Small Business - Revenue Surprisingly Exceeds €50,000
July 10, 2012 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
I have been registered as a business for several years, and I have been taking advantage of the small business regulation, so I have not been charging any sales tax so far.
In mid-2011, I released a product that sells quite well.
The sales looked roughly like this:
06/2011 - 10€;
07/2011 - 203€;
08/2011 - 653€;
09/2011 - 818€;
10/2011 - 1260€;
11/2011 - 2055€;
12/2011 - 3237€;
At that time, I did not expect to exceed a turnover of 50,000€ in 2012, so I continued not charging sales tax.
However, fortunately, by June 30, 2012, it had reached about 28,500€, so it could easily happen that I will end up at 55,000€ - 60,000€ for the full year of 2012.
In this context, I have two questions:
1. Should I exceed the 50,000€ limit, can I expect to pay back the sales tax for the year 2012?
2. I have not yet filed my tax return for the year 2011. If I estimate the sales for the year 2012 in it, should I base it on my current knowledge (i.e. July 2012), meaning I would have to estimate a turnover of 50,000€, or should this estimate be based on the sales achieved by the end of 2011?
Dear questioner,
Thank you for your inquiry, which I am happy to answer taking into account your input and the rules of this platform.
Please note that my explanation is based on the facts presented, and that adding, omitting, changing information, or the ambiguity of the information can change the tax outcome.
For small business owners according to § 19 UStG, the turnover of the entrepreneur in the previous calendar year must not have exceeded €17,500 and is not expected to exceed €50,000 in the current calendar year. Both conditions must be met together.
When it comes to the €50,000 threshold, it depends on whether the entrepreneur is not expected to exceed this size. The decisive factor is the assessment of the circumstances for the current calendar year at the beginning of a year. This also applies if the entrepreneur expands their business in that year (see Federal Fiscal Court judgement of 7.3.1995, XI R 51/94, BStBl II p. 562). If a expected turnover plus tax of no more than €50,000 is expected, this amount is decisive even if the actual turnover plus tax exceeds €50,000 during the calendar year (Sec. 19.1 para. 3 sentence 2 et seq. UStAE).
According to the wording of the tax administrative guidelines, the circumstances at the beginning of the current calendar year are relevant.
I hope I could be of assistance to you.
If there are still any uncertainties, please feel free to use the follow-up function.
Sincerely,
Dr. Yanqiong Bolik
Tax consultant
Bildstöckle 6, 70567 Stuttgart
Tel: +49 (0) 711 / 2132 1815
Email: info@zdbz.de
www.steuerberatung.zdbz.de
