Is a sales tax pre-registration necessary for reverse charge?
July 10, 2021 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Steuerberater Knut Christiansen
I have founded a small business (including the small business regulation) as of June 1st. Now I would like to issue invoices to EU countries using the reverse charge procedure and of course using a VAT ID. Do I have to submit a monthly or quarterly VAT return now (which would then be a zero report each time?) or does it not affect me at all, because I do not charge any VAT at all? And even if I no longer fall under the small business regulation at some point, I still do not charge VAT. What do I have to report now?
Kind regards, Julia Kress
Good morning Mrs. Kress,
Thank you for using frag-einen.com.
Regarding your question, I would like to provide you with the following information.
As a small business owner according to § 19 UStG, you generally do not have to submit a sales tax pre-registration. This also applies if you issue invoices to foreign countries, as the recipient of the service is responsible for the sales tax (Reverse Charge). Also, submitting a summary statement (ZM) to the Federal Central Tax Office is not required according to § 18a para. 4 UStG.
However, if you receive services from abroad, you would be responsible for the sales tax as the recipient of the service under the Reverse Charge procedure. In this case, a sales tax pre-registration would be necessary.
If you are no longer a small business owner, you would have to report these sales in the pre-registration, even if you do not owe any sales tax (line 50 "Non-taxable other services according to § 18b sentence 1 No. 2 UStG").
But you may have input tax (= sales tax invoiced to you) that you can claim back, resulting in a refund for you.
I hope this answers your question, if not, please feel free to contact me again.
Best regards,
Knut Christiansen
Tax consultant
