Residence Germany: Online business Austria
June 19, 2012 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Wirtschaftsprüfer André Hintz
My place of residence is in Germany and I have a main employment where I pay income tax (also in Germany).
I want to take over an online shop (selling a service - printing) from an Austrian. Customers and business partners are in Austria. The online shop has an Austrian internet address (*.at).
My questions:
1. Where do I have to register this business, in Austria or Germany?
2. I want to create invoices where the VAT is shown, what do I need to consider?
3. In which country are the taxes to be paid?
Dear questioner,
I would like to answer your question within the scope of an initial consultation and your fee commitment, in accordance with the rules of the online portal. My response refers to the situation you have presented.
Regarding your first question: Place of registration
Since you have your residence in Germany and want to operate your business from your residence, you must register your business in Germany. You must submit a commercial registration to your municipality and also send a notification to the tax office about the start of your commercial activity. Usually, the commercial registration is forwarded by the authorities, but this takes a bit longer and you need the tax number faster. The tax office will then send you a questionnaire that you must fill out. Furthermore, you must apply for a VAT identification number in order to participate in intra-European trade with other companies. This is necessary even if you want to acquire the online shop.
Regarding your second question: VAT regulation
When you register your business, you must provide a forecast of how high your turnover will be. If your turnover remains below 17,500 euros in the first year, you have the choice. You can issue invoices with or without VAT. If you issue invoices with VAT, you waive the small business regulation. This must be communicated to the tax office when you receive the questionnaire for opening the business from the tax office.
Attached is an excerpt from § 14 (4) UStG which specifies the information that must be included on the invoices:
[Excerpt provided]
The tax rate you need and whether additional information needs to be provided depends on your business.
Further questions to clarify:
Are you providing a delivery (physical delivery of a product) or another service (service), depending on where the place of delivery is.
It also needs to be clarified in each individual case whether you deliver to private individuals or other businesses, which determines where the place of delivery is.
Once the place of delivery is determined, it needs to be decided whether VAT needs to be shown.
It is recommended to seek further and intensive advice that goes beyond this scope. I am happy to assist you with that.
Regarding your third question: Tax liability
All your income is taxable in Germany, as you have your residence here and operate your business here. The main taxes are income tax, trade tax, and VAT. Again, it is advisable to seek further and intensive advice that goes beyond this scope. I am happy to assist you with that.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you and remain
Yours sincerely,
André Hintz
Tax advisor
Steuerberatung@andrehintz.de
