return, a total of 7,248 euros was depreciated, including the special depreciation (20%) proportionally (for 5 months) for a depreciation period of 6 years.
I had chosen a depreciation period of 6 years in 2020.
1st question:
Can I switch to a depreciation period of 3 years for the income tax for 2021?
If yes, could I claim 8,967 euros for 2021 mathematically?
After all, the car is from the year 2015.
I may want to withdraw the company car from the business assets into my personal assets.
2nd question:
Important: When do I have to report the withdrawal? Do I have to report this in my annual income tax return, i.e. if I make the withdrawal in April 2022, do I report it next year as part of my 2022 income tax return?
How is this reported and documented?
Do I need, for example, a purchase agreement if I sell the car to myself?
How long do I have to keep the car in personal assets in order to be able to sell it to myself or a buyer tax-free?
What tax costs will I incur? According to estimates from "wirkaufendeinauto.de," the car is worth 15,048 euros (damage).
Hello and thank you for using frag-einen.com!
Regarding your questions, I would like to provide the following feedback.
Reducing the period of use is not easily possible. A change/reduction would have to be proven, as there is a principle of evaluation consistency. If necessary, you would then have to correct the year 2020. This would be possible, for example, if the tax assessment is subject to review according to § 164 AO.
Regarding question 2:
The withdrawal should generally be recorded in the books when it occurs. If you withdraw the vehicle at the end of the year, it would be necessary to record it at the end of December. This is especially important if you are subject to VAT. If you did not have any input tax deduction due to the small business status, and therefore do not owe anything at the time of withdrawal, it is sufficient to report everything in the context of the income tax return for 2022. It does not need to be reported separately (in the form of a letter to the tax office). You fill out the EÜR attachment accordingly and enter the value of the non-cash withdrawal. A residual book value must also be entered. If the tax office has any questions, they will contact you specifically. A purchase contract is not necessary. In principle, you do not have to keep the car for a certain period of time, as it is an everyday item. However, if your selling price is higher than your estimated withdrawal value, the tax office will increase the withdrawal value from the business assets accordingly and therefore set a higher withdrawal profit.
Ultimately, the amount of tax depends on the amount of the withdrawal profit. This in turn depends on the withdrawal value and the book value. So if you have already depreciated a lot, the book profit will increase accordingly, resulting in a higher tax. The tax also depends on your personal tax rate, which is determined by the amount of your total income. For example, if you withdraw the vehicle for 15,000 EUR and the book value (purchase cost minus all depreciation) at the time of withdrawal is 13,000 EUR, you have a profit of approximately 2,000 EUR to be taxed. With an average tax rate of 25%, you would have to pay about 500 EUR in income tax.
Best regards and have a great Sunday!
Knut Christiansen
Tax consultant
