Häufig gestellte Fragen
Monthly or quarterly – how often must the UStVA be filed?
The filing frequency depends on the previous year's VAT liability: if it exceeds 9,000 euros, returns must be filed monthly; between 2,000 and 9,000 euros, quarterly filing is sufficient. Below 2,000 euros, the tax office can exempt the company from the obligation to file advance returns, leaving only the annual VAT return. The 9,000-euro threshold for monthly filing was raised by the Fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (Viertes Bürokratieentlastungsgesetz) and the 2,000-euro exemption limit by the Growth Opportunities Act (Wachstumschancengesetz), both with effect from 2025. An ERP system stores the configured advance return period as a parameter and aggregates the postings accordingly, monthly or quarterly.
By when must the UStVA reach the tax office?
The advance return must generally be transmitted electronically by the 10th day after the end of the advance return period, and the tax due must be paid by then. If the 10th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline shifts to the next working day. With a permanent deadline extension (Dauerfristverlängerung), the deadline can be pushed back permanently by one month, although monthly filers must make a special advance payment of one eleventh of the previous year's advance payments, while quarterly filers merely submit the application. In the ERP, the permanent deadline extension is stored as a parameter so that reporting correctly reflects the shifted filing date.
What happens if the UStVA is filed late?
If the advance return is not transmitted on time, the tax office can impose a late-filing surcharge under Section 152 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung), which for the UStVA is assessed at the authority's discretion, taking into account the duration and frequency of the delay as well as the amount of tax, and is capped at 25,000 euros. If a company repeatedly files late, it additionally faces coercive fines and revocation of its permanent deadline extension. If turnover is deliberately underreported or not reported at all, the matter can become relevant under criminal law as tax evasion. An ERP with deadline reminders and plausibility checks helps to avoid such lapses organisationally.
Do small businesses (Kleinunternehmer) have to file a UStVA?
Small businesses under Section 19 UStG do not have to file advance VAT returns, since they neither charge VAT nor remit it to the tax office, but in return cannot claim input tax either. Since 2025 the rule applies to companies with a previous year's turnover of up to 25,000 euros and a current year's turnover of up to 100,000 euros, whereby the 100,000-euro limit is now an actual value and thus a hard upper bound. If it is exceeded during the year, small-business status ends immediately and standard taxation with the obligation to file advance returns begins from that transaction onwards. In the ERP, small-business status can be mapped via the tax code configuration so that no VAT is shown on outgoing invoices.
Does the UStVA have to be submitted electronically via ELSTER?
Yes, the advance VAT return must by law be transmitted electronically and with authentication via the ELSTER interface of the tax administration; filing on paper is only possible on application in narrowly defined hardship cases. Many ERP systems have a direct ELSTER connection, while other setups hand the data over to an accounting or DATEV environment, from which the tax advisor performs the transmission. In both cases, a valid certificate for authenticated transmission is essential. During the ERP selection process, it should be checked whether a native ELSTER connection or a verified DATEV interface is available.
How do you correct an incorrect advance VAT return?
If a company discovers an error after filing, such as an incorrectly posted document or a wrong tax code, the correction is made via an amended advance return for the same period. In the ERP, the erroneous postings are adjusted first, after which the system generates the report on the new data basis and retransmits the corrected return via ELSTER. GoBD-compliant, tamper-proof record-keeping ensures that the original postings remain traceable and are not overwritten without a trace. In the case of significant deviations, a correction may at the same time qualify as a notification under Section 153 of the German Fiscal Code (Abgabenordnung), which is why a tax advisor should be involved in cases of doubt.