Shipping costs paid by the customer.
March 26, 2012 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Michael Herrmann
I am currently a VAT-registered entrepreneur and want to ensure that I can work again VAT-free according to §19 UStG next year (2013). If I am correctly informed, I have to keep my turnover below 17,500.01 euros this year (2012) in order to do so (My business has been running for some time and in 2011 my turnover was significantly above 17,500 euros, so I am now VAT liable for 2012 and not voluntarily). My problem: I repair IT devices and have hardly any material costs. These devices to be repaired are sent to me from all over the Federal Republic, so everything between Flensburg and Passau, as well as Aachen and Görlitz, is usually sent to me by regular mail or courier service.
I usually send them back with the courier service as well, because you can show VAT there. I always charge the shipping costs separately, in addition to my processing fee for the repair, and always specify them separately on the invoice.
Here is my question:
Do I have to classify this separately stated contribution for shipping as my own turnover and thus include it in the 17,500 euro limit or can I always consider the amount as a neutral payment? If the latter applies, what laws can I refer to in this regard? (The tax office responsible for me does not have the brightest officials. They tend to confuse trivial matters to my disadvantage if I don't complain.)
Do you agree with me that the VAT for the shipping costs should not be considered as input tax, or can I possibly do so? I have all the receipts for the shipping, should I then forward them to my customers or is it sufficient if I continue to only specify the shipping service on my invoices with separately stated VAT? I sincerely thank you in advance for a clear answer.
Dear inquirer,
First of all, thank you for your inquiry, which I would like to answer based on the information provided and in the context of your commitment within an initial consultation. The response is based on the facts presented. Missing or incorrect information about the actual circumstances can affect the legal outcome.
Revenue is the compensation for your services. This includes remuneration for ancillary services, such as shipping. From a VAT perspective, ancillary services share the fate of the main service and are therefore subject to VAT if the main service is.
VAT Directive 29, Paragraph 5:
"Ancillary services share the fate of the main service from a VAT perspective. This also applies if a special fee is charged and paid for the ancillary service (see BFH judgment of 28.4.1966, V 58/63, BStBl III p. 476). A service is generally considered an ancillary service to a main service if it is incidental compared to the main service, closely related to it - in terms of an economically justified rounding off and supplementation - and usually occurs in its wake (see BFH judgment of 10.9.1992, ibid.). This is particularly the case when the service does not serve the recipient's own purpose, but is a means to take advantage of the main service provider's main service under optimal conditions (see BFH judgment of 31.5.2001, ibid.). The subject of an ancillary service can be both a dependent delivery of goods and a dependent other service."
The revenue relevant for the turnover threshold of €17,500 also includes fees for recharged shipping costs.
You should keep the receipts for the shipping service in order to be able to prove the deductible business expenses and input tax.
I hope that this information has provided you with a sufficient overview of the situation within the scope of your commitment and this initial consultation, and remain
Yours sincerely,
Michael Herrmann
Dipl. Financial Economist (FH)
Tax advisor
